In the fluorescent yellow lighting of a New York City parking garage, Nolah hurriedly tries to get dressed. She wrestles with her hoop skirt and prepares to put on the red tulle dress, so large it stands on its own. She pants from the heat of the garage, sweat beading down her forehead as she tries to put on her costume as fast as possible. Finally, with some help from a friend, she’s able to get ready. Clothes are on, wig is secured and props are in hand. She heads out of the suffocating beige hallway into the crisp October air of New York City.
Her group now consists of five people frantically speed walking to the convention center, choking on the Manhattan smog until they realize they have to walk several city blocks in a circle to get into the convention. Nolah first presents her activated badge and then walks several blocks a different way to get her vaccine card checked. Luckily all she had to do was follow the giant crowd of people in outrageous costumes representing characters from various movies and TV shows. When Nolah finally circles back to the Javits Center, all that was left was to do was check in with security. She finally begins to get that rush of happiness and joy that she feels when in cosplay.
The word cosplay derives from the words costume and play. Fans of comic book characters, movies or games dress up for conventions, photography and live action role-playing games (LARPS). In the U.S., cosplay originated in the science fiction conventions of the 1930s. Forrest J. Ackerman is believed by many to be the first cosplayer, attending the First World Scientific Fiction convention in 1939 in his futuristic sci-fi costume. The art of cosplay has since boomed in popularity. The popular San Diego Comic Con started in 1970 when they had 100 participants and now the annual attendance exceeds 130,000. News outlets such as the BBC and the Washington Post have started to cover cosplay to explore why this community has become so popular.
After going around in circles of New York smog to get her vaccine card checked and through security Nolah made it to the Javits Center to attend New York Comic Con (NYCC). A rush of adrenaline rushed through her when entering the glass doors of the convention center and seeing thousands of people in every costume imaginable. Nolah Lee, has been cosplaying since 2013 and has competed in costume competitions– for this convention she is cosplaying Lydia Deetz from the movie Beetlejuice in her extravagant red lace wedding dress complete with the iconic bangs and red veil. From the moment she enters the convention hall, Nolah was unable to move more than a few feet without being stopped by someone for a photo. Her costume demands attention when entering a room, drawing people to her even if they didn’t know what she’s supposed to be.
Throughout the convention, Nolah would see a flash out of the corner of her eye alerting her to a camera — a con-goer had sneakily taken a picture without asking permission. Around noon, Nolah sat down with a flourish, spreading the large red skirt, taking off her wig and eating a hot dog, when she noticed someone trying to take a photo of her while her costume was not fully arranged. When you have worked many hours on a costume, you want it to look its absolute best. So when someone uploads a photo online that you were unaware or not prepared for it feels like your privacy has been violated. This lack of consent can be a lot for a cosplayer, especially Nolah, who had to deal with parents shoving their kids in her direction for photos. She felt like a character performer except without the pay.
However, she did enjoy it when she was able to see other cosplayers, people she knew would appreciate the craftsmanship of her costume. Those who recognized and celebrated each other’s work shared statements like “I love your cosplay!”or “Can I get a photo?” and finally “Have a good con!” This was especially apparent when running into other characters in her franchise or people cosplaying the same character. Nolah ran into quite a few people cosplaying Beetlejuice and she took time to speak with every one of them and take photos.
When going through New York Comic Con security, one of the first things you are greeted with is a large black sign reading “Cosplay is not Consent” in red and white letters. These signs made their first appearance at NYCC in 2014 and informed people of the con’s anti-harassment policy. However, they emerged out of a larger movement within the convention world meant to highlight the sexual harassment female cosplayers often face from their fellow attendees. A year after these signs went up, Liz, a cosplayer, had a bad experience when taking a selfie with someone who kissed her and ran away. “That was sort of this horrifying, gross experience and I don’t want that to happen to anybody,” said Liz, who hasn’t faced anything so extreme in recent years but is now more cautious in how much of her body she reveals in her costumes. Still, convention attendants continue to touch cosplayers and take photos without consent.
Nolah once had an uncomfortable experience when she was dressed up as Rey from The Last Jedi. While taking photos in a Boston theatre, she was approached by a man who began walking towards her and cornering her into a wall. “This is just a tiny bit not ok and being in that position leaves a stain and makes me wonder how people still get away with stuff like that,” explains Nolah. “Cosplay is a very niche thing, it’s something that recently has been breaking through the surface.” As it becomes more popular, it also invites more unwanted attention. Nolah said the social media platform TikTok has played a massive part in cosplay becoming more mainstream as with previous social media platforms such as Musically and Vine cosplayers were often harassed and bullied.
Cosplay is a huge undertaking and commitment. “It’s brought me such a sense of community too along with lifelong friends through cosplay which is crazy to say because I’ve never really had a community for such a niche thing.” said Nolah. “I do it for the sense of community, I do it for the experience, as an outlet too. it’s the best feeling in the world, being surrounded by people just like me who put their heart and soul into what they wear brings me joy.” It is also notoriously expensive. “It ranges a lot,” explains Nolah. “The least expensive cosplay has been for me was twenty dollars and the most expensive was over a grand. Every single dollar that has gone into my cosplays is from tip money or selling my older cosplays, I made that money and I budgeted that money over the course of four years.” The time spent making costumes varies as well. “If I make something depending on the scale of the piece from a four hour thing to a hundred hour thing over the course of a month,” says Nolah.
And while the cosplay community can be a great way to meet like-minded people, getting into the community as a newcomer can be difficult. Nolah expressed serious concern for newcomers in cosplay. “Cosplay is extremely elitist,” she says. “Cosplay when I first started out was to pick a character I wanted to go as and spend as little money as possible on it and go on with my day. Now I’m flooding in with hundreds of dollars of my own. It’s a standard and I feel so bad for newcomers who are immediately bombarded with huge wings and massive EVA foam armor.”
As it nears 4:00, Nolah heads to the convention center bathroom. She takes off the large tulle dress first, then the hoopskirt and finally the wig, packing it all away nicely to either wear again or sell in the future. She smiles as she exits the bathroom thinking of all the amazing people she met and how she just can’t wait for the next convention. “Cosplay is for any gender, any identification, any race, any body type, you name it and if someone tells you differently they’re wrong,” said Nolah. “If you’re doing it respectfully, passionately and having fun, then that’s what cosplay is.”
