Blind and Visually Impaired Community
↑
3
↓
Cosplaying as a blind character (self.Blind)
submitted by theparahmedic
So my favourite superhero is Daredevil, for those who do not know he is a superhero who lost his vision due to an accident. He is a lawyer by day and a vigilante by night. I was wondering if ai wanted to cosplay as him in his “lawyer form”, where he uses a walking cane, would that be disrespectful towards visually impaired people? I want to make sure i’m not offending anyone before I commit to anything
Tarnagona 7 points 1y ago
It’s not exactly disrespectful, but it is potentially problematic. I’ve had a couple people at conventions think my white cane was a prop. Luckily, this didn’t cause any issues as simply saying “I’m actually blind” cleared it right up. But it does make me disinclined to want sighted people to use a real white cane as a prop. It’s also worth noting that, where I live, at least, it’s actually illegal to carry a white stick and pretend be blind, though I’d hope no one tries to get someone in legal trouble over a costume.
My advice, if you must do this costume, would be to get something that obviously looks like a prop. In the comics, I believe, Matt carries a cane that is plain white with a shepard’s crook. So making something to match that, instead of buying an actual white cane, would be better. And don’t use it to pretend to be blind. You won’t get it right, and that part would be disrespectful, and add to the confusion people already have about blind folk.
I don’t want you to not be able to cosplay a favourite character, but at the same time, using an actual mobility device as a prop is problematic. Matt Murdoch in his role as Daredevil would be a better choice.
My advice, if you must do this costume, would be to get something that obviously looks like a prop. In the comics, I believe, Matt carries a cane that is plain white with a shepard’s crook. So making something to match that, instead of buying an actual white cane, would be better. And don’t use it to pretend to be blind. You won’t get it right, and that part would be disrespectful, and add to the confusion people already have about blind folk.
I don’t want you to not be able to cosplay a favourite character, but at the same time, using an actual mobility device as a prop is problematic. Matt Murdoch in his role as Daredevil would be a better choice.
witcwhit 3 points 1y ago
This! My visually impaired teen only needs their cane in certain lighting conditions so, when they pulled out their cane to use while trick or treating, several members of the group they were with thought they were just pretending. A simple explanation solved the situation, but the kid still came home ranting about how the whole situation was embarrassing and it wouldn't have had to even be a question if there weren't people who pretended to be blind for either cosplay or pranks (don't even get me started on those YouTubers who pretend to be inept blind cane users and encourage strangers to "help" them).
Nighthawk321 1 points 1y ago
I wouldn't say it's rude if it's for the cosplay, but walking with the cane or really using it in any way and pretending to be blind would be very offensive in my opinion. Mainly because using a cane is a skill and takes practice and training, so to water it down to something else would be a little disingenuous. I know I went on a bit of a tangent and I'm not saying you would do that, but it's just something I could easily see happening.
OldManOnFire 1 points 1y ago
We had this question a month ago from someone who wanted to dress up as a blind referee for Halloween. You're going to find people who think it's okay and others who think it's not. There isn't a blind consensus on it.
Some will say our disability is not a costume and you shouldn't. Others will say go for it, we celebrate Daredevil's achievements and think of him as part of the blind community. They're both valid points of view. Most of us would probably land somewhere in between and say it's okay as long as you don't make a joke out our blindness.
Some will say our disability is not a costume and you shouldn't. Others will say go for it, we celebrate Daredevil's achievements and think of him as part of the blind community. They're both valid points of view. Most of us would probably land somewhere in between and say it's okay as long as you don't make a joke out our blindness.
CloudyBeep 1 points 1y ago
https://reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/56wy8a/whats_your_opinion_on_sighted_people_doing/
This nonprofit website is run by volunteers.
Please contribute if you can. Thank you!
Our mission is to provide everyone with access to large-
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
©2023 HumbleCat Inc • HumbleCat is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Michigan, USA.