My Costume, Myself

Cosplay. Celebrity impersonation. Historical reenactment. Drag. Ren Fairs. Through research and stories, come discover the transformational and inclusive world of costumes, and how they can be used to uncover, cultivate, and represent aspects of one's inner self. Thomas Endres presents a much-needed deeper dive into a phenomenon defined by difference. The case study interviews, and most importantly the photographs documenting the subjects interviewed in their cosplay performance, are presented in a manner that allows a greater depth of articulated voice from individuals than previous works have allowed. J. Richard Stevens, author of Captain America, Masculinity, and Violence: The Evolution of a National Icon Endres accessibly and usefully documents the current practice of costuming as communication of multiple identities, providing full body photos and the voices of the creators in the various Costume Conversation sections. Pravina Shukla, author of Costume: Performing Identities through Dress Tom vividly illustrates how cosplay can transform lives. In a world where polarized ideologies and judgmental thinking about difference have become normalized, these important stories need to be told. Thank you, Tom, for telling them so well. Deanna D. Sellnow, author of The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture: Considering Mediated Texts Cosplayer Thomas G. Endres (bottom right) is a professor at the University of Northern Colorado, where he teaches courses on unpacking popular culture. He is the author of Sturgis Stories: Celebrating the People of the World's Largest Motorcycle Rally (also published by Kirk House). Tom and his wife Maki live in Greeley, CO.