Celebrate International Cosplay Day with these gays in costume
Cosplay, short for “costume play,” isn’t just about playing dress-up, though, as Frenchy Lunning wrote in last year’s book Cosplay: The Fictional Mode of Existence (via JSTOR Daily):“The goal in cosplay is not to produce and perform a character to take part in a theatrical narrative designed for an audience to view, but for an individual fan subject to embody and identify with an adored character whose persona is real for the fan, actor, and/or creator of the cosplay costume.
The creation of the costume is as much a part of the loving and community-based aspect of fandom as the actual performance. This separates the cosplay costume from its roots in costume history.”Plus, shimmying into a video game character or superhero’s spandex—as may queer cosplayers do—can be a unique thrill for gay males.In a 2018 Salon essay about the gay appeal of superheroes—an excerpt from his book Sense of Wonder: My Life in Comic Fandom – The Whole Story—Bill Schelly pointed out the empowerment fantasies, the semi-erotic imagery, the closeted identifies, and the colorful costumes of such stories.“I used to fantasize about how cool it would be to wear such a getup,” he wrote. “This wasn’t true of me, but I can imagine other gay readers being attracted to the wearing of a superhero costume almost as a form of drag.”And speaking of fantastical getups, here are gay and queer cosplayers strutting their stuff on Twitter…This is a dream come true, I always wanted to do Cosplay, and this Halloween is the perfect occasion ? #namor #halloween #namorcosplay #cosplay #gaycosplay #cosplaygay #namor2022 #namorwakanda #disfraz #halloween2022 #halloweencostume #halloweenlover #namorcosplay pic.twitter.com/uVzrMpppTf“I’m sorry I’m not honest,I can say it.
