Introduction
Cosplay first appeared in Japan at the end of the 20th century and proliferated all around the globe. For many fans costume play is self-expression. Those, who are involved in cosplay, create clothes, props, wigs and etc., which help them to recreate the beloved characters. For some people, this activity became a hobby, for others, it is a lifestyle. For decades cosplay evolved into a big community, which involves people of different ages, professions, genders and unites them in their devotion to anime and video games.
Main Body
Ger Tysk represents those for whom cosplay is an object of passion. She enjoys the creative activities related to costume play: prop-making and photo shooting. She spent years recreating weapons for herself and for other people who participate in conventions. In some way, cosplay helped Tysk to reveal her creativity, and to find something she is good at.
For some time Tysk was engaged in the creation of props for other cosplayers. At first, it was just a hobby, but later it became a small business. The pieces, which she made for others, and which were shown in conventions, drew attention and so Tysk’s work got prominent. Small business in the cosplay industry is frequent, but in the countries like Japan, where cosplay is a part of mass culture, companies gain great profits selling goods for anime and video games fans.
The cosplay community develops rapidly and gains popularity, especially among young people. Everyone has different reasons for entering the community. Some fans simply want to express themselves, socialize, and communicate with people of the same interests. Others want to show themselves, to draw attention, or even to become famous. The difference in motivations divides the community members and creates preconceptions, misunderstandings, and conflicts.
Nowadays discrimination and prejudices often take place in the cosplay community. One of the reasons is that most of the anime characters, which fans attempt to recreate, have unnatural features of appearance. Some features are exaggerated. Most of the characters have subtle body structures and are extremely skinny. In cosplay competition, the total resemblance to the character is highly estimated. Those who succeeded in purchasing a look of a standard anime personage become prominent. Those fans whose body isn’t that skinny or whose face doesn’t resemble a cartoon character’s face usually receive bad commentaries. Negative responses often make fans lose motivation and quit their hobby.
Sometimes the incidents of sexual harassment also take place in the cosplay community. Frequently, young women wear garments that expose some parts of their bodies. Though partial nudity is a component of a cosplay look, often it remains misunderstood, and the fact that the main purpose of cosplay is a performance of the art of transformation is avoided. Of course, few people like to expose their nudity and to draw attention but for most of the cosplayers, it is simply a way to try on the character’s form. The incidents of sexual harassment indicate the situation not only in the cosplayer’s community but in society as a whole. Unfortunately, prejudices and propensity to stereotyping always exist.
Conclusion
Despite all dissensions, many anime-lovers continue to become attracted to cosplay every day. The initial meaning of participation in conventions is performance, play, and communication. Though with the attaining of public attention cosplay faced negativity and miscomprehension, for many fans it still remains a great passion and a life-long hobby.