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On this episode of the Temple Of Geek Podcast, we talk about Blackface in cosplay and why it is wrong. We came across a post on social media that we found to be very profound and important on the topic of Blackface in cosplay. The post came from cosplayer Tatyana Peña. Today Tatyana joins us along with returning guest, Paloma Figueroa who is a diversity and inclusion consultant in San Francisco and our host Jose Vasquez to talk about this important issue in our cosplay community.
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Blackface (Why It’s Wrong)
Blackface is becoming something more common in the cosplay community. With the rise of blackface comes the rise of people of color speaking out against it both respectfully and from a place of pain and frustration. However, no matter how much we try to get people to understand and stop blackface/race face it continues strong. People that have done blackface/race face may do it without knowing how offensive it is. and when the issue is brought up to them, (whether it be in the form of an attack or an informative dialogue) have noticed that they try to justify their wrongdoing or play victim rather than admit their wrongdoing or grow from their mistakes. Rather than try to understand why so many people are offended, they try to defend themselves. Of course, it is natural to defend yourself in situations like this but perhaps you should start to listen and see past your personal beliefs. Understand this from a person of color’s point of view. Blackface is wrong is more than just an opinion. Blackface has a historical connotation that many fail to accept, understand and take into consideration when they decide to cosplay someone from another race. This post is meant to shed some light on those who may not understand what the big deal is. Tatyana goes on to mention the history of Blackface in America and around the world… (you can read the entire post above or here).
Our Guests:Â
Tatyana Peña is a cosplayer who is currently studying video game and animation. Tatyana is extremely passionate about the way cultural stories across media are told. Much of Tatyana’s research has to do with diversity and how representation matters. Tatyana’s post on Instagram was the reason and inspiration for this episode. You can follow Tatyana on Instagram as @melanitecoscrafts or on Twitter as @melanitecc.
Paloma Figueroa is a diversity and inclusion consultant who loves talking about what it’s like being a Latina fangirl in the world today and what kind of impact representation in comics and media has on fans. She was previously a guest on the Temple Of Geek Podcast when she came on to talk to us about “Diversity In Fandom” and on “Fan reactions to Captain Marvel”.  You can follow Paloma on social media on Instagram @sublimerubbish and on Twitter @palomaf.
Our Host:
Jose Vasquez is a cosplay and convention photographer for Temple of Geek. He covers a variety of pop culture conventions in the Southern California area and he is one of the hosts of the 5 Points of Articulation Podcast, where he discusses his love of toy collecting. You can check out some of his cosplay photography work on Temple Of Geek’s website and follow him on social media at Instagram @reflector90 and on Twitter as @MeGrimLock90
Episode Produced by Monica DuarteÂ
Editing by Danniel SladeÂ
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