Hi everyone! Today I am excited to bring you an interview with a lovely disabled cosplayer that I have been following for a while now. Colleen Cosplay has joined me for GeekDis 2023 to talk about how she incorporates her mobility aids into her cosplay designs, disability representation in cosplay and more!

Please give Colleen a warm welcome!

1. Could you start us off by introducing yourself and telling us a bit about who you are and what you do?

Hello! I’m Colleen and I’m a disabled cosplayer YouTuber in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. I make cosplay tutorial videos, convention vlogs, and share my experiences as a disabled cosplayer. I’ve competed in craftsmanship at many cosplay contests and I also do wheelchair dance. 

2. Can you tell us about your journey as a disabled cosplayer?

I’ve been cosplaying for over 10 years now, but I wasn’t very serious about cosplay when I started. When I started cosplaying, I was also into athletics. I did running, martial arts, and horse riding (I even owned my own horse!) so cosplay wasn’t a big priority at that time in my life. That was before I was disabled. I have a cartilage disorder that has gotten progressively worse over time. I really did try to tough it out in athletics, probably much longer than I should have, but it just reached a point where it was no longer safe to do athletics with my disability. It was a really scary time for me as I had put a lot of my life into athletics and I was just overall worried about what my future would look like. I had a hard look at the things in my life that made me happy and that I could still physically do and basically cosplay was the only hobby I had that fit into that category. 

So I focused all my hobby time and energy into cosplay. I also started my YouTube channel around this time (2018). I had dreamed about having my own YouTube channel but never had the guts to actually start doing it. My disability put a lot of life into perspective for me actually, what did I really have to lose if my YouTube channel didn’t work out? Truthfully, my YouTube channel started as some sort of coping mechanism. 

So I started a cosplay YouTube channel and dedicated a lot of myself to making it work out. I eventually had to address my disability on the channel as the progression of my cartilage deterioration required the use of mobility aids and my disability was no longer invisible.

Sharing something so vulnerable online was also super scary, but overall people were supportive and I discovered that more than that, it was relatable for some people too. There were other disabled cosplayers out there and they hadn’t seen anyone like them on the Youtube platform before. I hadn’t seen anything like it either. Other disabled cosplayers certainly exist and some of them are doing great work on disability advocacy too, but not so much on the YouTube platform. 

I started incorporating more disability related content on my YouTube channel. I made cosplay decorations for my mobility aids. I shared some really raw experiences having to advocate for accessibility at conventions and dealing with ableism. I started reviewing accessibility at events and showing how to make cosplay costumes adapted for disability. My YouTube channel reached its five year anniversary this year and I’m still making videos and making cosplays!

3. The way you incorporate your mobility aids into your cosplays is fantastic. Was there a learning curve for this, or was it easy to adapt them?

Thank you! There was definitely a learning curve! I think the most difficult part is figuring out how to decorate a mobility aid without sacrificing any of its functionality. If the decoration makes it difficult to use the mobility aid then it’s no good! Also I have to figure out how to get the mobility aid through doors and crowds with the decoration on and that’s led to some more problem solving too. There is a certain level of engineering and testing required that I just don’t have to do as much with garment making. I feel I’ve figured out the forearm crutch cuffs and the wheelchair wheel covers at this point. I’m now venturing into much more difficult projects like my wheelchair fairy wings. I’m hoping to try some even more ambitious projects in the future too!

4. You often talk about disability representation in cosplay on your channels, do you feel that things are improving for disabled cosplayers?

For sure! I’ll give you an example. When I was first cosplaying with mobility aids, there were only a few conventions I attended that even had a wheelchair ramp for their stage. Those cons were the cons in the big cities that were working with convention centers. If I went to any con in a hotel or a fairgrounds or even just a convention center in a smaller city, no ramp. I eventually had to start emailing these conventions to ask for a wheelchair ramp for their stage so that I could continue to compete in cosplay contests. 

Now in 2023, I only know a handful of cons that don’t have a wheelchair ramp! I’m not saying it was all my doing either, I’ve seen an overall shift in awareness about accessibility in cosplay spaces. For a community that champions phrases like “cosplay is for everyone” once people started looking closely at the lack of accessibility at cosplay events I think they started putting together that stairs really aren’t for everyone. I’ve heard similar stories all across the U.S. of conventions having more awareness about accessibility. Is it always perfect? No, it’s not. I do think an effort is being made though and we are moving in the right direction.

I’ve also seen more disabled cosplayers on the rise on various social media platforms. There is a community out there for disabled cosplayers and I’ve seen people working very hard to advocate for improvement too.

5. Who are some of your favorite disabled cosplayers?

I did a collaboration with Jettee Lupe on my YouTube channel and we talked about accessibility and accommodations for competing in cosplay contests! They have always brought up some really good insight on discussions about cosplay and disability. If you want to give her a follow its @jettee.lupe on Instagram.

I really enjoy seeing posts from Chrysmuu. She shares her experiences as a disabled cosplayer and puts so much of herself into bringing awareness to disability and advocating for the disabled community. Also she sews some really cute outfits and it’s always a treat to see the work in progress on her projects! You can follow @chrysmuu on Instagram.

6. What improvements do you think can be made at events for disabled cosplayers?

I’d love to see more cons communicating with their disabled attendees. I would be happy to provide my thoughts on con accessibility for a con even if all I got out of it was the convention was more accessible for everyone the following year. I’ve found a lot of cons make the mistake of getting defensive when accessibility concerns are brought up. There is A LOT that goes into accessibility and I wouldn’t expect any event to get it right on the first try. For example, a con may be perfectly accessible for me as a wheelchair user, but not accessible for people with different disabilities. It’s great to have a wheelchair ramp, but what about a quiet room for people who are overwhelmed by the con crowds? Accessibility means talking to many disabled attendees with a variety of different accommodation needs. I think bringing on disabled staff really helps a lot here too!

7. How can non-disabled people help support disabled cosplayers?

Having a mindset of being open to listening and learning. A lot of non-disabled people will have some idea of what disability should look like. There is no one correct way to look disabled! For example, if someone thinks every person who uses a wheelchair is 100% paralyzed, I think being willing to read up on ambulatory wheelchair use is a good first step to being able to help. The media doesn’t always show the reality of disability and understanding that is important. Non-disabled people can also ask for accessibility at their local cons too. Having a wheelchair ramp helps disabled attendees but it benefits a lot more groups of people too, and it’s okay for non-disabled people to bring up those accessibility concerns.

8. What is next for you Colleen?

I’ve recently started guesting at cons and judging cosplay contests. If the opportunity arises I would like to do more of that. I’ve done a lot of cosplay competitions as a contestant (more than 15) during my time as a cosplayer and judging has been really fun and fulfilling. It really is different on the other side of the table. I’m going to keep making cosplays and YouTube videos too of course. I’d like to try even bigger and more impressive wheelchair decorations now that I’ve figured out the basics. I truly feel like I’ll never run out of ideas for Colleen Cosplay, I have so many things I want to make! 

Thank you, Colleen, for taking the time to talk to us!

Thank you for reading my interview with Colleen Cosplay! Please do take the time to check out Colleen’s Instagram and YouTube Channel to see more of her content.

This interview was a part of GeekDis a month-long event for the disabled and neurodivergent to discuss representation. You can read more about the event at the GeekDis information hub and follow this year’s content on social media with the hashtag #GeekDis. There is also a GeekDis 2023 content hub!

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