We Asked Anime Expo Goers if a Character's Gender Matters When Cosplaying
Cosplay is for everyone!
Photo by Carlos Ermac
Over the long, Fourth of July weekend, Anime Expo (the annual fan convention celebrating the art of Japanese animation) took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Downtown LA. Though the 4-day event brought together a massive, diverse, and mixed crowd from all over the world and from all walks of life, all attendees were united in thing: their love of all things anime.
One of the hallmarks of Anime Expo is cosplayers gathering to show off their best and brightest looks, and while walking around the con, we noticed that people were serving up their own unique spins on their favorite beloved classic anime characters. One of the most common ways people put a twist on their cosplay was to gender-swap or gender-bend the characters they were costuming, and that begged the question: does the gender of a character even matter when it comes to who you decide to cosplay as?
So of course we had to ask a bunch of Anime Expo goers what their thoughts were!
Scroll through to read some Anime Expo goers responses! And for more information on Anime Expo, make sure to visit their official website and follow them on Instagram and Twitter. (All photos by Carlos Ermac.)
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"Last year, I did a couple of crossplays with a couple of female characters and I mean, I'm pretty hairy with the beard and so it's just fun to be able to shave and put on makeup and stuff. I think gender fluidity is important, you know, if you love something a lot." —Isaac, @von_raven
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"I wouldn't wear like a dress or a skirt, but I guess I could be like, Nezuko, just the muscular version..."
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"I love gender-bending cosplays. I think it's just a big [eff you] to society and it's also a testament to how community has evolved now where you're not limited to just one thing. You can be different. Make yourself different if you want." —Jordan, @thegirlwithagreatsmile
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"I honestly think if you love the character, and you have such a passion for that character, do it. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to." —Lexi, @pixelbunnie02
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"So far, I've just been picking male-identifying characters that bring out aspects of me already." —JC, @juangnamstyle
"I've done some crossplay in the past. One of my first cosplays was doing Rock Lee because he's just my favorite character of all time. But I haven't revisited him in a while, so it kind of just depends on what character I'm feeling attached to at the time." —Sierra, @sierra_schiano
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"Absolutely not. The gender, none of it matters. Outfits are outfits and a costume is a costume and the essence of a character isn't even what gender they are, I don't think so. I've seen people cross-dressing cosplays and doing feminized masculine versions of different cosplay ever since I first went to cons and it looks great. It works. Nobody bats an eye. In fact, it's creative." —Lorena, @lorenaparkour
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"Not even remotely." —James
"No, I often cosplay males. I rarely cosplay females." —Sammy
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"Absolutely not. Next year, I'm going to be doing a ton of feminine characters. I'm just going to put my own spin on it. I think whoever wants to do whatever they want to do, do it. We have one life. If you're happy with that character, that relates to you, It resonates with you, why not?" —Evee, @eveesugoi
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"Obviously Raven is a female character, but I gender-bend her into a male character to still extrude the fun and the magic and the lore to her. So I think it's awesome to create and be who you want to be." —Angel, @arp905
"Yeah, I love gender-bending characters. I don't think it matters what gender you are, do what you love. Do your favorite characters. Girl or female, male, whatever." —Joseph, @stitchitfelix
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"I like doing male characters. It's what I'm most comfortable with, to be honest." —@brolicpump
On whether or not he'd do a gender-swapped or gender-bending cosplay in the future:
"Honestly, one of my friends offered to make me a Bisky outfit from Hunter x Hunter and I think that would be the one gender bent... Or a little bit of Jujutsu Kaisen spoilers, but Maki post time skip."
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"I don't think so. I mean, you know, people do cross-gender cosplays and some of them look great. Like today we met a Katakuri (from One Piece) who was a girl and it was amazing." —Jason, @bta.simba
"You do you. If you want to cross-dress, that's fine. Your choice, in my opinion." —Ralp, @rc_3__
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"Absolutely not. I love playing male characters. Saiki K. is genuinely one of my favorite cosplays that I do." —Kyla, @kyla.go.me
"I think I'd be open to either. I'm typically more comfortable male characters though." —Syed, @syedabidi_
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"No, not at all. Yesterday we did My Hero Academia. I was Deku, and I gender-bent it, but in the past, I've been Captain Jack Sparrow and I put the little beard and the mustache on. It literally does not matter to me. As long as I like the character, I'm gonna dress up as them." —Anna, @annawiththehorse
"I 100 percent agree. It's whatever you like and whatever you enjoy. Doesn't matter, go for it." —Sara, @ssarabellabee
Photo by Carlos Ermac
"No, I don't think it does. If you enjoy the character, like I enjoy Renji (from Bleach) as a character, I feel like I resonate with him quite well. So if he were to be a female character, I'd do a female character."
@outmagazine #Cosplay or #Crossplay—anything goes at the #animeexpo! #anime
#Cosplay or #Crossplay—anything goes at the #animeexpo! #anime
Check out these cosplayers thoughts in the following TikTok vids...
@outmagazine Gender benders unite! #animeexpo!
Gender benders unite! #animeexpo!
...and make sure to follow Out on TikTok, @outmagazine!
