Chiharu's Creative Corner

"We go by many names, and take many forms. We bring wonder, hope. joy, and dreams. Our powers are greater than you ever imagined. My fellow Guardians, it's our job to protect the children of the world, and so I have called us all here for one reason and one reason only. For as long as they believe in us, we will guard them with our lives." - North

This event was targeted in mid December (20th) for Christmas during the festival of lights at downtown Riverside's Mission Inn. Enjoying the festivities and walking around garnered in cosplay to spread holiday cheer. Of course, there was a ton of children present. Guardians from every angle and aspect; from ROTG (Rise of the Guardians), Guardians of the Galaxy, Sailor Senshi from Sailor Moon, Sentai from Power Rangers, etc.

More than four million dazzling holiday lights, with appearances by Santa Claus, the world’s largest man-made mistletoe measuring 12’ x 8’, horse-drawn carriage rides, freshly fallen snow, an elaborately decorated Christmas tree in the hotel lobby and delectable holiday confections at the original famous Casey’s Cupcakes located at The Inn. The Mission Inn’s Festival of Lights is an annual gift to the community from property Owners Duane and Kelly Roberts who saved the historic landmark from destruction in 1992. The City of Riverside has adopted The Mission Inn’s Festival of Lights as a citywide initiative with a vision of a Dickensian holiday spectacle featuring lights and decorations throughout downtown Riverside, an outdoor ice-skating rink on the Main Street pedestrian mall, holiday vendors and family-friendly entertainment.

"This is going to be... EPIC!" - North


Our group was small, but was enjoyable never the less. Taking a big break from hard work and deadlines and replacing them with fun times. (Thus includes: Casual-Cannibal, Chiharu Dawn, Coolpizza23, Julia J, Killer J, Leroy Jenkins, The Armored Rangers, and Stalker of Nyte.)


A big thanks to John and Julia for going out of their way to purchase gifts and toys to hand out for the children. The children were so happy and their smiles were unforgettable.

This awesome and lively threesome was so great.


Brian stealing the show as spidey.

This question was asked by North AKA Santa Claus to the mischievous Jack Frost in Rise of the Guardians. According to North, a person’s center is what makes them eligible as a guardian of children. He demonstrates to Jack what his own center is. He grabs a Matryoshka (nesting) doll and Jack opens it to reveal all the different facets that make up the man, North.

In the last tiny doll, we see a tiny baby with huge blue eyes. This, according to North, is Wonder. "Big eyes, very big, because they are full of wonder. That is my center. It's what I was born with, eyes that have only seen the wonder in everything! Eyes that see lights in the trees and magic in the air. This wonder is what I put into the world, and what I protect in children. It is what makes me a guardian. It is my center, what is yours?" 




Throughout the movie we watch as Jack discovers himself. He starts out as a mischievous winter spirit who thinks a snow day is the best thing ever, and is jealous that children believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy — even the evil Boogie Man — but not in him. They look and walk right through him; he's invisible to them because they don't believe let alone know that he even exists.

His journey is to find out who he is. Through a memory of his tooth box, he then realizes he was a human boy once. He loved his family, particularly his little sister. One day when they were skating on the ice, they hit a thin patch that began to crack and crumble under her feet. She was petrified with fear. Jack encouraged his sister by telling her that getting off the ice would be just like playing hop scotch. This helped her to move and he was able to reach out with the long branch he’d been playing with and flung her to safety. However, his selfless act put him in danger and he fell through the ice.

Fast-forward through the rest of the movie where Pitch, the Boogie Man, is turning all the children’s dreams into nightmares and snuffing out their belief in the guardians. We come to the scene where it finally dawns on Jack what his center is. Pitch has him, the guardians, and Jamie, the last boy on earth to believe in the guardians, boxed into a dark alley way. As Pitch advances to finish off his mission, Jack assures Jamie that everything was going be okay. Then he remembers how he had used a game for his sister to save her from falling through the ice. He creates a snowball in the clutch of his hand and threw it in Pitch’s face mid-threat. This shocked Pitch and made everyone start to laugh. Jack knew now that he is the guardian of Fun. He rallied the other children and they defeat Pitch with a good, old-fashioned snowball fight. Even the Boogie Man is no match for a child intent on having fun.



How can we find the center of our characters? If you search out the center, you will find who they are at the core of their very being, and this in turn will help them discover what their own strengths are. You might argue that Jack’s center is heroism, but all of the guardians have that — yet each one has their own unique center.

The center of a character’s being can help you determine who they are. This their essence. To determine their essence, you must also determine their identity. "How can I know who I am... until I find out who I was?"

Jack’s identity is his mischievousness. He’s been having "fun" for three hundred years, often at other’s expense. This is what he uses to protect his true essence.

In the end, we see Jack’s essence is his ability to protect the children by removing their fears through fun and games. This is who Jack Frost is. The guardian of Fun. Once he embraces his true center, the children can see him now, and he is no longer alone.




"You are something else altogether! Your center is Imagination! This is a result that is very rare and difficult to have because it's a balance of all the other centers: Fun, Memories, Wonder, Hope, and Dreams. You can't have Imagination without these combined! Full of life, laughter, and ideas! You love nothing more than a good laugh, adventure, and games. You are strange and mysterious. No matter what, in light or darkness, you tend to see beauty in everything, and you believe it's the little things that matter. You're very loyal to those important to you and you're often looked to for given wisdom, strength and advice.  Others don't always understand you or your motives, but in the end, you are usually right. You're calm, relaxed, fun-loving, and kind at heart, but when you're fighting for something, you're always determined for a cause. While others may back down, or be afraid, you stand firm and strong until the battle is won. You defend the imaginations of children. 

This was my first actual private photo shoot in a set up studio for early December scheduled with Pika Inc. Photography. Since I had just gotten my hair cut from the last update I posted on Facebook asking: "What anime/cartoon hairstyle would you like to see from me? Short girl styles please! Post a photo of an anime or cartoon character in the comments below that you think I could possibly pull off. I'll cut my hair to the most popular vote." The most popular or should I say top comment was an image of Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran High School Host Club. I later posted a before and after photo with the character representation comparison. I thought it'd be a great idea to get in some Christmas themed cosplays rolling in because I never got a chance to do them last year when I first created my artist's page.


After the hour long session was completed was able to take a sample photo of a shot taken from the shoot and post it to my social media pages as a small preview.


After that day, I never realized that a photo shoot could be so exhausting. I was extremely tired, sort of dizzy, my head was pounding, and my eyes reacted to the street lights awkwardly that evening even though I had my glasses on.

I'm sharing my opinions and also giving objective reasons why I feel cosplayers should be paid if they are invited or recruited to 'work' for an organisation/club/any form of media. The 'work' discussed here can be defined as menial tasks such as giving out flyers, being a party entertainment, or appearing on any form of media for interviews or as background decorations. In case you haven't sensed my drift. I'm all for it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against commercialism, I’m just against exploitation. I believe labor should be paid regardless of who the individual is. Unless of course, if it's for a charitable cause.

Making costumes is expensive.
It's not hard to see how those elaborate costumes with yards of cloth can cost a lot. A lot of people will justify not paying the cosplayers by assuming that since the costume is already made, it doesn't make any difference to them. No extra cost is induced thus the cosplayers have no right to be paid. Following this theory, does it mean if you own a car and paid up all the installments, you should just lend it to someone (you don't personally know) for free? Cosplayers purchased their costumes with either cold hard cash or through their manual labor. To deprive someone else the rewards of their hard work is unreasonable. Especially if you're earning through them.

Cleaning costumes is expensive/troublesome.
It's easy to understand that costumes don't come easy, but few understand that these special costumes require maintenance too. Some costumes require dry cleaning while others need to be hand washed. Regardless of the way it will be cleaned, we can all agree that every wear will contribute to the “withering” lifespan of a costume. And if the work requires entertaining a crowd or walking near slippery mud. There's a fair chance some nasty strangers will help soil it. While some can argue that the diminishing of a costume is inevitable, oxygen and dust alone can help break it down. Please bear in mind that cosplayers wear their costumes to have fun and fulfill their own desires. Why should they risk their costumes to promote you?

Wearing a costume is exhausting and time consuming.
While I agree, not all costumes are uncomfortable, but I'm sure most seasoned cosplayers will agree with me that no cosplay is ever really comfortable. Even if it's not the bulky armor or heavy sword, it's the skimpy bust line. Even if it's not the 4 inch killer heels, it's the winter boots in tropical climate. Even if it's not the heavy hair piece, it's the skull constricting wig net. Even if it's not the spiky accessories, it's the dropping ribbon on your thigh. I don't know about you, but it takes me an average of two to three hours to get everything on and makeup done. Those few hours are always a panicky and stressful period for me.

Each of us is given twenty-four hours per day and the recommended sleeping hour is eight hours. Three divided by sixteen (24 - 8) hours in a day is more than sixteen percent of your entire day. Below is an estimation of the time a cosplayer would need to dedicate.

0.5 hour – Packing, prepping, and ironing a costume
1 hour - Transport time to and fro
2.5 hours - Prep time
2 hours - Work time

A whooping total of six hours! Effectively, that is half a work day and thirty-five percent of waking time. After the cosplay, more time wasted on cleaning the costumes. Why should anyone go through the hassle of dressing up to fulfill the desire of an organisation they don't personally know? Would you exchange six hours of your time for someone you don't know?

Time is money.
Time is precious. People always tend to undermine the importance of something they can't see, but really, if there's one thing you should cherish in life, then that's time. Time is an appreciating asset that grows more and more important as you realize you have lesser and lesser of it. The cruel fact is, everyone was born to die. When the ending is the same for everyone, the only difference comes in the way you live it. Time, unfortunately is something a lot of people assume cosplayers have a lot of. Henceforth, cheap. Many people assume all cosplayers are teeny students. Which is not entirely wrong because the majority of the cosplayers demographics are students, but as the hobby progresses and mature, many of the teenagers have now become young adults with a job. Even if they really are students, their time is better spent revising their textbooks.

I've mentioned many times on different accounts that maintaining this blog, social media pages, and my own cosplays has been very challenging. Writing this entry alone has taken me a few days to complete because I usually have spare time to blog only a few hours. I'm not extremely busy, but I'm not exactly keen to volunteer my time to insincere individuals/organisations either. I don’t know how to put my honest opinion across more politely but no, I’m not interested in helping out in your event and "promote cosplay to the public" for free. That said, if both parties can come to an agreement that benefits both sides then all is great. I don’t know how a cosplayer can benefit from a commercial organizer in any ways other than cash and products, but you get my drift.

Someone is earning through you.
Probably the one most important and teeth grinding point. The event/TV station/media parties are paid big bucks to create entertaining content. Depending on the time slot and channel, a single thirty second advertisement can easily cost more than six digits! Event organizers are paid by their clients to make sure everything for the event runs smoothly and there is sufficient attention on it. To put it simply, event organizing companies are also paid to create hype for the event. If their content includes and some times that hype is you, shouldn’t you get some sort of compensation for your involvement?

....Or anyone outside of the active community (Photographers, avid Animanga fans, etc) for that matter because they always ask me questions that I find difficult to answer and I always find myself unable to justify and uphold the hobby.

Am I the only one that gets mildly irked when asked, "Why do you cosplay?" from normies? People who don't interact in the cosplay community. I understand that they're curious but, I've explained it so many times that I'm pretty much sick of it. It's not like they'll really get it. Then I get asked what characters, like they'll know exactly who or what I'm talking about. If I don't tell them, they get offended. Why do you want to know if you have no interest in art, anime, or games to begin with? Because that's where most, if not all my characters are chosen or originate from. I don't think cosplay needs to be explained for them to take interest? I just started doing it on my own. Having to repeat myself over and over is a problem. Simply saying it's a hobby I enjoy isn't enough anymore? And for the main reason I get annoyed is because when I do explain, they respond with, "I don't get it, you're just weird". Okay thanks for wasting my time.

Person: What do you do when you cosplay?

Me: I go to the nearest conventions, events, and gatherings and take photos with the occasional RP.

Person: Oh, I see. What do you guys do when you attend events?

Me: We mingle with other fans, attend panels, watch the stage activities, and take pictures.

And it's not like they are even trying to bring the hobby down, they were just being inquisitive! Double fun is how everyone always asks the same questions. I guess they really don't have a clue, huh? Strangely, no matter how much I enjoy the hobby, every fun factor in the hobby suddenly pales and withers when a non-Animanga fan queries about it.

I mean, taking pictures is fun to me, but explaining that to someone else never fails to put a rock in my throat. I think I need some help in coming up with some intelligent answers. The next dreadful comment would be this: “Oh, I think the Japanese cosplayers are awesome, but Caucasian ones are far from it”. Seriously, sometimes I wonder what's the purpose of telling me that. Were they expecting me to bow in agreement and do a cheers hug with them? Are they trying to prove that they know something about this hobby. Or are they trying to imply I won't ever be as good as my Japanese counterpart?

Person: So you cosplay?

Me: Yes.

Person: I've seen some really awesome Japanese cosplayers, they really look like the characters! But the ones in the States can't really match up.

Me: I can't say that I agree. There are actually a lot of really good cosplays from people here.

Person: But the Japanese ones are REALLY good! The ones I've seen are astounding!

Me: Ummm okay, personally I really admire Western cosplayers.

Person: Hahaha, the Caucasian ones are, I'm sorry to say, far from good.

Me: Actually there are a lot of talented Caucasian cosplayers. Have you seen some of their costumes? 

Person: Well, maybe they win by their costume, but appearances is another thing.

Me: That's where you're wrong! If a Westerner can do a good job on their costume as well as be of the right physique, they'll look even closer to the characters!

Person: Hmmm, but I still think the Japanese are better. If you've seen the pictures I've seen.

Me: Of course I'm sure. I've seen a lot of very amazing Japanese cosplays, but I don't claim them to be the best.

Person: I still think they are the best. I think it's a personal preference thing.

My point is, can we STOP generalizing!? Yes, there are some very good Asian cosplayers and some not so great Western cosplayers, but who's to say a specific race is better than another when the hobby itself is so varied in presentation? The same cosplayer can be awesome as Character X, but fail desperately as Character Y. There is no such thing as a "1-person-fits-all" nor a “1-race-fits-all”!

I have nothing against Japanese cosplayers and yes, a lot of them are really awesome. I definitely wouldn't reign them as my personal throne master. It could be due to the fact that my language obstacle has stopped me from seeing more of their cosplays. From my admittedly skewed and shallow perspective, I find their cosplays too made-up and lacking in variety. Then again, I guess I don’t see enough of it as a whole to judge. I guess I should schedule a trip to Japan soon, huh? Yet, why is someone who has never cosplayed before giving me his/her critics and comments and expecting me to take it?

What I dislike most is the jab in the back by a supposed "outsider" implying I should know less than them! Every time one of them tells me: "If only you've seen the pictures I've seen." I pulled a muscle restraining myself from retorting: "What makes you think I've seen any lesser than you?". That’s a lot of anger and bitching going on above. I hope nobody takes what I say personally. As usual, I’m not being vindictive nor am I discriminating anyone/any race. My objective here is to share my observation of the reaction from non-cosplayers and start a discussion with like-minded cosplayers or at least people in this community. Am I the only one who gets responses like these when someone finds out you cosplay?

Before anyone jumps into any conclusion, I'm not hating on non-cosplayers for being curious and I'm definitely not hating on cosplay itself. If I was, I wouldn’t be doing it and even going as far as having social media pages about cosplay. The point of this entry is to share my very truthful experience and anxiety as a cosplayer who's also very much human. I know not everyone has the same experiences as me and I understand experience is what the individual makes of it. I also admit I haven’t been superbly confident and I’m still learning the ropes of living gracefully.

Ironically, this entry is simply put out here for non-cosplayers to get an insight into what a cosplayer really thinks when they ask questions like “What characters do you cosplay?”, “What is your most successful cosplay?”, “Why didn’t you choose a sexier costume?”. This is to remind everyone, cosplayers and non-cosplayers alike, that we're all just PEOPLE not a category of something based on our hobby of choice.

I just want to focus on talking about cosplay because that's what this blog is clearly about. It seems like some feel that it can be a problem in my life. Not because of the hobby itself, but the fact that the hobby itself takes up too much time and effort that otherwise would have been better used elsewhere. Some times I look back and wonder to myself , if I never found cosplay would I have become a more accomplished individual? Would I have spent my time on something more worthwhile that can better help the society or elevate my social standing? While we can go on to debate that this is an outcome nobody can predict henceforth theoretically incorrect to discuss for there is no basis for comparison... What I mean to say is sometimes I have these "What if's " in me too.

Since Halloween is nearing quickly, I had this idea of a Halloween themed Majo Lolita coord that I wanted to try with the elements of kawaii and kowai, cute and creepy.

When magic and sorcery exist, a beautiful girl named Onyxia Winterrose, born into a line of witches with natural magic, a pure heart with an affinity of the elemental air and prone towards healing spells, has been jinxed with the curse of the black rose by her one true enemy. One day she's encountered with tainted black magic disguised as a single plucked black rose, the thorns shrouded in a brewed tonic from one witch to another that sets a deadly curse upon her to where her healing and protection spells are countered and utterly useless. The curse of the black rose is no joke. It means that a special, single black rose is given to a specific person. Then when the black rose withers and dies the ill-fated person's soul dies as well. The one cure to rid the curse, the moon stone. The moon stone is a powerful source that can cure anything, but the closest moon stone is found in one of the most dangerous places in the world and it only comes out every five hundred years. As the darkness speaks to her, it says that a witch's true power comes alive when she abandons all human feelings. It slowly seeps into her, corrupting her the from outside in, wanting to completely devour her soul and take over her body as a host.

The main tint of the entire outfit is white with accents of black and shades of grey. Her features fair like that of a porcelain doll. The right side of her face has a large sort of toothy almost Cheshire cat looking grin, round her eye is immensely bruised and severely scarred with inky shadows, and her pupil red while the right side is left alone.


The top is actually two nightclub dresses overlapping one another. The inside is a sequin cut-out light grey with a sheer arm from Cynde's Femme and a sparkly ivory white from Forever 21. The petticoat and skirt I made myself, the progress you can see here: LINK. Around my midsection are two belts overlapping; a light grey and a black both from Inpire. Covering my legs are two pairs of stockings overlapping; a pair of bold grey from Walmart and black fishnets from the Vampire Freaks online store. The boots are from a store in the Galleria Mall called Love Culture. The silver star pendant necklace is from Spencer's. The Wig is from Dolluxe in the Cosplay Wigs USA section. The witch hat, I bought last year from Claire's and applied some rose clip additions that I got at my local Rite Aid. The potion flask (It had liquid in it. Really it did. A special blend of Vodka from a good friend of mine.) and black rose bouquet were my props that came from Micheal's Arts & Crafts and Hot Topic. Makeup was done by yours truly that was inspired by this here video: , but the weather was warmer than expected and I could feel all that work slowly melting off my face. I have to admit that did screw up some places due to not being able to see without my glasses because I'm blind as a bat, but oh well. The photography work was done by my awesome boyfriend and edits to this photo were made by me. The location of this shoot was performed at Fairmount Park: Carousel Playground.

Many people and some cosplay newbies mistake wealth, fame, and glory as the main point of cosplaying. They see certain cosplayers who are often very popular with the crowd as the ideals in cosplaying and assume that the cosplayer is a "professional" due to the huge numbered stats of their social media followers, the costumes that they wear are very well-made, and are sometimes if not all awarded large sums of cash and material prizes for their efforts. But this is a potentially disastrous assumption to make in the enjoyment of a hobby such as cosplay.

Cosplaying is paying tribute to your favorite character/design concept/idea by dressing up and acting out this character as accurately as possible. Some cosplayers are quite devoted to this idea that they take great lengths to produce the best cosplay of their chosen character. They may employ their own knowledge or hire professionals to help them make their cosplay come true. These fan-made efforts are sometimes so well done that the untrained eye may mistake the effort as something done on the professional level akin to Hollywood or theatrical levels in dressing and acting. But in the case of cosplayers, this really isn’t the point, because they were just doing their best to give tribute to their favorite character.


Are there really these so called "professional cosplayers"? I don’t know about you, but I raised my eyebrows when the media started labeling very popular cosplayers with that term a few years ago. Something just doesn’t sit right. Might be the whole fandom versus commercialism thing that strikes me as queer.

Dictionary.com defines a "Professional" as below:

pro·fes·sion·al (adjective)

1. Following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder.

2. Of, pertaining to, or connected with a profession: professional studies.

3. Appropriate to a profession: professional objectivity.

4. Engaged in one of the learned professions: A lawyer is a professional person.

5. Following as a business an occupation ordinarily engaged in as a pastime: a professional golfer.

 As described above by the term, a professional cosplayer should be someone whose livelihood is wholly sustained by cosplay from a legitimate degree from pertaining experience or studies. Or at least, it should be a medium for them to gain substantial financial/material benefits from. Make sense? By strict definition, it's pretty impossible to have a professional cosplayer. By strict definition, a professional cosplayer would have to be someone who is paid to cosplay. Somewhat like a professional actor who is paid to act.

If you want to earn while doing something cosplay related there are ways:

Professional Costume Maker and Props Maker

• Aside from clients who are cosplayers, there are commercial production groups who are in need of clothes and costumes for their actors and models for theater, TV commercials, TV shows and etc. 

Professional Hair/Wig Stylist and Make-up Artist

• There are many characters who require extensive facial or prosthetic make-up and the make-up skills you honed in cosplay are going to be really useful in related occupations.

Cosplay Model

• But mostly if you’re appropriate enough for the particular role.

Cosplay Mascot

• There are many companies who need people who can wear full-body costumes while being able to dance and/or act and not every standard actor can accomplish such a feature.

Professional Photographer/Videographer

• If you began as a hobbyist you may expand your skills in photography by taking shots of cosplayers! Take it a step further by practicing portraiture, fashion and event photography, videography, or even journalism.

Cosplay-related Events

• If you have a background in public relations, marketing and other related roles and if you have enough manpower and resources to assemble a quality event which people (cosplayers, enthusiasts, and the curious) will annually attend.

Yes, you might argue that Ivy Doomkitty, Jessica Nigri, Liz Katz, Nicole Marie Jean, and Yaya Han are doing it. They're all models that make their own costumes with a history of convention attendance before being paid. If you allow me to comment objectively, I'd say they're earning their bread not directly from cosplay itself, but from their merchandise and presence. And this is the part that gets grey. Even though the above mentioned cosplayers don't get their money from doing the hobby itself, it's definitely their jumping board, trademark, and selling point. So, that makes it hard to separate both entities. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to shoot the above mentioned cosplayers down, I admire them and think they are all awesome in different ways. I'm just analysing objectively. So begs the question, is the term "professional cosplayers" valid?

There are many talents and skills involved to make a successful cosplay. Some of the basics are honed through practice, some are learned in school or in apprenticeships, and higher education. If one were so inclined, and when you’ve learned and experienced enough to be confident in your skills you may be able pursue a career which is related to cosplaying. Remember there is no single educational course to take for it and it isn’t necessary that one stops being a cosplayer when one takes up a professional career. But there's just no such thing as a "professional cosplayer", only professionals who are involved in cosplaying.

When I post photos on my social media pages (Deviant Art, Facebook, Twitter, and Vampire Freaks) from my recent shoots or cosplays I've done in the past, people are mostly cool and respectful, because they know that the sharpness of my tongue is quite legendary and they had best not mess. While the majority of the comments are tame or rather expected, I see a lot of ignorance seeping out of the woodwork. It occurred to me just how many assumptions people make about cosplayers, and just how incredibly incorrect they are. I’m going to address a few of those. Here's five big ones that I'd like to cover.


Assumption #1: "Cosplayers want to be hit on, ogled, or fetishized. Otherwise, why would they wear what they do!?"

This attitude is so prevalent, even among other cosplayers. This is slut-shaming at its finest. The assumption that someone is “asking for it” by dressing a certain way. If you've somehow managed to exist on Deviant Art, Facebook, Twitter, Vampire Freaks, the internet, and the planet in general without being aware that this attitude is considered wrong. Allow me to direct you to some important information on the subject. The bottom line: No one is ever “asking” to be abused, harassed, hit on, fetishized, or otherwise treated as a sexual object. With the exception of the person in question actually walking up to you and saying: "Please sexually harass me. You can touch my boobs. Grope me all you want. Do you want to take souvenir pictures of my ass?" It's never okay to assume that they want any kind of sexual attention from you, or anyone. Period.

And sure, there are plenty of male characters who wear nothing but a pair of briefs. But somehow, it’s not considered slutty or attention-seeking for guys to dress like that. They’re not “asking” to be sexually harassed just for having a body that they were born with and allowing it to be visible.

Well, I could continue on about this topic for ages, but that’s not what this entire piece is about. Let’s move on to the next assumption.


Assumption #2: “You guys have no lives. Get a job or something, and stop spending all of your time on this.”

For some odd reason, people seem to think that all cosplayers are useless leeches who mooch off of their parents, guardians, or relatives and don’t have jobs, school, or anything “better” to do with their time than dress up like their favorite heroines, superheroes, villains, or characters in general.

How do you think we support this hobby of ours? Of course we have jobs. We're adults with responsibilities just like anyone else, and we have no more spare time than anyone else. We just choose to spend it differently. Instead of spending our time and money at the bar or a nightclub, we work on costumes (or sometimes, work on costumes and then go to the bar or club as a reward). Everyone has some type of hobby that they enjoy. This is ours. So no, we don’t have “too much” time on our hands. Most of us would argue that we don’t have nearly enough.


Assumption #3: "So, this is like, a sexual thing? Like a fetish? You guys are kind of like furries, right?"

No disrespect to the furry community here, but people often associate their community with intense sexual undertones (or overtones…or tones in general). And for some people within the community, that’s certainly the case. For some people in the cosplay community, that’s probably true as well, but only a very small percentage of cosplayers do it for sexual reasons. If you ask the vast majority of cosplayers if they’ve ever had sex in their costumes, their answer is going to be “Hell no! I spent way too much time and money on that to risk it getting torn or stained!” People cosplay for a multitude of reasons, but it’s very rare because they’re turned on by the idea of strutting around for hours in a skin-tight, sweaty, pleather or spandex onesie. While superhero and villain costumes are frequently sexy, and yes, nerds do have sex, it’s generally not the prime motivator for cosplay, and it’s almost never an actual fetish. Most people don’t even know the real definition of fetish.

Basically, this analogy sums it up: There are people who are turned on by the sight of a woman’s feet in heels, but not every woman who wears heels is doing so because she’s turned on by it or wants to attract those kinds of people. Some people just like wearing heels. Same goes for cosplay. Yes, cosplay porn exists. No, Anime Expo, Comic Con, etc isn't one giant four-day orgy. Moving on.


Assumption #4: “You have to be in perfect shape or a super hottie in order to cosplay. I’m too short/tall/skinny/fat/ugly/old/etc.”

The short answer to this question: No... just no.

The long answer: There are people of every age, gender, nationality, religion, size, shape, thereupon who cosplay. Literally anyone can do it. Never ever let your gender, race, or weight stop you from cosplaying. Never let anyone tell you that cosplay is about looking good or being exactly what the anime had in mind. If you want to do a head-canon version of a character, do it and have fun. That's what it's all about.

It legitimately does not matter at all. Can it be nerve-wrecking getting suited up for the first time, worrying that people are going to judge you? Absolutely. But if anyone tries to give you shit, kindly direct them to me, and I will give them a piece of my mind. It won’t be a good piece. After you take the first plunge, you’ll be surprised how much fun you have, and how little anyone else cares about what you perceive as imperfections or flaws.


Assumption #5: “Cosplayers are judgemental bitches. If you're not pretty enough, popular, or your costume isn’t up to par with their view or standards, you’ll be shunned. It’s just like high school.”

I can’t begin to tell you how misleading this is. I've met some of my absolute best friends through this hobby and have gained a second family seems like.

This community is awesome. Yes, it has crappy moments. There are assholes, elitists, and sexist douche bags. But for every jerk being a dick, there are plenty of people waiting to take you into their fold, make you feel comfortable, and at home. Don’t focus on the negativity, focus on the positives. We're all nerds here. We all know what it’s like to feel shunned and alone, to be awkward and uncomfortable in your own skin. Cosplay is about getting past all of that. If you’re hesitant or nervous about trying it, don’t be. Just take that step forward and jump right in. Trust me, the first time someone asks for a picture, wants a hug, or squeals and fangirls/fanboys over your costume because they love the character and see you as a hero in their eyes, you’ll realize what you've been missing.

As someone who's always been a geek, usually in the process of varying degrees of hiding my nerdiness, the cosplay scene was like a dream come true. I’ve never been involved in a more openly, less judgmental activity. It was a way to express your enjoyment of a certain thing and enjoy it along with others. The accuracy, complexity, or creativity of the costume was paramount. I remember examining the craftsmanship on one woman’s costume as she proudly told me she learned metalworking in order to create it.

Then... it became popular. Mainstream culture moved in, and what happened to cosplay when mainstream culture moved in is what happens to everything when mainstream culture moves in. The values change. The culture changes. The mainstream dynamic of “popular kids front and center, nerds to the margins” came roaring in. Cosplay went from an all-skate to Superhero Suicide Girls in no time flat.

Long-term cosplayers who voice concerns about the costuming and the fandom aspects taking a firm backseat to the hotness of the girl in the costume are told, repeatedly, that they’re “just jealous” because they aren’t as pretty as popular cosplayers, or are called “haters", as if expressing dismay at being pushed to the margins of your own hobby is somehow being unfair.

Cosplay is now dominated by models and women striving to look like models, who sell seductive pictures of themselves posing in sexy costumes. Y'know, there’s nothing wrong with that. My issue isn’t what they do – it’s what we lost when cosplay changed. Cosplay, once a way of expressing fandom with other fans, has become another area of our culture where we privilege the concepts of celebrity, oppressive beauty standards, and the modification of both over everything else.

Women who are young and beautiful and, to a much lesser extent, men who are young and handsome are the “popular kids”. They’re minor celebrities with Facebook fan pages, press attention, and now, web series, films, and video games devoted to them. Their popularity is based on their physical attractiveness. Cosplayers who don't conform to traditional beauty standards are publicly shamed, occupying the same position of “marginalized outsider” we occupied throughout our lives everywhere but the con scene, our little oasis. That was our one place to belong until mainstream culture invaded the cosplay scene and shoved us back to the margins, back to where the “not good enough” are always shoved.

I’m not implying that cosplay celebrities aren’t nerds or fans. Of course they are. Apart from the obvious – that everyone's suddenly a nerd in this cultural moment which I never thought I’d see the day. I absolutely believe that these women are true fans of the work they represent. I absolutely believe that most of them have no intention of marginalizing others. I see some cosplay celebrities regularly championing body acceptance and cosplayer diversity, shutting people down for shaming other cosplayers, and encouraging people of all types to get their nerd on.

I don't blame the cosplayers nor do I expect or even want them to stop doing what they’re doing. I’m so committed to not blaming the cosplayers themselves that I refuse to post any pictures of them along with this article, because I don’t want anyone to feel implicated or blamed. Cosplay celebrities are not, however, in control of the culture at large and even the most vocal supporter of nonconforming cosplayers has little power to change mainstream culture as a whole.

The problem isn’t cosplay celebrities themselves, it’s the way mainstream culture requires our celebrities, especially the women, to conform to oppressive beauty standards, the way we com modify women’s bodies, and the way we divide women into categories of “acceptable” and “unacceptable.”

Conforming to traditional beauty standards is the basic entrance fee to celebrity. Our culture demands that women who participate in the kinds of activities that might make one a celebrity conform to these beauty standards or receive a barrage of shaming. Actors, politicians, singers... and now cosplayers. Where once upon a time a cosplayer could be anyone with a costume and a lanyard, the rise of cosplay celebrity has brought with it our culture’s oppressive normality for female and often male bodies in display-related activities and that extends to body size, body type, gender identity, age, and race. Before this change, the display was from fan to fan, largely unseen in the mainstream community. Now it’s celebrity to admirers or perceived as aspirations, bringing with it all the cultural restrictions on who is allowed to occupy that celebrity space and who is not. Mainstream culture demands that we know our assigned places and stick to them or the shaming is fierce.

The cosplay community was never perfect. Don’t get me wrong; there are douches everywhere. There’s nothing apart from being publicly shamed stopping anyone of any type from slapping on a costume and living the dream. I see cosplayers who don’t conform openly flouting the new oppressive standards, setting up Tumblrs for cosplayers of size and of color, with some cosplay celebrities in full, vocal support. I see resistance from lots of sources and it’s good.

It would be disingenuous in the extreme to assert that there’s been no change in the cosplay community over the past five or so years or that all change has been positive. It would be disingenuous in the extreme to pretend that the mainstream dynamic of “popular kids > marginalized misfits” hasn’t taken over cosplay to at least some degree, particularly in how it’s expressed on the internet and in press coverage, which is, let’s face it, MOST of cosplay now. Cons are only a few days long and not everyone can go to them, so cosplay celebrity lives primarily on websites, fan pages, and the like.

Even as they sit at the top of the heap, is cosplay celebrity nothing but good for these young and beautiful women? Their authenticity is questioned nonstop, as if beauty can't coexist with a love for comics. A young and beautiful cosplayer is inundated with disrespectful attention from the kinds of guys who are at the con primarily to see hot girls in costume – the new phenomenon of cosplay fans. There's always been young and beautiful nerdy cosplayers and there always will be, but they haven’t always been forced into a cosplay situation that values their beauty far more than their craftmanship, or that forces them into competitions they never sought over “who’s the hottest Poison Ivy” or “which Slave Leia is sexier?”

I don’t have a solution. I don’t think one exists apart from the obvious: keep resisting and keep the conversation going. I think cosplay will slowly become more accepting of cosplayers whose size, age, gender identity, or race currently marginalize them, but only if we choose to carve a place for acceptance of difference in a space where acceptance of difference used to be the norm. I honestly don’t know if that'll make it easier or more difficult. Maybe the change will come when mainstream culture gets bored with us and tosses us back onto the scrap heap.

This was my first time ever hosting a Lolita and Oji (Gentleman) gathering with my good friend and fellow cosplayer, Killer J. This event took place the weekend after Anime Expo at Fairmount Park: Carousel Playground. A little therapy for the post-con blues. We would absolutely love to plan another one and we're more than happy to see this as a frequent thing for us. Not only was our cosplay community involved, but we happened to get some interested beginner Lolita to attend. Everyone was able to get a little photo session by by good cosplay friend and photographer, Belgain Du'Ran and Yume Photography.

We provided green tea or matcha the Japanese term, mini turkey/ham/P.B.&J sandwiches, and sweets that included Marshmallow macaroons, chocolate sandwich cookies, home-made chocolate with a hint of mint, Oreo cupcakes, and chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes. These delights all were pitched in by everyone who attended.

This is the beautiful Cherry Blossom and her lovely Sweet Kyandi (candy) Lolita cord. She's wearing is a hell bunny pin up and petticoat from Pin Up BOOtique located at the Ontario Mill's Mall, Southern California. Her accessories are a scrumptious lollipop necklace and earings that are from Claire's. Her kyandi parasol is from a Gothic shop located out in Redlands, California, the name is unknown. That cute macaroon pillow she's holding is from an online shop called Squishables.

This is the sharp and handsome, Gabriel. He's wearing a black polyester dress shirt with a pinstripe vest that came from his local thrift shop in Redlands, California as well as his silver clock face handle black cane. His tie was a gift. His black slacks and dress shoes with buckles are from Macy's. His Tungsten and skeleton Victorian profile ring came from Lolley Tea Time. His top hat came from Spirit Halloween Store.

This is the wonderful Imelda Shori and her Gothic Lolita cord. She's wearing a black/red dress and bows that she made herself. Her stockings are from a shop in downtown Los Angeles, the name unknown. Her shoes came from her local thrift store and were painted with an overcoat of black. Her pink wig was borrowed from a friend. Her cute and fluffy panda backpack is from one of the seller booths in exhibit hall at Anime Expo located at the Los Angeles convention center. 

This is the amazing Killer J and her Guro or grotesque Lolita cord. She's wearing a white ruffled blouse she bought at her local Goodwill that was stained with fake blood and a navy blue skirt she made herself. Her lace tights are from Forever 21 and her white flats are from Payless. Her parasol once belonged to her father, but was in terrible condition, so she mended it and added the lace and ribbons. She secured a blooded gauze to her eye.

Here is the villainous arch-type, Casual Cannibal. He's wearing a navy dress shirt from Big and Tall with a white blazer over it from Forever 21. His white gloves came from a Halloween super store with black finger less on top from Big 5. His eye patch came from his local 99 cents store. His dress shoes were previously his fathers which were purchased at a store out in Costa Rica, the name unknown.

This is the awesome Syra. She's wearing a 1900's era floral dress, frilly under blouse, with a white petticoat from her local thrift store.  Her white lace gloves are from Claire's and her black choker from Hot Topic. Her black leather belt and white shoes came from her local Goodwill.  Her wig came from a booth in the exhibit hall at Anime expo located at the Los Angeles convention center.  Her contacts are from a store in Los Angeles on Sunset Boulevard, the name unknown and the other at Chicago discount store. Her Japanese parasol was purchased at town festival.