This is an opinion piece. It is meant as a response more to the local cosplay community in the Philippines. If you are from elsewhere, the state of your cosplay community may be different. Take everything with a grain of salt.
Some twelve years ago, I planned to enter the polymer clay hobby. I thought it would be fun and interesting, and I enjoyed creative pursuits. But from the get-go I started the hobby primarily because I wanted to make some money out of it. Earn some money from a hobby that wasn’t yet that mainstream in the country. And I did good, coz I still have a clay business twelve years later. Was it wrong to start a hobby because I wanted to gain a following, and a business?
Of course, the answer is no. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
And now, imagine this: you, a cosplayer, meet someone who says they want to cosplay–because they want to be popular, build a brand, and then make an income from it. The very same reason some people might take up a hobby such as crochet or sewing.
Cosplayers will almost always respond this way:
“Oh no! You shouldn’t cosplay for fame or money! Cosplay should only be done for fun, and out of love for the character.”
Then they would quietly judge the person, and proceed to make Facebook posts about it, sharing it the shameful, sacrilegious thing that happened with their cosplayer friends.
I would like to make a case for that and explain why I think cosplaying for fame or money is ABSOLUTELY FINE.
Fame or Money is not “Evil”
First off, fame or money has no moral compass. It is what it is. Someone’s actions and motivations determine whether they are good or evil. But people in society have the connotation that if you want money, you are evil. They especially think this for the arts.
We even stereotype people who have fame or money, as evil. The rich, popular person is the villain. The poor, unpopular sap is the protagonist. This connection is a stereotype that’s been used in society for ages, and therefore they make people think that wanting money or fame = evil. It is not. Money and fame are just what they are; they have no morality. What you do with them is what counts. Some people who desire fame and fortune may actually have a good motivation behind them. Surprise! It isn’t fair to judge their desires when we don’t really know what fuels them.
The Starving Artist Mentality
Society, especially the Filipino society, tends to belittle people in the arts. They expect artists to bleed for their work, but then expect free things or handouts. Some people even think a “shoutout” or “exposure” is ample payment for an artist’s time or output. Once, I’ve seen posts saying:
“If you’re a true artist, you should do it because it’s your passion and because you love your craft and making other people happy. Artists who try to ask for payment are terrible.”
Naturally, this caused outrage. Artists should of course be compensated, and if they want to become professional, paid artists, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that too.
But for some reason, some of my cosplayer peers who think artists should be paid do a complete 180 when it comes to cosplayers. They think people shouldn’t cosplay for the money. They think they’re superior than people with a patreon, or ko-fi… “because you should only cosplay for fun”. Some people think they’re superior because they’re not charging for photosets or fansigns. Some adopt a “holier than thou attitude”, because they don’t earn from cosplay, and are therefore in their opinion, “real cosplayers”. “I’m doing it purely for the art, so I’m better.” But you bet that any one of these people, if offered to be a guest in a convention with paid fees, will absolutely jump at the chance.
I saw a cosplayer once take a jab at other cosplayers who charge for fansigns, or require donations, or only do it for top fans. She said she can’t believe cosplayers these days, and she said she does fansigns for free, as if her doing it for free makes her “better”. Here’s the reality: she doesn’t do it for “free”. A cosplayer who does fansigns for a fee gains that: the payment fee. A cosplayer who does fansigns for “free” gains the attention, which in business is also a viable currency–people flocking to her asking for “fansign pls”.
When does a Cosplayer become “Bad”?
I’ve now made my case that earning money or wanting to earn money in itself isn’t bad at all. No one is a “fake cosplayer” or “bad” or “below you” or “selling out” because they’re earning money from prints or Patreon or not just doing it “for fun”. Am I a fake sculptor because I strategically try to earn money from it? No.
In application to cosplayers–them having patreon or ko-fi isn’t “bad”. Selling prints isn’t bad. Selling exclusive content isn’t bad. But if you are hyper-focused on money and fame without even working on the product–your own cosplays–well, that’s when I personally think you’d be a fraud.
You’re selling blurry phone photos overpriced? You don’t deliver on your patreon rewards? You use your ko-fi money for something else and not the ko-fi goal you said you’d use it for? You’re stealing someone else’s content as your own? You use your fame and your platform to bully others? You look down on and shame other cosplayers who aren’t as good as you or don’t hold the same ideals as you? You’re not just bad cosplayer; you’re a bad person.
The Real Reason why you Shouldn’t Cosplay for Fame, or Money.
With all this being discussed, I still wouldn’t tell people that it’s advisable to cosplay or fame, or money. It’s fine if you want to. It’s not morally wrong, and don’t let other people tell you that it is. But the reality is it’s not advisable. Why?
Cosplay is a high risk, low reward business. Let’s say, you want to be a cosplayer with thousands of likes, selling merch, being invited as a guest in conventions. That requires building a fanbase by continuously making content and crawling your way down from the bottom. It means spending hundreds, or maybe thousands of $$$ on costumes, wigs, photoshoots, and other expenses.
Before I have a photo that’s good enough to sell as a print, I have already spent thousands on the rent for the venue, and the costume. Before someone can be invited as a guest, they probably have already cosplayed a dozen (or more characters), spending thousands on those costumes. This hobby is NOT cheap. I make my own cosplays, therefore I don’t pay anyone for labor, but I still find it expensive and most especially time-consuming.
It’s a lot of money burnt before you have any hope of making any money back. That’s the real reason why you should reconsider being a “cosplay celebrity”. You’re fortunate if you’re able to earn enough money just to be able to afford your next cosplay. A lot of international cosplay personalities do not quit their “real jobs”, and treat the cosplay business as a sideline–for good reason.
The reality is that the cosplay hobby is such a money pit, that more often than not you have to be super passionate to keep going at it, and really just love and enjoy the hobby. Most of those popular cosplayers are popular because they didn’t quit–because they were passionate about the hobby–and only gained the fanbase and income as residual effect. But if you’re interested in a purely business motive–It’s a very heavy investment, with a very high risk with how tough the competition is.
The TL;DR
Cosplayers wanting to earn money or actively trying to earn money or fame isn’t bad at all. Isn’t it great for people to be able to earn money while doing what they love? And if you meet someone and they say they want to cosplay for attention, or fame, or the possibility of stardom and income–that’s their motive, and it’s not for you to judge. You might just want to warn them that it’s not all rainbows and roses, and the chance of profit is low. But still, everyone cosplays for a different reason. Why someone else cosplays is their choice, and I think it’s better if we focus on ourselves, and reflect on why we cosplay–and not spend time policing other people’s motives.
Xarin Zuther 