There are many definitions that circulate around the internet, social media and in books.  Most of them state that it is the practice of dressing up as a fictional character from any type of media including comics, TV shows and video games.  Whilst typically this is true, cosplay literally means costume play.  It is somebody that plays (potentially a role) whilst in costume.  Liz Ohanesian sums up the definition of cosplay by stating “Cosplay is when people dress up in costumes, frequently based on pop culture characters, for fan events”. Cosplayers most notably attend comic book conventions. and at these conventions is where the cosplay community thrives. This culture has been occurring for a lot longer than one might believe. Cosplay can be traced back to as early as 1939 to the worlds first science fiction convention, which went by the name of ‘World Con’. 

The image above shows Ackerman and Douglas who were dubbed the ‘Adam and Eve’ of cosplay.  In 1939 they both stunned other convention attendees by dressing up in what was considered at the time futuristic costumes from the film ‘Things to Come’ by H.G. Wells. “Morojo (Douglas) and Ackerman shook the newly developing geek culture to its core with those costumes, laying the foundation for a hobby that would become a majorly significant expression of fandom before the 20th century was out” – Jennifer Culp. The term cosplay however, was not coined until 1984 by Japanese writer Nobuyuki Takahashi, after attending ‘World Con’ in 1984.  Cosplay became a celebrated culture, especially in Japan and The U.S.A.  It is the so-called nerds and geeks of this world that are the ones that celebrate cosplay.  Once upon a time it was frowned upon to be cosplayer and society often ridiculed the people who celebrated cosplay.  Even in Japan today Anna Lindwasser claims that “Japanese culture emphasizes community and does not encourage standing out. It may also be because otaku – a Japanese term for anime fans that is considered derogatory – are looked down on by mainstream Japan”

References

Copyright International Costumers Guild, https://www.racked.com/2016/5/9/11451408/cosplay-inventor-morojo-myrtle-r-douglas

Culp, J. (2016), https://www.racked.com/2016/5/9/11451408/cosplay-inventor-morojo-myrtle-r-douglas

Lindwasser, A. (2018), https://www.ranker.com/list/history-of-cosplay/anna-lindwasser

Ohanesian, L. in Chuang, E. (2015), Cosplay in America V2, Optiknerve, Los Angeles