Cosplay-playing with costumes…and gender norms?

Abstract

My objective was to discover why female cosplayers [those who dress up as Japanese anime (cartoon) and manga (comic) characters] cross-dress in cosplay, thus becoming “crossplayers”. I explored the possibility of these crossplayers disliking “feminine” expectations in anime/manga and daily life; and of the anime/manga/cosplay community being a potential arena for the questioning of gender and sexuality norms. My research consisted of literature reviews and field work. Namely, interviews garnered through convenience and snowball sampling, some of whom I approached at major cosplays event. Results show that some respondents did crossplay out of dislike for or protest against feminine roles. However, crossplay was common in the cosplaying community due to the gender ambiguity of males in anime/manga. Moreover, while the community has potential to become an arena for the questioning of gender and sexuality norms, my respondents’ mindsets still mirror that of mainstream Singaporeans.