Kay Bear
Freelance Artist, Cosplay Model, Twitch Streamer, Content Creator
2020
Watercolor & Colored Pencil on Paper 17in x 12in
Kay Bear (born Kay Thomas) was born January 9, 1995 in Trinidad And Tobago and was raised in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Georgia State University with a a bachelors degree in Sculpture in 2018.
Kay Bear was inspired by her brother to start cosplaying. Although hesitant at first because of the hostility black cosplayers (and black people in general) face online, seeing her brother confidently pursue cosplay motivated her. She began posting her artwork on Instagram in 2013 and photos of herself in cosplay two years later which garnered lots of attention.
However Kay received backlash after posting photos of herself in this specific Jinx cosplay. They claimed because she is a darker skin person in a lighter skin character is ‘blackwashing’ and that she ‘should stick to African characters’. That controversy spread through the internet and helped snowball her social media following.
“It’s a shitty feeling when another person that’s not black can post the same cosplay, in the same outfit and be met with praise and compliments. However, my version is wrong and lazy (simply because of my skin color, NOT because it’s actually inaccurate). I’d like (to) continue tearing down the stigma that being a black cosplayer and dressing up as white characters is wrong. We are fans, lovers, and players of video games/anime/etc as well and there is not limit to who we can dress up as! I always take criticism well, however, is telling me I need to change my skin color really a critique? (a lot of people try to act like it is). Anyways, all I really wanted to say is that if you are a POC who cosplays, please do it freely and don’t hold yourself back. It’s very easy to let these comments get into your head and discourage you, but no one can stop you besides yourself. Be proud of who you are and what you enjoy doing, because there will always be naysayers out there to some extent. Just remember that even though your skin tone doesn’t match, you are not wrong, and you are right in EVERY way. I love cosplaying and I will never stop. And I refuse to let people like this take that away from me. (not even when I’m old).”