Interesting. I didn't know skins were something people took seriously. I play overwatch from time to time. In overwatch, skins are obtained from lootboxes, which can be bought with real-life currency, but which you also get free after matches; so I have accumulated some skins. I don't think I've ever used one, and I don't think anyone's ever cared that I use the default skin.
So, I can only assume this culture arises in specific games, not out of cosmetic microtransactions in general.
Which is not to say I think cosmetic microtransactions are a good thing. Just that they're not by necessity as bad as some in this thread are making them out to be.
With Fortnite it's that my nephew's are really into Fortnite and Fornite YouTube. They're very aware, even at their young age of the "default" slur, they call each other names related to it jokingly. Peer pressure and probably influential YouTubers have them convinced they _must_ have particular skins at certain times.
They're so into the YouTube culture they recently requested (and received) RGB keyboards and accessories to adorn their desks even though they're gaming on consoles.
Overwatch seems to have a different culture than Fortnite. People might say "heh" if the play of the game is Default Skin Reinhardt using the Heroic highlight intro... but that's as far as it goes. Playing the game seems to give enough skins that nobody is particularly concerned about it.
From reading the comments, it seems like Fortnite players make fun of each other for not having skins, thus people are pressured into buying them. I am guessing that because the game has so much downtime, there really isn't anything else to do.
So, I can only assume this culture arises in specific games, not out of cosmetic microtransactions in general.
Which is not to say I think cosmetic microtransactions are a good thing. Just that they're not by necessity as bad as some in this thread are making them out to be.