# Cosplay - I don't get it. Can someone please explain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002 "2010-05-02T02:50:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/41 "2010-05-02T18:10:40Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Wow, for the first time in a long time I feel _younger_, or at least more “with it\*,” than someone else. That someone being most of the people on the thread. But that’s only because some of y’all are posting some strangely grumpy / narrow-minded stuff. > > But seriously, since when is “cosplay” restricted to youth? Or for that matter, since when is it a new/current thing? People have been dressing up in _Star Trek_ outfits and going to Renaissance Faires bedecked in doublets and tights for decades. Then there are those incredibly newfangled things called _costume parties_ or _masquerades_. Playing “dress-up” isn’t just a delight for kiddies – it’s a chance to be someone else, to play a role, to look wild or weird or fabulously glamorous or just _different_ from the everyday. > > I don’t have any costumes or anything, and I’m not a participant in this particular hobby, but I used to perform in musicals and plays in my younger years, and can remember the difference in going from regular rehearsals to full-dress rehearsals: suddenly everything felt more real for the character I was playing, whether it was Anna in _The King and I_ in the gorgeous satin ballgown or Anita in _West Side Story_ with a slinky tight-fitting negligee or Lilly/Katherine in _Kiss Me Kate_ with the Shakespearean gown. So much fun! > > So I don’t see what the big deal is. What’s the mystery? What’s wrong with people immersing themselves in whatever fictional universe they love for a couple of nights a month? Is the “omg what freaks!” reaction just due to the particular fans being of _anime_, which I guess for some people here is still considered something new and unfamiliar? (Though it’s hardly new anymore…) > > - and I know is a saying that automatically makes me sound old again! Ah, cool-dom is a fleeting thing! There’s nothing in the least wrong with it. It’s just that many of the posts in this thread have the air of “this thing is super popular and if you don’t participate in it you’re really out of touch.” Until I started reading this thread I never heard of any of it. I’m a geek of sorts – majored in physics, doing computer programming for a living – yet somehow missed the entire Japanophile part of “geek culture”. And I’ve even been to Tokyo several times. ETA: Although I’m a geek, I’m NOT a science fiction or fantasy fan. That probably explains a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/42 "2010-05-02T18:55:37Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > There’s nothing in the least wrong with it. It’s just that many of the posts in this thread have the air of “this thing is super popular and if you don’t participate in it you’re really out of touch.” Until I started reading this thread I never heard of any of it. Yeah, cosplay is definitely not “super popular”. People who have ever dressed up as an anime character must be a minority within the broader group of people who enjoy watching anime, and even that’s kind of a niche group. Although I’ve known people who did cosplay, like I said before they only wore their costumes to fan-related events or costume parties. The only times I’ve ever seen people out on the street in cosplay gear was when a convention was in town. Oddly enough, this happened while I was visiting Munich. I was pretty surprised to see two German girls in anime costumes right outside the Hauptbahnhof! Cosplay may be popular among people who attend fan conventions, but if you’re not one of these people you’re rarely going to encounter it. While living in Japan I don’t believe I ever once saw a cosplayer, not even in the big street fashion areas of Tokyo and Osaka. There must be some out there somewhere, but although I saw Lolitas, [Ganguros](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganguro), and even some '80s style hair metal types, I never saw anyone wearing anything that looked like an anime or video game inspired costume. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/43 "2010-05-02T19:19:50Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > There’s nothing in the least wrong with it. It’s just that many of the posts in this thread have the air of “this thing is super popular and if you don’t participate in it you’re really out of touch.” Until I started reading this thread I never heard of any of it. “Many”? I see **AClockworkMelon** (and those were just jokes… hopefully!) and… that’s it. My own comments were a response to a couple of folks who seemed gobsmacked by the idea. As far as “if you don’t participate in it you’re out of touch,” the funny thing is, I don’t see anyone in the thread who actually participates in it themselves. So apparently we’re all out of touch! ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/44 "2010-05-02T19:25:00Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > It’s threads like these that remind me how old you all are. 😃 And how young some of you are… 🙂 I don’t see cosplay as being a “serious” (meaning significant) part of American culture in the slightest. I dunno 'bout Japan–IME, anime is much more popular there than here. It seems harmless and fun. It’s not my thing (obviously). And as with anything, I’m sure there is that segment who take it waaaaaay too seriously. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/45 "2010-05-02T21:08:27Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I suspect that a lot of us stop being able to follow this reasoning right here at step one. [crazy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfHYSZgSHNU) [who](http://thechive.com/2009/10/02/nfl-football-fanatics-32-photos/) [knew](http://www.shsu.edu/~pin_www/T@S/2006/aug2006up.html) [people](http://www.1053thefan.com/pages/5370004.php) [only](http://www.torontomike.com/2010/03/subbanator_habs_fans_find_new.html) [dressed](http://www.tattopitw.com/sports/sports-fans-you-look-completely-retarded/) up for cosplay … ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/46 "2010-05-02T21:09:30Z")
> [@choie](#): > > “Many”? I see **AClockworkMelon** (and those were just jokes… hopefully!) and… that’s it. My own comments were a response to a couple of folks who seemed gobsmacked by the idea. > > As far as “if you don’t participate in it you’re out of touch,” the funny thing is, I don’t see anyone in the thread who actually participates in it themselves. So apparently we’re all out of touch! [aruvqan.com](http://aruvqan.com) check out my lovely elizabethan gown on the picture page. I make them, by the way … ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/47 "2010-05-02T21:48:09Z")
> [@choie](#): > > But seriously, since when is “cosplay” restricted to youth? Or for that matter, since when is it a new/current thing? People have been dressing up in _Star Trek_ outfits and going to Renaissance Faires bedecked in doublets and tights for decades. Then there are those incredibly newfangled things called _costume parties_ or _masquerades_. Playing “dress-up” isn’t just a delight for kiddies – it’s a chance to be someone else, to play a role, to look wild or weird or fabulously glamorous or just _different_ from the everyday. Yeah, nothing new here. I went to SF conventions when I was an adolescent, did the Rocky Horror thing when I was a teen and hung with safety-pinned punks as a young adult. > [@choie](#): > > Honestly it sounds like fun to me. If I were really into a fandom that lent itself to this type of massive social gathering (unless there are any Jane Austen conventions out there that I don’t know about), I’d be tempted to give it a try. Now that I’d like to see, especially if all the conversations between her characters had to be in her vernacular. > [@suranyi](#): > > I’m a geek of sorts… I know your geekery and share it. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/48 "2010-05-02T21:52:40Z")
There is actually an entire international-level convention devoted to costuming of all kinds, including cosplay - and it’s happening next weekend. [CostumeCon 28](http://www.cc28.org/) General Costume Con history, archives (pictures!) and info on upcoming cons: > **[Welcome to the Costume-Con® Visual Archive - Costume-ConNections](https://www.costume-con.org/)** > > IMPORTANT NEWS: Hotel Reservations are now available for Costume-Con 42 in 2024. For more information, visit: https://costumecon42.org/hyatt-regency-aurora-denver/ Costume-Con 43 in 2025 has a home! CC43 … Info on the International Costumers Guild, including photo archive: [http://www.costume.org/](http://www.costume.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/49 "2010-05-02T22:47:25Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Honestly it sounds like fun to me. If I were really into a fandom that lent itself to this type of massive social gathering (unless there are any Jane Austen conventions out there that I don’t know about), I’d be tempted to give it a try. The various regional chapters of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) host special events like lectures, outings, tea parties, dinners, and dances, and the dances at least do often involve dressing in period costumes. See [Event Calendar » JASNA](http://www.jasna.org/regions/events.html) for more info. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/50 "2010-05-02T23:18:41Z")
Please understand that in starting this thread I wasn’t _mocking_ cosplay. I was trying to understand it, because to me it (or rather, the specifically Japanese elements of it) seems to have significant differences from other similar behaviour like Trekkie conventioneers and Goths. Those differences made it (for me) difficult to get inside the heads of the participants. But thank you all for your observations. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/51 "2010-05-02T23:42:13Z")
I thought this thread was decrying a Coldplay clone… ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/52 "2010-05-03T00:02:05Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Heh. Well, the word is Japanese in origin, as I understand it How are the words “costume play” Japanese in origin? People dress up in costumes and play around=costume play=cosplay. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/53 "2010-05-03T00:16:29Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > [Don’t question cosplay.](http://nerdbastards.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/cammy-sexy-butt.jpg) [Sometimes you have to](http://nerdbastards.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bad_cosplay_5.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/54 "2010-05-03T00:23:28Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Sometimes you have to](http://nerdbastards.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bad_cosplay_5.jpg) Hahaha! ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/55 "2010-05-03T00:37:49Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > [crazy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfHYSZgSHNU) [who](http://thechive.com/2009/10/02/nfl-football-fanatics-32-photos/) [knew](http://www.shsu.edu/~pin_www/T@S/2006/aug2006up.html) [people](http://www.1053thefan.com/pages/5370004.php) [only](http://www.torontomike.com/2010/03/subbanator_habs_fans_find_new.html) [dressed](http://www.tattopitw.com/sports/sports-fans-you-look-completely-retarded/) up for cosplay … I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. I was just saying that a lot of people (myself included) don’t get the whole idea, in general, that dressing up in costumes is itself a fun activity. So, predictably, my response to your pictures is just “Yes, those people, too, I just don’t get.” Not a criticism, I was just registering the bemused puzzlement I’ve always felt towards people who find it natural to think dressing up in a costume is, in and of itself, fun. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/56 "2010-05-03T00:39:20Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > How are the words “costume play” Japanese in origin? People dress up in costumes and play around=costume play=cosplay. “Cosplay” is a word of Japanese origin, which is itself composed of parts of two English words. “Costume” is English in origin, “Play” is as well, but “Cosplay” was first uttered by Japanese people. (Well anyway, so I assume. My point is more to point out that there’s nothing absurd about this as you seemed to think.) ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/57 "2010-05-03T01:17:16Z")
I have to dispute the idea that “Cosplay” covers any time someone dresses up in a costume or fancy dress for any reason at all. It’s always appeared to me to have a more specific connotation than that, usually involving obscure (to the lay person) anime or manga, and hanging around either at conventions or in public largely with the intention of “Being Seen”. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/58 "2010-05-03T04:38:22Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I have to dispute the idea that “Cosplay” covers any time someone dresses up in a costume or fancy dress for any reason at all. It’s always appeared to me to have a more specific connotation than that, usually involving obscure (to the lay person) anime or manga, and hanging around either at conventions or in public largely with the intention of “Being Seen”. You’d be wrong then. Cosplay refers to any kind of science fiction/superhero/video game/anime costuming related to a con. It’s getting dressed up, it amazes me that even after dozens of people have explained that, there are still people coming into this thread saying “I don’t get it”. (Not a comment on you specifically Martini) ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/59 "2010-05-03T05:53:16Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I have to dispute the idea that “Cosplay” covers any time someone dresses up in a costume or fancy dress for any reason at all. It’s always appeared to me to have a more specific connotation than that, **usually involving obscure (to the lay person) anime or manga**, and \*\*hanging around either at conventions \*\*or in public largely with the intention of “Being Seen”. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > You’d be wrong then. Cosplay refers to any kind of **science fiction/superhero/video game/anime costuming related to a con.** > > It’s getting dressed up, it amazes me that even after dozens of people have explained that, there are still people coming into this thread saying “I don’t get it”. Bolding mine. How is he wrong, when you compare what he described to what you described? 'Cause I’m not seeing much distinction there. And a couple people upthread describe much broader definitions than either of yours, requiring none of the genres mentioned, or cons. So we’re clearly not getting a simple answer. Do you really wonder how people get confused? 😃 To be pedantically specific, is any kind of dressing up in a costume cosplay, or is it generally considered to mean costumes from certain sci-fi/anime/videogame genres and/or going to a convention? I dress up in my Doctor costume and go to a sci-fi con; that’s cosplay. If I’m just going to the neighborhood Halloween party, is that still cosplay? Say I wrap myself in toilet paper and call myself a mummy and hand out Halloween candy in my own home; is that cosplay? How about the kid who ties a blanket around his neck and is Superman jumping off the couch? Is there any distinction at all between “engaging in cosplay” and “putting on a costume for whatever reason you want”? That’s the question. And even if you would say there isn’t, are there people who would turn up their nose and say of course there is, it’s more specific than that? THAT’s where the confusion is, not about the fact that it means dressing up or why people would have fun dressing up. Who doesn’t have fun dressing up? (Except for **Frylock** , apparently.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/60 "2010-05-03T06:38:35Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > The various regional chapters of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) host special events like lectures, outings, tea parties, dinners, and dances, and the dances at least do often involve dressing in period costumes. See [Event Calendar » JASNA](http://www.jasna.org/regions/events.html) for more info. There’s also [Dickens Fair](http://www.dickensfair.com/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002.md?page=4)