Critics on social media are citing the demonstrative behavior of white activists, stemming from the increased visibility of white cosplayers dressed as My Hero Academia’s Katsuki Bakugo in “No Kings” demonstrations.
An Asian influencer, Eunnuri Lee, took to TikTok with a get-ready-with-me type of video, and said that white people have some way of focusing on self-expression even in marches against authoritarianism, racism, release, exile, state violence and fascism.
“Even in protests against authoritarianism, racism, discrimination, exile, state violence, fascism, a white person can and always will find a way to circle the moment around their self-expression,” Lee said.
Acknowledging that the cosplayer’s strategy was to attract attention and raise donations, Lee noted that the act was still a form of strategy rather than solidarity. Denial of white privilege is no excuse for performative actions, Lee argues.
“If you know that your whiteness gives you the privilege to turn protest into cosplay and you do it anyway, that’s not awareness. That’s indulgence,” Lee said.
Lee also brings up the death of online African-American cosplayer Ashley Gayle Paxton as Squid Kid, who committed suicide due to harassment from white cosplayers on TikTok. She questions why Paxton’s death has been less discussed in the cosplayer community.
More generally, Lee says the case reveals the problem of dealing with a political moment to capture it aesthetically. “Aesthetics silence criticism,” Lee said, adding that white people and their fandoms constantly see political events as opportunities to build their brand.
“Not every serious political moment needs to be filtered through the lens of your brand. A protest is not a comic con,” Lee said. “When activism becomes pure spectacle, people begin to forget visibility for usefulness. People begin to think of the same thing as meditative unity.”
Despite this, he did not completely condemn artistic expression in protest. “Humor, creativity, and artistry certainly have a place in protest,” Lee said, emphasizing that it turns filming and such performances into the material they protest. “Should you film it and turn it into content? I don’t think so. Not because cosplay is inherently bad, but because white people need to understand when to decentralize themselves.”
Commenters responded by presenting their thoughts and opinions, including additional examples of demonstrative behavior across different types of displays. Commentators have pointed to signs at Black Lives Matter rallies that carry overtly racist language. “And Science!! BLM talking about the ‘BBC’ and talking about ‘big booty Latinas’ like the anti-ICE protests it’s literally a parade for them,” the commenter writes.
A user rejects the statement that just going makes an activist. “I hate it when people bring this up, and annoying mfs ‘at least they went’ like holding up an ‘I love the BBC’ sign at a BLM protest is not the activism you think it is,” they write.
Another commenter criticizes women who bring “hot rivalry posters” to anti-ice rallies. “That’s why I think those girls should go to hell for bringing those hot rival posters to the ICE protest. People were sympathizing with them, saying, ‘At least they were there!’ They should keep their dumb male-centric asses at home,” he says.
A final commenter criticizes the double standard employed in the discussion of demonstrative behavior. “White people always get a pass in some way, a person of color will not get a pass and will be immediately made ‘accountable,'” they write. “Stop seeking to be oppressed and support the oppressed.”
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