degree of success that any artifice goes unnoticed by the onlooker. The excessive nature of
‘Wonder WoBear’ draws attention to its artificiality; however, if a cosplayer can appear
‘convincing’, the reading changes. One of the definitions Bainbridge and Norris apply to drag
is, ‘about making the unreal real through cosplay […] Through the acts of constructing and
wearing a costume, the fan constructs his or her identity’ 23 . Therefore, cosplayers who create
‘convincing’ representations of character through cosplay, encourage spectators to perceive
the cosplayer as the character.
‘Gaygeekuniverse’s’ Wonder Woman 24 is a screen accurate costume worn by a
bearded muscular man. Despite the cosplayer’s physique, this is not the focus point for many
people commenting on the image, which consists primarily of praise for the costume’s
accuracy and presentation. The costume is not only screen-accurate but also fitting to the
male frame, it appears convincing and evokes the feeling of a Roman gladiator. Weltzien
points out that ‘The modern superhero costume is reminiscent of imperial Roman armour […]
like the gladiator, the profession and the dress of the superhero is located in the broader region
between sports and the parliamentary’ 25 . Thus here, gender is ultimately irrelevant. From the
perspective of the onlooker, ‘Gaygeekuniverse’s’ is neither male nor female: they are the
warrior, a physical protector of justice. In turn, if ‘The fan constructs his or her identity’ 26
through cosplay, ‘Gaygeekuniverse’ becomes part Wonder Woman, both male and female,
Roman soldier and modern heroine, at the same time.
The cosplay of ‘such.a.classic’ 27 is similarly powerful. When next to the screen
costume, it is clear how screen accurate the costume is. Discussing Wonder Woman’s origins,
Neal Curtis explains that, ‘Hippolyte 28 creates her [Diana Prince’s] costume and Wonder
Woman is born.’ 29 In donning Wonder Woman’s iconography ‘such.a.classic’ adopts Wonder
Woman’s narrative, and values of defiance and justice. One might read ‘such.a.classic’ as not
an adaptation of Wonder Woman, but actually having become Wonder Woman.
One could even extend this understanding to ‘Wonder WoBear’, Tracy Trash, and Vera Wylde;
whilst these cosplays embody distinct differences, they all embody a recognisable form of
Wonder Woman. Bai nbridge and Norris define cosplayers as ‘a playful agent of change. The
Jason Bainbridge and Craig Norris, ‘Posthuman Drag: Understanding Cosplay as Social
Networking in a Material Culture’, Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific. 32
(2013): 25.
24 Ibid.
25 Friedrich Weltzien, ‘Masque-ulinities: Changing Dress as a Display of Masculinity in the Superhero
Genre’, Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture 9:2 (2005): 238.
26 Jason Bainbridge and Craig Norris, ‘Posthuman Drag: Understanding Cosplay as Social
Networking in a Material Culture’, Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific. 32
(2013): 25
27 Photo by such.a.classic https://www.instagram.com/p/BUxkjLWla8k/?taken-by=such.a.classic
28 Queen Hippolyta is an Amazonian Queen, she is the mother of Diana Prince (Wonder Woman).
29 Neal Curtis, ‘Wonder Woman’s symbolic death: on kinship and the politics of origins’, Journal of
Graphic Novels and Comics 8:4 (2017): 312.
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