Please notice that the critique is mostly all harassing me that I’m too white.  I should have tanned.   I’m white washing.   I’m the wrong race.  I’m racist.

Please notice that most of the critique I get is not about brownfacing.  I don’t ignore those comments, but I simply am overwhelmed by the people on the other side.    This doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s hurtful to some people, but it sure is hell is hurtful on the other side, and the other side has been far my vocal and hurtful to my face.  

Especially because, here is the kicker…. I’m tan. Naturally. 

Guess what? For Otakon I didn’t tan at all for Katara.  Just some bronzer on my face to cover up the bleached spots from my acne medication.   Cause I have really bad acne. My medication I use three times a day leaves horrible bleach spots on my face so I use bronzer to make my face the same color as my body. 

I’ve tanned for my first Korra shoot, cause that was after Chicago winter, and I wanted to achieve my normal summer skin tone, so I borrowed my mothers makeup.  My biological mothers make up- 

^Yeah that’s me with tanned makeup.  It’s still paler from what I am right now.

But then I went to go visit my grandmother for a few weeks in South Carolina in July.  I did a Korra shoot at 5 AM.  That is my skin color.  My natural summer skin color.  No ‘tanning’ makeup.  Just me.   Maybe some backlighting or some dim lighting… but nothing done in post to edit my skin tone, and nothing done beforehand.  

 

That’s my natural skin color.  Also guess what.   I made myself paler for Rin, Mikuru, and other costumes. But not one person has given me crap for that.  They have only given my crap about my actual skin color.  

Just because I am caucasian doesn’t mean I’m pale.
And just because you are pale, doesn’t mean you are caucasian.
Also: Don’t yell at the cosplayer, yell at the audience who blames them for white facing, making them insecure, making them hurt, making their hard work on the costume go to waste.   If you don’t like when people tan for costume, don’t get mad at them, go to their photos and read the comments of the people blaming them for whitewashing.   Go tell them off.   There is no way for the cosplayer to make everyone happy in this case.