will i upset people if i dress as blade

Right -- to be clear, I'm not saying don't go as a vampire hunter. Be a "Blade disciple" if you want. But don't be Blade himself. Blackface, no. General costume and different names character, yes.


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sp1derman said:

I've read posts of people complaining so just wanted more experienced peoples opinions.
I wouldn't go black face though I've considered paying to have a silicone replica of snipe made simply to look as accurate as humanly possible [emoji14]

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Haters gonna hate man, doesn't matter race, color creed.
Of course there are complainers, there always will be.

Its a free world, do what you want and screw what other people think.
Your only here once, enjoy it. heh

Bruh, just be white Blade, there's no issue about that. Just like, avoid blackface at all costs its super disrespectful.

zatchdx said:

Bruh, just be white Blade, there's no issue about that. Just like, avoid blackface at all costs its super disrespectful.

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I'd never go black face I thought about doing a silicone mask for the same reason those people dress a trump and dinkilage I just thought have a sculpted mask would be cool same thing I want to do with helboy

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I actually got into an argument over this with a friend. I was discussing about doing a Michonne from Walking Dead outfit. She went off on me about white privilege and not dressing as an African American character because it's racist. I did not agree in the least bit. She went off on some other things about black kids dressing as a Disney Princess (Ariel) is ok, but white girls dressing as Princess Tiana was not ok. Didn't agree with that either.

I think If you're paying tribute to a character, race shouldn't matter. I say don't do black face. But outfits shouldn't matter!

In a world with no history, changing your skin color should logically be the same as changing your hair color. But the truth of the matter is, there are negative connotations attached to skin color from our history, specifically the use of blackface in old media. Blade's clothes have no such attachment. Dressing up as Blade without blackface is no more offensive than dressing up as anyone who is not you. There will always be some people who think anything and everything is not PC, but the general population does not find it offensive to cosplay a character that's a different race as long as you don't do blackface.

Think I'll put together his costume from the 1st film then get a life cast for a statue. Didn't realise people would consider a full over the head mask as being racist as you can by Obama masks ect. But i think I'll don his gear for a con then display ot on a lifecast of snipes

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Bear with me. Before anyone thinks I'm trying to hold anyone back, I just think of these dilemmas like math problems. First and foremost, acknowledging and accepting an unpleasant reality is not the same as endorsing it. It is just dealing with it so you can properly consider risk vs. reward.

Ask yourself these questions:
-What is the best case scenario? What is the worst?
-How intensely would you enjoy that good thing really? How bad would a bad thing ruin your day?
-What is the % chance a good thing happens vs. a bad thing (even if not one of the extremes)?

Then do your math. Is the risk worth it to you personally?

Personally, I wouldn't do it. The best case scenario in my mind is simply going through a hassle free day. The worst is a confrontation that puts a sour taste in my mouth and ruins my day. The likely scenario is nothing bad happens, but maybe my costume isn't recognized on a mass scale because others are confused at the racial switch thereby lessening the impact of my hard work. All told the 'high' is just not high enough for me to risk it.

BUT I'm an old pessimistic curmudgeon. You clearly take more joy in the character and costume than I do, so I have no doubt your priorities and estimated outcomes differ greatly from mine. Analyze your own scenarios and roll with it.

Solo4114 said:

I'm not gonna get into this in any real depth here for fear of treading on the "no politics" prohibition, but look up the term "appropriation" in relation to race issues.

There's a lot of other stuff that's wrapped into pretending to be of another race which isn't related to your intent to be respectful or insulting either way. It's not about your intent. It's about other people's reactions.

It's all about how people will respond to you, not about your intentions. Nobody knows your intentions and nobody will likely care about them. I'd just avoid it.

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I stand corrected.

Solo4114 said:

I'm not gonna get into this in any real depth here for fear of treading on the "no politics" prohibition, but look up the term "appropriation" in relation to race issues.


Bottom line: just don't do it. Be a different vampire slayer. Create your own inspired character. But don't put on blackface to do it (or yellowface to do, say, a Christopher Lee version of Fu Manchu or whatever).

There's a lot of other stuff that's wrapped into pretending to be of another race which isn't related to your intent to be respectful or insulting either way. It's not about your intent. It's about other people's reactions.

Or think of it this way. Not that the two are exactly the same, but if you decided to go to a con dressed in 100% historically accurate 1941 Wehrmacht gear, it would be similarly bad. Even if your intent was to portray a specific soldier who had documented anti-Nazi views, you're still really likely to tick a lot of people off and catch a ton of flack.

It's all about how people will respond to you, not about your intentions. Nobody knows your intentions and nobody will likely care about them. I'd just avoid it.


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Once again I have no intention of going black face, i.e painting myself to match the race of the Charecter I personally don't see a mask as being the same thing but that's why I asked for other people.
I have no desire to be another vampire slayer or my own creation I'm interested in being blade and that's it.

Appreciate all the responses from everyone

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A full face mask wouldn't be a ton better, to be honest.

Again, it's not about your intent. You may have entirely pure and respectful intentions, but your audience won't know those off the bat. All they'll see is a white dude in a black dude mask. Plus, after putting in a ton of effort into getting the costume right, to me at least, a full face mask seems...I dunno....kinda lame.

If you can't bring yourself to do a different "as inspired by..." Costume, maybe you're better off with the mannequin idea. Because I honestly think you'll get at least some flak over being a white guy dressed as a black guy. You don't see it as blackface but other people probably will, and given the history of blackface pantomime and cultural appropriation, they probably won't be shy about registering their displeasure with you.


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(I'm an idiot. I'm speaking very broadly because I have not put research in. I'm not necessarily referring to a quote a contributor on this thread or anything else. These thoughts have been bottled up from other peoples different arguments I've experienced. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe I'll learn a lesson. I'd probably have a much better and different opinion had I been taught better. I don't have any useful experience to talk... but I want to.)


I wanna contribute because I just saw this thread and I am loving it. Might just be because I got bored of standard costume discussion but forgot about other subforums. I like seeing other members sides and an escalation from a fairly basic title.
I've never been to a convention and I know nothing about any Super-Hero that isn't Spider-Man but...
Is part of blades character his skin tone(/other element that signifies the discussion's subject). I think that's the key decider.


I think in an ideal world the idea is; we could imitate and acknowledge every subjective and objective part of a being and have no-one concerned, just because that's who we are and no offence would be intended or received. As long as we aren't targeting an the element but are making observations of it as part of a larger whole then it should be fine, right?


We don't have that ideal world and to spontaneously have that would be ignoring many histories. Usually it's better to tread lightly as if we live in the world we do rather than the one we should. Those are the steps to reach the world we should.


A disguise that represents the character or the actor makes sense and in my head is blatantly fine because that incorporates all the elements of what makes them recognisable.


If Blade were a character that wore cosmetics to appear a different skin tone or was defined as a person who has a particular skin tone or upbringing/origin that uniquely belongs to people that fit a group of a certain physical attribute, then in an ideal world, if you want to do an accurate blade you incorporate that in, regardless of looking identical or not to a certain interpretation.
In an ideal world.


If those elements where anything less than defining then why bother, in a world where you are certain to offend a significant number of people that don't deserve offence.
I look at things how they are. How things are, are based on my experiences. To me the idea of physicality hardly exists but I'm stuck in a reality where its supposed existence is important. I haven't had experience where a physical attribute on myself has caused me hardship or difference from the norm but I am familiar with people who abuse the fact it has and does, for their opposing argument.


Even if people opposed to your portrayal are wrong in their dismay or would be better off not caring, by succumbing to Political Correctness (whether it be it's base form or an appropriation of it), I believe, even if you aren't helping your opinion in the now, you will help make that opinion not matter in the future.


What’s right and wrong is all about perspective. I don’t have the perspective that thinks it’s wrong to wear a Wesley Snipes mask. But if anyone has or could have the perspective it’s not that, and is just a generalisation of a people, then don’t risk it until the distant sci-fi utopian future. In conclusion. Make sure it’s a darn realistic mask.

I won't pretend I've never had this same question for myself. As a black dude it is sometime difficult to portray a character when you know the color of your skin will throw off the accuracy of the cosplay. Thus the reason why I created my own X-men character years ago. I didn't feel I could properly portray the likes of Cyclops or Wolverine. And my own Jedi, since I couldn't pull off a Luke or Obi. (Could have done a young Windu, but whatever.)

With that said, I'd also add, sometimes it doesn't matter.
There are some characters that are still easily recognized no matter the race of the person cosplaying them. I could do a batman and it wouldn't feel very off. Also, my sister and I have been doing Gender swapped Nathen Drake and Lara Croft, and it's been a lot of fun. Sure we don't look like we jumped right out of the games, but people still know whats up. We even got a picture of us with a female Indian Jones.

I've also had discussions on the casting of the recent Fantastic 4 movie. My view: Mr. Fantastic should have had the race change. You could still have a person recognized as Reed Richards with dark skin. The only thing that would have changed would be the skin color (hair colors, build, personality would remain.)

The jest of my point being, if you feel the character would be recognized (and you care for it to be), even if your skin color is different, then no one else's option really matters.
If you can put on the costume and have fun wearing it, even if you don't look exactly like the actor who played the character, then by all means do so.

The Yin said:

I won't pretend I've never had this same question for myself. As a black dude it is sometime difficult to portray a character when you know the color of your skin will throw off the accuracy of the cosplay. Thus the reason why I created my own X-men character years ago. I didn't feel I could properly portray the likes of Cyclops or Wolverine. And my own Jedi, since I couldn't pull off a Luke or Obi. (Could have done a young Windu, but whatever.)

With that said, I'd also add, sometimes it doesn't matter.
There are some characters that are still easily recognized no matter the race of the person cosplaying them. I could do a batman and it wouldn't feel very off. Also, my sister and I have been doing Gender swapped Nathen Drake and Lara Croft, and it's been a lot of fun. Sure we don't look like we jumped right out of the games, but people still know whats up. We even got a picture of us with a female Indian Jones.

I've also had discussions on the casting of the recent Fantastic 4 movie. My view: Mr. Fantastic should have had the race change. You could still have a person recognized as Reed Richards with dark skin. The only thing that would have changed would be the skin color (hair colors, build, personality would remain.)

The jest of my point being, if you feel the character would be recognized (and you care for it to be), even if your skin color is different, then no one else's option really matters.
If you can put on the costume and have fun wearing it, even if you don't look exactly like the actor who played the character, then by all means do so.

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In theory, I don't disagree. It's ultimately up to you what you feel comfortable with. But in practice, I suspect that it's likely you would get a good bit of pushback from convention-goers if you go as blade in a mask or with prosthetics and makeup. "White Blade" is maybe less problematic but it still would make more sense if you went as your own character inspired by blade. I mean, if you don't care about other people's reactions, then rock on and do your own thing. But if you do care, then I'd avoid t if only because I would expect at least one person to give you flak for doing blade as a white guy.


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I see little hispanic girls try to dress up as Elsa from Frozen, and Asians dress up as white superheroes. Some Japanese girls go the extent of doing Caucasian makeup to where their hair, eyes and skintone are convincingly white. This isn't considered racist.

In the black and white TV era, it was considered funny back then for a white man to put on black makeup and to parody blacks. Today that is considered racist, but with good reason.

In some movies, there have been black actors that have done the reverse for comedy films - put on white makeup and try to go undetected as really being black, e.g. White Chicks and True Identity. These aren't considered racist.

A double standard? Or is it fashionable now to punish whites and to reboot white characters as non-white?

What should matter is that there is no intention of racism. Personally, I think it's a great thing to foster a sense of unity by people embracing the superheroes of other colors through costuming.

As far as I can see, the issue arises mostly due to events in American history, which have made white people portraying blacks a taboo. One of the first responses was from someone in Greece and I'm from Finland, so it's probably harder for us to understand what the problem is. The original poster is from England and to be honest, I know even less of the racial issues there than I know of the situation in the United States. Any advice from me on this topic would pretty much be guaranteed to be invalid.

Consider this though: portraying Asian characters is a core part of cosplay and cosplayers will use makeup to make their features look more Asian. I think most people are OK with that. Technically it's the same thing as "blackface", but there's a lot less stigma. I think in an ideal world, black makeup for cosplay would be OK too as long as it was not meant to offend. I think that's the core of the problem: if someone has good enough reason to suspect that your cosplay is intended to offend people, then it probably will not be allowed.

It is unfortunate that some types of cosplay can offend even without trying to do so.

CSMacLaren said:

I see little hispanic girls try to dress up as Elsa from Frozen, and Asians dress up as white superheroes. Some Japanese girls go the extent of doing Caucasian makeup to where their hair, eyes and skintone are convincingly white. This isn't considered racist.

In the black and white TV era, it was considered funny back then for a white man to put on black makeup and to parody blacks. Today that is considered racist, but with good reason.

In some movies, there have been black actors that have done the reverse for comedy films - put on white makeup and try to go undetected as really being black, e.g. White Chicks and True Identity. These aren't considered racist.

A double standard? Or is it fashionable now to punish whites and to reboot white characters as non-white?

What should matter is that there is no intention of racism. Personally, I think it's a great thing to foster a sense of unity by people embracing the superheroes of other colors through costuming.

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Bottom line:

Yes, it's arguably a double standard, but which exists with good reason.

History and context is ultimately what matters, along with power differentials in society that persist today.

You can read up on the subject if you care. Look up the history of minstrel shows and blackface, or the yellow terror and yellowface and such. As I said before, I'm not gonna get into the "why" of this in any real detail, but the bottom line is that, yeah, it's very different when a white person pretends to be of a different race than when a person who isn't white pretends to be white.

And as I also said, you may have personally pure and good intentions, but your intentions won't matter when you run into someone who is deeply offended by your choice of costume. If you don't care that they're offended, or that there's a risk, do your thing. But there's a risk and no amount of complaining about double standards will remove the risk.


I'll put it another way. My clients ask me how to do certain things in there businesses. I have to caution them about crossing regulatory lines that might get them in trouble if they aren't careful. They complain about how silly the regs are, how pointless and stupid the governments rules can be, etc.

And at the end of their tirades, my response is usually "Be that as it may, those are the regs. If you want to take a risk, go ahead. But the risk exists regardless of what you think about it."


Take the risk of you want, but forget about what you think "ought" be the case, because that isn't and won't be the case. The risk exists. Decide for yourself how willing you are to run it.


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Solo makes a good point. Despite good intentions, if people prejudge you as "racist" that may force you into a defensive position, explaining the intention is one of homage and not racism - at which point, they are so incensed that they are unable to hear what you say.

I'm a particularly confrontational guy about this stuff. Double standards are things I don't accept and would be happy to tell someone off for calling me hateful for cosplaying a favorite character of another race. Sorry not sorry, if you think it's wrong for a white man to cosplay a character of another race but not wrong for another race to cosplay a character of another race, you're actively denying people an opportunity others have and causing resentment that will drive people away from racial unity rather than toward it. There's a history of white people playing characters of other races in movies and that sucks (looking at you, The Last Airbender, you dumpster fire you) but to tell some hobbyist that their costume of a traditionally black character is unacceptable because they're white, meanwhile, black man Sailor Moon walks by no questions asked, that is going to breed resentment. I've seen black man Sailor Moon before, BTW, he rocks that costume. The recent rash of PC influenza has caused an equal and opposite reaction. Understanding. Understanding will solve racial divides, not bull-headed proselytizing, shaming and banning.

Back to my opinion on the topic: I would say don't do the face paint because it's...not needed. I would say that black face had a particular style that is clear when replicated. Popo is right out for sure. I wouldn't say doing a realistic black skin tone makeup is on par, but it's definitely going to cause some trouble and bring that to mind. The latex mask will look goofy. Be white Blade.

Talaaya said:

Only if you do blackface. That's it. Cosplay whatever you want otherwise and no one will care. It is not racist to wear clothing that a person that happens to be another race wears.

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so when i cosplay martian man hunter or hulk if i do green face is that offensive? lol...cosplay is about being as close to the character as possible...if were to cosplay blade id do the skin tone to go with it and the hair...blade is awesome and deserves as much accuracy as any other other character.