Methodology

For those of us who cosplay, there is a lot to do with performing as the character during the day, trying to stay in character (which can be hard, especially when you're hot, exhausted, hungry or just needing to visit the facilities). If a person asks for a photo with you, you put your game face on.

In the online communities (of which there are many - I myself belong to 5 on Facebook, one of which is my own group), it is often common for people to be known more as their "character" rather then the person themselves. Because I cosplay as Grell from Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler, I am most often known as Grell. When there are people who really know the character, then there will be times were people will start role playing online as their character. Grell is a transgender male shinigami/soul reaper from the Victorian period, so he is very flamboyant and theatrical. He likes to use a lot of puns - he ends his sentences in the word "Death". He also pursues other male characters whether they like it or not. Whenever he leaves, he blows a kiss and says "Bye Bye Kiss". When I act as Grell, I like to use as many of his mannerisms as possible, which involves a lot of research before the event.

I am looking to investigate this more, as a participant observer. Because I am a digital artist, I am going to use a combination of drawing and still photography of cosplayers.

I am looking primarily at the text "Re-Animating Space" from this class. I have also found a text by another cosplayer Nicole Lamerichs "Stranger than Fiction: Fan Identity in Cosplay, which was written in 2011. She uses Judith Butler's works on performativity and gender as a base, so I will look further at Butler's texts as well. 

Current references:

Lamerichs, Nicolle. 2011. "Stranger than Fiction: Fan Identity in Cosplay." Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 7., http://journal.transformativeworks.com/index.php/twc/article/view/246/230