60+ Totally Valid Reasons to Cosplay

Liz, Mia, and Peony

1. You like or relate to the character 
2. You like the character's design or outfit 
3. You like cosplaying in a group with your friends
4. You want to dress up with your friends 
5. You want to dress up at all
6. You like Halloween
7. You like transforming into someone else 
8. You like showing your appreciation for your favorite creator, movie, comic book, TV show, cartoon, anime, manga, etc. 
9. You like attention
10. You like having your photo taken 
11. You like doing photo shoots
12. You like participating in cosplay videos or cosplay music videos
13. You like recreating your favorite images or scenes
14. You like creating character-inspired outfits
15. You like creating crossover cosplays
16. You like cosplaying from fan art
17. You like cosplaying original designs or interpretations
18. You like crossplaying 
19. You like genderbending characters
20. You like having your own unique take on a character
21. You like creating something with your own hands 
22. You like sewing 
23. You like modifying clothing
24. You like painting 
25. You like styling wigs 
26. You like thrifting 
27. You like shopping
28. You like finding hard-to-find items
29. You like makeup
30. You like working with craft foam
31. You like working with new materials 
32. You like trying something new
33. You like making something out of nothing 
34. You like making things that are difficult to make
35. You like a challenge
36. You like making props
37. You like meeting other fans and cosplayers 
38. You like meeting children who think you are the real character
39. You like meeting the creators of the media you like
40. You like making new friends
41. You think cosplaying is fun
42. You enjoy performing and acting like your character
43. You enjoy competing in cosplay competitions
44. You enjoy cosplay walk-ons and skits
45. You enjoy focusing on craftsmanship and making each costume the best it can be
46. You enjoy making something completely accurate to the source material
47. You want to make new friends
48. You want to be part of a community
49. You want to cultivate new skills
50. You want to add new experiences to your life
51. Cosplaying makes you feel sexy 
52. Cosplaying makes you feel confident 
53. Cosplaying makes you feel strong
54. Cosplaying makes you feel cute 
55. Cosplaying makes you feel fierce
56. Cosplaying makes you feel happy
57. Cosplaying makes you feel comfortable with your gender
58. Cosplaying makes you feel comfortable with your body
59. Cosplaying makes you feel comfortable with yourself
60. You want to cosplay

Kimmie, Matt, and Mia

Some of the internal arguing about cosplay has to do with whether or not something "counts" as cosplay, or whether or not someone is cosplaying for the "right" reasons. As you can probably tell from my previous article about being a geek, I think regulating whether or not someone should be in our community is absolutely unnecessary. So I present this incomplete list of every possible reason I could think of that you'd want to cosplay - and they are all valid. This list is definitely not exhaustive - tell me your own reasons for cosplaying in the comments!

If you find yourself criticizing someone's costume, I find it helpful to remember that they may or may not have the same goals as you. Perhaps you are focused on total accuracy so it annoys you that another cosplayer didn't focus on the same details you would, but that doesn't make their cosplay any less valid than yours. Try to think about it from their perspective, and you'll be a lot more open as a cosplayer!

So, I want to know - why do you cosplay?

Click to tweet! 60+ Totally Valid Reasons to Cosplay.

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Mia is one half of SHe's founding team, in charge of social media, blogging management, and guest content wrangling. MBA student concentrating in Digital Marketing by day, geek of all trades by night. Loves dressing up, advocating for self-love, and crying about magical girls. Find Mia? Twitter ★ Facebook ★ Blog