Assignment 2, Part A

Christina Retson

Terryl Atkins

VISA 1500­_02

9 October 2021

Assignment 2, Part A

According to the Oxford English Dictionary cosplay is “the activity of dressing up as a character from a film, book or video game.” Pictured above is Yaya Han, who is a self-taught American cosplayer entertainer who has been cosplaying for 22 year and focuses on costume design (Han). Her love for cosplay started at Anime Expo in 1999 (Han). In an article by Christopher M. Lucas (qtd. In Yamato) “attending conventions and interacting with fellow cosplayers gives people who feel marginalized a common ground on which to relate, giving them a community, a sense of agency within said community, and positive affirmation on the worth of their hobby and of themselves.” To date, Han “has made close to 400 costumes in the genres of anime/manga, comic books, video games, sci-fi and her own original designs” (Han).

In this photo, Han is following the feminist critique, cosplaying a famous Disney character Snow White. According to Hans personal website, Han chose to make this costume for a “Moulin Rouge-style Disney group at Dragoncon” and completed this costume in one month (Han). All major pieces were created by Han including the bodice, skirt, sleeves, hat, collar and butt flounce, but purchased the boots, gloves, hat and wig (Han). The makeup and hair were also created by Han. When this picture was posted the public argued that Han was using an inaccurate ethnicity for her character (Han). Even though Han is Chinese, she loved the design she came up with for Snow White. “Cosplay for me is about wanting to make something, and then making it…Skin tone and ethnicity don’t affect how I choose my costumes” (Han).

Disney cosplaying has become very popular within cosplay culture. Nostalgia that cosplayers encounter watching Disney throughout childhood gives great ambition for Disney cosplayers (Amon 4.2). Disney cosplayers “demonstrate an intense desire to look as aesthetically close to the reference image as possible” (Amon 4.3). Not only do Disney cosplayers want to aesthetically match the character they are portraying, but they also mimic their voices accordingly. [A] cosplayer justifie[s] her character selection by referring to her nostalgia for the character while simultaneously obscuring her own identity in the character’s identity through attributing the identification of the character’s beauty as her own” (Amon 4.2).

In conclusion of Yaya Hans Snow White cosplay, she describes her costume as “highly fashionable and classy.” There are no rules when it comes to cosplaying. You have the freedom to put whatever twist you want on your character by using different themes, costumes, and mannerisms.

Works Cited

Amon, Maria Patrice. “Symposium.” Transformative Works and Cultures, https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/download/565/452?inline=1%3Finline.

Lucas, Christopher M., “”This Isn’t for You, This Is for Me”: Women in Cosplay and Their Experiences Combatting Harassment and Stigma” (2018). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 1145. https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/1145

Han, Yaya. “Yaya Han Portfolio.” Yaya Han, https://www.yayahan.com/Portfolio/SNOW-WHITE.