Crossplay? Yes, it’s not a typo. Crossplay is a type of cosplay that content creators and cosplay fans should know about. Why? Because it might help you be more creative when you cosplay.
Crossplay is all about dressing up as characters of the opposite gender to get creative in a fun way. This freedom to explore your ideas is one of the reasons why cosplaying is still a hit today.
Curious about what crossplaying is all about? We’re going to explore it here. We’ll break down the meaning of crossplay, the different types, and share some awesome tips to help you dive in. Read on!
So, What is Crossplay?
Crossplay comes from the words “cross-dressing” and “cosplay.” This is a type of cosplay that offers a unique approach when you dress up as characters of a different gender.
With crossplay, you can express yourself and showcase your favorite characters through your unique costumes and performances. Whether they’re from manga, anime, or video games, your creativity in crossplaying knows no bounds!
Check out @priamyde! She’s a great example of a girl who dresses up as a guy and totally nails it. She rocks a Duke from the Kingdom of Faerghus in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, showing off her amazing creativity with costumes.
You should also check out Marc Zapanta’s YouTube video where he transforms into Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones in just minutes. It’s awesome!
More and more people are getting into this, with names like Yuegene Fay and Kaname rising in popularity as cosplayers. But where did it all start?
Crossplay likely started in Japan during the 1980s cosplay scene. The vibrant Japanese culture, including men dressing as women in Kabuki Theater, helped make crossplay more accepted and popular!
Plus, the love for bishōnen characters in manga and anime who blend masculine and feminine traits really boosted crossplay’s popularity, especially among women.
Read: Cosplay for Beginners
Types of Crossplay
There are at least three types of crossplay that define the world of crossplay today:
1. Male to Female Crossplay
As the name suggests, this type of crossplay involves male cosplayers dressing as female characters. To deal with this, it often requires good makeup skills, wig styling, costume design and other cosplay materials understanding.
This means learning how to pick the right concealer and how to use colors to fix skin problems. Also, it’s important to know which makeup products are the best, like for eyebrows and mascara.
If you are new to cosplaying, it might be hard at first. But you can get ideas from Japanese cosplayers like Reika, or from Hana and Baozi in China, and many others.
2. Female to Male Crossplay
This type of crossplay is more popular than the first because it has been around since the beginning of cosplaying culture.
It usually takes less physical change than male-to-female crossplay, like when @jen_chan91 rocks the black and green costume as Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer.
But don’t get it wrong. Even though this type of crossplay doesn’t use much makeup or costume changes, carrying heavy props or weapons can be challenging if you’re at a convention all day.
3. Genderfluid Crossplay
Being gender fluid means you can express your true self every day, without being tied down to just one identity. Miley Cyrus is a famous person who’s really open about it, which has made the idea catch on more.
With that in mind, Genderfluid Crossplay is a type of cosplay that blurs the lines between traditional gender roles in cosplay. It lets you to have fun and try out non-binary characters when dressing up.
Genderfluid crossplay encourages creativity and personal expression, enabling cosplayers to explore gender identity in a way that feels authentic to them.
You’ll often see this kind of crossplay in characters like Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle who mixes both masculine and feminine traits
Benefits of Crossplay Cosplay
Just as there are many reasons to cosplay, crossplaying offers its own benefits too, including:
1. Help You Be More Creative
Cosplay is all about dressing up as your favorite characters, and it definitely takes creativity. And Crossplay raises the bar even higher.
When cosplaying, you adjust costumes to fit your body shape. This may require sewing and crafting skills. With crossdressing, that can be even more challenging.
Not to mention that you should learn some makeup hacks. For example, if you’re a girl cosplayer, you need to make your face look manly by sharpening up your jawline.
Overall, crossplaying makes you think creatively and improve your skills. This works whether you’re getting ready for conventions or making videos for streaming or vlogging as a content creator.
2. Uplift Your Confidence
What’s it like when you look just like your favorite characters? It’s fun. Now, think about how cool it would be to take that to the next level by doing crossplaying. That would be even better, right?
Feeling good makes you more confident. This also shows your creativity and hard work, whether you like a cosplayer or a content creator. This success can help you feel better about yourself and get closer to your goal of becoming a professional cosplayer or even an influencer.
3. Understand New Gender Perspective
Crossplay is about trying out different styles that aren’t usually associated with your gender. It can totally change your view on what it means to be masculine or feminine.
A man crossplaying as a female character may need to learn makeup and change his body language. Similarly, a woman playing a male character might need to adjust her posture, speech, and behavior.
It takes courage to show traits of a different gender in public, and doing so can help you understand gender roles in a new way.
4. Boost Social Connections
One great benefit of crossplaying, just like cosplaying, is that it brings people together at events and conventions for some awesome social fun.
As a crossplayer, you get to meet others who enjoy the creativity of playing characters, especially those who also crossplay. These hangouts are great for bonding over each other’s awesome work.
And you know that compliments on costumes or makeup often start great conversations about the fun and challenges of crossplaying. This shared love helps build a close community among cosplayers.
5. Helps You to Earn Money
You’ll never know if someone you meet at a convention will become a fan or follow you on social media. But it can happen, and it can be good for you
Let’s say you join a platform like Gank, where you can make money from donations, memberships, or commissions. You might find that people who like your creativity as a cosplayer will help support you with money.
Read More: How do Cosplayers Make Money
Challenges of Crossplay Cosplay
Crossplay offers great benefits, but it also comes with its own challenges:
1. Perfect Appearance of the Character
For many newcomers, cosplaying can be tough, but crossplaying can be even harder. It’s not easy to represent a different gender, especially when it comes to physical traits.
If you’re a male cosplayer, you know how challenging it can be to create a convincing feminine look with makeup, wigs, and clothes. And if you’re a female crossplayer, you might find it tough to mimic masculine features like facial hair or muscles, too.
2. Physical Comfort
Bear in mind that when you’ve finished your makeup and gathered your props, that’s just the start.
Going to the convention in your costume and getting into your character can be even tougher if your costume is uncomfortable. Or if you have to carry heavy shields or swords as a male character.
So, trying to look just like your character while staying comfortable is important but can be a real challenge. It takes some careful planning, and sometimes you might have to let go of certain parts of the costume.
3. Body Shaming
You should know that crossplayers might face body shaming. This can happen, especially in conservative regions where being different isn’t always accepted.
What could happen? You might hear some hurtful comments about your appearance, and that can really sting. For example, someone might tell you that you don’t fit the cosplay because of your body shape or size.
Just keep in mind that body shaming can be really discouraging and can hurt the confidence of crossplayers like you.
4. Technical Challenges
Let’s say you choose Sailor Moon character as your cosplay idea for the next convention. The problem is that, as a man, none of the available costume sizes fit you.
So, you’ll need to sew your own custom outfit, which will take extra time to prepare. You really have to take your time to create everything from scratch.
But it doesn’t stop there. You’ll also need the right props and accessories to complete your Sailor Moon look. But, finding the perfect accessories that fit can be tricky, too. This might leave you wondering whether to stick with your original idea or switch to an easier cosplay character.
Now you have to think: will the next character you choose be any easier, or will it come with the same challenges? This can be a real challenge especially for beginners.
Read More: Tips for Cosplaying
Conclusion
If you’re thinking about cross-dressing as a cosplayer, crossplaying is a great way to be creative and show your skills by dressing up as your favorite character in a unique way.
This type of cosplay allows you to dress up as a different gender to make it both attention-grabbing and showcase your skills. This applies whether you do male-to-female cross-playing, female-to-male cross-playing, or gender-fluid cross-playing.
Feel free to explore your creativity. Just remember that there are some challenges to think about before you dive in.
You might have technical issues, like finding the right size for your custom outfit. Also, be aware that body shaming can happen in places that don’t accept different creative expressions,.
That’s it for now, and good luck with your crossplaying!
