Editing Cosplay (section)

===Gender issues===
[[File:Comic Market 91 Day 1- Cosplayers (36106848610).jpg|thumb|[[Hideaki Kobayashi (cosplayer)|Hideaki Kobayashi]], known for crossplaying as a schoolgirl.]]
Portraying a character of the opposite sex is called [[crossplay (cosplay)|crossplay]]. The practicality of crossplay and cross-dress stems in part from the abundance in manga of male characters with delicate and somewhat androgynous features. Such characters, known as {{lang|ja-latn|[[bishōnen]]}} ({{lit|pretty boy}}),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/15085-What-Is-Crossplay-And-What-Does-It-Say-About-Gender |title=What Is Crossplay And What Does It Say About Gender &#124; Cosplay Dossier &#124; The Escapist |website=Escapistmagazine.com |date=1 December 2015 |access-date=6 February 2016 |archive-date=6 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206225615/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/15085-What-Is-Crossplay-And-What-Does-It-Say-About-Gender |url-status=dead }}</ref> are Asian equivalent of the elfin boy archetype represented in Western tradition by figures such as [[Peter Pan]] and [[Ariel (The Tempest)|Ariel]].<ref name="retrieved"/>

[[File:Aria H. Kanzaki by 結佳梨Yukari 03.jpg|thumb|Aria H. Kanzaki from [[Aria the Scarlet Ammo]] by a [[crossplay (cosplay)|crossplay]]er from [[New Zealand]]]]

Male to female cosplayers may experience issues when trying to portray a female character because it is hard to maintain the sexualized femininity of a character. Male cosplayers may also be subjected to discrimination,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/15277-Gender-Discrimination-Against-Male-Cosplayers |title=Gender Discrimination Against Male Cosplayers &#124; Cosplay Dossier &#124; The Escapist |website=Escapistmagazine.com |date=14 January 2016 |access-date=6 February 2016 |archive-date=7 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207001544/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/15277-Gender-Discrimination-Against-Male-Cosplayers |url-status=dead }}</ref> including homophobic comments and being touched without permission. This affects men possibly even more often than it affects women, despite inappropriate contact already being a problem for women who cosplay,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/14863-Metal-Gear-s-Quiet-and-Cosplay-s-Free-Speech |title=Metal Gear's Quiet and Cosplay's Free Speech &#124; Cosplay Dossier &#124; The Escapist |website=Escapistmagazine.com |date=27 October 2015 |access-date=6 February 2016 |archive-date=7 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207003925/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/14863-Metal-Gear-s-Quiet-and-Cosplay-s-Free-Speech |url-status=dead }}</ref> as is "[[slut-shaming]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/14907-Cosplay-and-the-Normie-Stare |title=Cosplay and the Normie Stare &#124; Cosplay Dossier &#124; The Escapist |website=Escapistmagazine.com |date=3 November 2015 |access-date=6 February 2016 |archive-date=13 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113042442/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/14907-Cosplay-and-the-Normie-Stare |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''[[Animegao kigurumi]]'' players, a niche group in the realm of cosplay, are often male cosplayers who use [[zentai]] and stylized masks to represent female [[anime]] characters. These cosplayers completely hide their real features so the original appearance of their characters may be reproduced as literally as possible, and to display all the abstractions and stylizations such as oversized eyes and tiny mouths often seen in Japanese cartoon art.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rietveldacademie.nl/files/download/Scriptieprijs/Florian_Jomain.pdf |title=Surrender : Image Contamination of Networked Bodies |author=Florian Jomain |website=Rietveldacademie.nl |access-date=6 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223162019/http://www.rietveldacademie.nl/files/download/Scriptieprijs/Florian_Jomain.pdf |archive-date=23 December 2015 }}</ref> This does not mean that only males perform ''animegao'' or that masks are only female.