Do you love faeries? Do you like seeing people who look like you in media? Well, Black Fae Day is the movement for you.
Black Fae Day
Black Fae Day is a movement founded by photographer and cosplayer, Jasmine La Fleur. The goal of this photoshoot is to bridge the gap between colors and cultures.
The inspiration for Black Fae Day comes from the talented women in our community who have been fighting for representation and equality since before it was cool. They are the reason why we have so many diverse characters––in books, movies, TV shows, games––but they're often overlooked or underrepresented themselves because of their race or culture.
To celebrate this special day and bring awareness to these amazing women (and men), we will be hosting our own photo shoot! If you've never attended one before but would like an idea of what goes on at these events: there's food (usually pizza), drinks (we encourage alcohol consumption) and there may even be prizes!
Black Fae Day is a movement founded by photographer and cosplayer, Jasmine La Fleur.
- Founder Jasmine La Fleur is a photographer and cosplayer, who wanted to create a day where people of color can be seen as beautiful. She came up with the idea while working as an extra on the set of The Vampire Diaries, which had no people of color in it.
- Black Fae Day is also about celebrating dark skinned people, not just black people.
- This year's theme is #blackisbeautiful
Fae Day was originally was started as a photoshoot featuring women of color as fae characters.
Fae Day was originally created as a response to the lack of diversity in the cosplay community. In an effort to create more representation for women of color and increase visibility, photographer Edel Rodriguez decided to start Fae Day. He gathered together a group of women who he knew could pull off the fae characters they wanted to play, and began taking photos.
The first Fae Day took place in 2015 and was centered around women of color dressed up as fairies, elves and sirens. It was well-received by many members of the community; however, some were critical of the fact that Rodriguez casted only women who were light skinned or white passing (i.e., they looked racially ambiguous). Because it was intended as a safe space for marginalized individuals within this industry—and not everyone felt welcome at this particular event—many people left feeling excluded due to their race or gender identity rather than being able to participate fully because race wasn't taken into account when selecting who would be featured in this photoshoot.
Fae Day focuses on bringing together some of the world's most beautiful and talented cosplayers, photographers, makeup artists and other fae-friendly folk to raise awareness for the cause.
Fae Day is a celebration of everything fae, taking place on the first Saturday of every month. Fae Day focuses on bringing together some of the world's most beautiful and talented cosplayers, photographers, makeup artists and other fae-friendly folk to raise awareness for the cause.
The goal of this photoshoot is to bridge the gap between colors and cultures.
The goal of this photoshoot is to bridge the gap between colors and cultures, so that we can all see ourselves as one human race.
We want you to look in the mirror and see yourself. We want you to be proud of who you are and what makes you different from everyone else. We want everyone to feel seen by someone who sees them as beautiful on the inside or outside - because that's what makes us human after all!
The goal of this photoshoot is to bring more diversity into the cosplay community through an all POC creator photo shoot.
The goal of this photoshoot is to bring more diversity into the cosplay community through an all POC creator photo shoot. Cosplay has been predominantly white and male, but there's a huge audience that isn't represented in mainstream cosplay media. We want to show that there are people who love fantasy just as much as anyone else, and they come in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, genders and orientations.
We hope you'll join us on this journey!
The goal of this photoshoot is to bring more diversity into the cosplay community through an all POC creator photo shoot..
The goal of this photoshoot is to bring more diversity into the cosplay community through an all POC creator photo shoot.
The premise behind Fae Day is that it's a day for people of color to come together and celebrate their culture and heritage with their friends, family, and fellow race members. We encourage everyone who shares our vision for inclusivity in the cosplay community to participate by dressing up as their favorite character (or even just themselves) on June 1st 2019!
We need more diversity in our communities.
You know what we need? We need more diversity in our communities.
We don’t just need it, but we want it—and the only way to get there is through education and exposure. That’s why I have created this post: to educate others on the importance of representation, while also providing a platform for creators of color to be seen by their peers and fans.
You see, cosplay is such a big part of my life that it's hard for me not to think about how people are going about their day-to-day lives knowing that they're not being represented properly at major conventions or publications like Comic Con International: San Diego (CCI) or Kotaku; these spaces are meant for everyone yet some groups are left out because they don't fit into neat little boxes like "white male." This needs to change if we want people from all walks of life attending conventions together as equals!
This is an important message. It matters that we see ourselves represented in the media and culture around us. If we don't have models to look up to, then it can be very difficult to find our own way. We need more diversity in our communities. Hopefully this post will inspire you to reach out and make a difference by creating more opportunities for people of color in cosplay and other fandoms within its own universe.
Meet the Cosplayer
Meet Shiloh.
A Trans Masc POC content creator, cosplayer, husband to be, parent, mental health advocate, and activist.
Shiloh is known for their cosplays as Bellatrix LeStrange from the Harry Potter Series, Hawks from My Hero Academia, Mithe from Lore Olympus web series, and Ms. Lovett from Sweeny Todd as well as so many more. Shiloh has an ever-growing following of over 24k on Tiktok, 4.5k on Instagram, and 2.39K subscribers on YouTube.
Shiloh talks openly as a Mental Health Advocate—and they don't hold back when it comes to showing the world how anyone can be a cosplayer regardless of skin tone or background.
Cosplay photography by Fungirlwithacamera Photography
Hope from Fungirlwithacamera Photography specializes in Cosplay photography.
