Cosplay: a portmanteau of the words costume play, is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character or idea.
As stated above, cosplaying is portraying a character or idea as a performance art. The definition of it sounds so simple and nice, but then suddenly the society and culture finds it to be strange and unacceptable.
How is it that people find cosplaying to be immature and a waste of money while Halloween is the exact same idea yet it is perfectly acceptable to spend hundreds of dollars on a costume that you wear for one night? How is it that people can love actors in movies while they are literally being paid to cosplay? Yet they see it as weird and freakish if ordinary people want to do the same?
When you really think about it, all acting is is being paid to cosplay a character for a visual or written media to sell to the masses. This is perfectly socially acceptable. So then, when I want to go to Comic Con and share my love for these characters and the ideas they represent I'm labeled as a freak who needs to get a life? I'd like an explanation for this.
Pardon my following french, but who the hell are you to tell me I can't represent the ideas or characters I want to at any appropriate time I would like to do it with any given individual I would like to do it with? Who the hell are you to tell me I can't do as the paid-the-big-bucks actors in Hollywood do and play a role that is not my own life? Why can't I do what they do? Because I'm not famous? Because I'm not rich? Is it because I'm might not look exactly like the character themselves and would therefore 'ruin' the image of them? Well, who the hell cares?
I don't care what your body type looks like, I don't care what race you are, I don't care what gender you are, I don't care how tall, short, or intelligent you are, if you want to dress up as Naruto or Luffy or Goku or Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or Katniss Everdeen or Tony Stark or anybody in any kind of media that you love with a passion, I would love to see it. In fact, I have a Deviantart under the same pen name that I would love for you to send your pictures of any kind of costume you have. I invite you to send them to me. If it makes you happy, go for it! I want you to be the kind of person you want to be and do the kinds of things that will make you happy.
It brings me endless joy when I see a huge group of people in costume together, and to be honest a little jealous. I myself have not found anyone I could cosplay with. This sometimes dampens my motivation to even dress up or experiment with makeup for a possible costume. At the moment, and for the last 6 months or so, I have not had the funds required to work on any of my projects that I've wanted to do. But the views of the general public towards a shared love by people that I could more than likely call my friends if I ever met you are what make me angry.
This post is to all the people out there of all ages and all genders and all races who are ashamed of their passion for such 'nerdy' and 'freakish' things. I love who you are. I love that I am a part of our own little culture and that we are accepting of the weird and the strange. I love that we could talk about what we love without hesitation. I feel like with each person who shares what they love with each other we grow a little closer. I feel we become friends that are bonded by something strong. To be perfectly honest, I find you guys better friends than the real ones I have at school.
Why should society put down the passion of another if it makes them happy? Every person should dress the way they want to dress (if it is appropriate. Indecent exposure isn't cool.) Nothing makes me happier than a crowd of my fellow nerds and freaks and geeks and dorks together doing what they love most: being themselves.
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