Hot people of all genders have been fundraising for Senator Bernie Sanders on Twitter, using selfies and hashtags as a fun way to spread awareness for their cause. Now cosplayers, who make elaborate costumes of their favorite fictional characters, are also making the push for Bernie, using the hashtag #cosplayersforbernie.
On Tuesday, a cosplayer who goes by “Hyenasandgin” on Twitter posted a tweet with a simple goal: to get fellow cosplayers to post a picture of themselves along with a receipt of a donation to presidential nominee Bernie Sanders, using the hashtag #cosplayersforbernie. Hyenasandgin initially had a goal of $100. As of Wednesday, cosplayers using the tag have raised over $1000 for the Sanders campaign.
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The cosplayer said that she was inspired by watching her friends on the leftist anime podcast, Ballin’ Out Super, raise $420 for Sanders and wanted to do her part. She encouraged her fellow cosplayers to donate in small amounts, like $6.90 or $4.20.
“I’ve been cosplaying for 20 years and I’ve met so many amazing cosplayers in the community whose lives could be changed for the better with Bernie as president,” she said, citing student loan forgiveness, a fifteen dollar minimum wage, and Medicare for All as the reasons why she supports Bernie. “Times are scary right now and people want to feel like they’re empowered to do some good. It’s also a chance for cosplayers to show off their wonderful costumes while donating an amount of money that is humorously associated with drugs or a sex act and who doesn’t love that?”
While the goals are noble, it’s also really funny to imagine the characters that people are dressing up as supporting Bernie Sanders. While Sailor Moon seems like a sure bet—she fights for love and justice after all—the vampiric megalomaniac Dio from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure seems more like a Bloomberg guy.
Hyenasandgin set a goal to raise $1,500 for the Sanders campaign, and they’re getting there, one cosplayer at a time.
