Crossdresser in Cosplay: My Journey to Becoming a Superheroine at a Convention

Being part of the society, we often can’t wear what we want in everyday, public situations – for many of us, that’s a sad fact. And I’m not different in that matter.

As a genderfluid person who loves to crossdress, I’m kinda limited at expressing myself properly on a daily basis. I got a chance to go out several times, and even managed to work out some kind of mindset to give myself the right approach to feel comfortable while being my female self in public.

The truth is, though, that I never feel 100% safe, while doing so. Alertness is an inseparable part of my crossdressing experience when I’m doing it on the street, mall, or the park.

What if I told you that it doesn’t have to always be like that? That there’s a possibility for you to go out fully en femme in public while wearing clothes that make you sizzle with sex-appeal, and you can still feel safe? Well, it requires the right time and place, but yeah, it’s true. Let’s talk about conventions!

What Are the Conventions

If you’re new to it, it’s okay to ask that question. Putting it simply, convention (or con) it’s a large meetup of people sharing the same idea, like job, status, or interests.

Convention, I mean here, is for fans of pop-cultural fiction. It may be about manga and anime, fantasy, sci-fi, superheroes, comics, games, horror movies… Or, actually, all of them at once! That’s basically a huge crowd made of people sharing multiple fandoms, gathering for panels, Q&A meetups with celebrities and creators, shops, and many other attractions. And no doubt, what gives that kind of gathering a truly colorful aura is… Cosplay!

What exactly is cosplay? You can read about it here, but as a brief: It’s wearing a costume of some fictional character. Any good convention is loaded with people cosplaying their favorite characters! I assure you, it’s quite a joyful view!

Can a Man Cosplay a Sexy Superheroine

Of course, he can! That’s the best part of it for us crossdressers – Cosplayers’ group is very inclusive and open for everyone. You can cosplay any character you wish for, and probably no one is going to tell you a thing. You don’t have to get a great and expensive costume, either. Of course, at a more professional level, including contests and stuff, it can get way more demanding. But if you want just to float through the crowds in some interesting attire, no one is going to stop you.

As a man, I’ve done some simple cosplays in the past. They were male characters, which I liked, but I always felt kinda jealous of all the females in the crowd. I was thinking about how they are wearing way more interesting costumes than mine.

Yes, female cosplayers were easily drawing my attention. But it wasn’t just being attracted to those women or their characters. For me, it never was the wish to spend some time WITH Poison Ivy, Kitana or Nico Robin. I was more and more obsessed with the idea of spending some time AS them. To feel the empowering vibe of these characters, their beauty and sexappeal! Doesn’t it sound good? For me, it always did.

Going to Live the Dream

I’m gonna do a crossplay!

Last year I finally decided I’m gonna do this! I’m making my first crossplay – crossdressing cosplay! I’ve seen some males cosplaying female characters at a few last conventions, and that gave me the courage to try it myself. I’ve never witnessed any harsh time given to them by other people participating in the con.

Of course, I saw some complaints online afterward, but these were the minor voices overwhelmed by quite the positive feedback. Even if it still is a problem in my country’s everyday situation, men wearing skirts were absolutely no problem at the con!

Why does crossplay seem to be safer than everyday crossdressing? After all, crossplay doesn’t have to be any kind of statement about our gender or sexuality. It can be simply a costume of a character we like. We don’t have to come out of the closet by doing so. We still can have fun at the convention, while not telling anyone that we love to crossdress outside the cons as well.

On top of that – in that kind of space we don’t have to be worrying about passing as a woman. Are you able to look like a lady for the whole day of the event? Great for you! Is it still a struggle for you to maintain a convincing look? It’s still alright! With social consent for crossplays, you won’t be assaulted for it. It all makes a good, safe environment for us to make some fantasies true. Well, as long as they meet the requested minimum of decency!

Some Very Exciting Choices to Make

Who was I going to crossplay? It was a really difficult choice. I’ve had a list of about a dozen and a half potential characters I wanted to become at the next event.

There were names you could call total classics – like Jessica Rabbit, Poison Ivy, Tifa Lockhart, and Powergirl.

There were some anime characters as well – Nami from One Piece, Matsumoto Rangiku from Bleach, and Meiko Shiraki from Prison School.

I’ve had a few fun ideas coming from the games, too – like Bowsette, Mai Shiranui, or Sorceress from Dragon’s Crown.

As some of you can recall, most of these characters are very curvy women, blessed with quite the bust. It’s because I was going to make use of my H-cup breastforms, which are very effective at enhancing one’s chest. Although I’m always too shy to wear them in public, I was feeling confident with using these jaw dropping shapes in my costume. That’s another advantage of the convention. You can dress up in things you’d never wear in any other place.

My final decision was different, though. There was one character- a comic book superheroine – whose I had never seen being cosplayed at any convention in my country. Member of Justice Society and Bird of Prey – Black Canary. I admired her not only for beauty but also for her cat-like independence, sarcastic comebacks, and feminist attitude. She never was portrayed in a way justifying using super strong hip pants or H-cup breastforms, which I intended to use, but my mind was set anyway.

Yes, if I was going to become a woman in front of a huge crowd, I couldn’t choose a character who’s just sexy – I wanted to become someone who I’d be proud of. But remember, the most important thing is to have fun! If you want to cosplay someone just because you liked the outfit, it’s all good.

As I said – cosplay is an open community, and any ways and reasons to cosplay are right. But me – I was going to turn down even the Jessica Rabbit idea to become a Black Canary..

It’s not like I didn’t choose an attractive character, though. I was going to become a blue-eyed blonde wearing fishnets and a leotard – and let everyone see it!

Day of When the Dream Became True

A few months later I was finally approaching the convention in complete woman attire. My long, blonde wig was moved slightly by a wind flow, surrounding my face in full make-up.

This time, I didn’t make it by myself. I let the professional make-up artist take care of it, as I wasn’t sure of my skills yet. I think seeking help with cosplay is nothing bad as long as you don’t take all the credit for it. And to feel confident for the whole day of the convention, I decided that I’m gonna pay for make-up, just this one time. It was worth it, as I never felt prettier than this day.

Unfortunately, you can’t see it in my photos, as I’ve changed the face with the AI for my own anonymity, but I’m sure you understand my reasons.

Coming to the convention hall, I was still wearing a shirt and trousers. I preferred not to draw too much attention to myself, while traveling through the city. At the convention though? Quite the contrary! I quickly got rid of additional clothes, finally exposing my costume.

I was first to admit it could be quite the view! A wide choker on my neck, black leather jacket, and tight leotard was closing around my cleavage, tastefully emphasizing the curves of my breasts.

For this costume, I decided to wear D-cup silicone breastforms. It wasn’t the most shocking nor eye-catching of Roanyer’s products, but it perfectly made its purpose. It gave my figure more feminine shapes without overshadowing the rest of the costume.

My legs got some enhancement as well, with the padding on the hips. A few layers of tights helped to cover the pads up as well as to keep them in place. On top of that, of course, fishnets – one of Canary’s trademarks. High-heel boots, black and shiny as the rest of the costume, were a good finish, giving me both a kick-ass vibe and an elongated posture.

The Convention’s Reaction to the New Me

Which of us wouldn’t feel sexy and powerful in costume like that? I’m pretty sure I did!

And I got the first words of recognition quite instantly… Well, not words, actually. Some girl decided to take a picture of me, while I was waiting for my friends, and didn’t even bother to ask me for permission! That’s considered rude behavior at every convention and I should say something. Few hours later, I’d definitely told her to stop, but at this point I was too shocked. That was the first time some stranger decided I’m good enough to be portrayed in a picture!

I didn’t know back then, that there’s going to be more people willing to have a picture with (or of) Black Canary! Luckily for me, every other person was respectful and polite, asking me before taking a photo.

When my friends joined me, I felt even more confident about my cosplay. There was one friend of mine, who saw me already in costume, as we tried it out together the day before the con. And it was her who pointed at me, to let the rest of my crew recognize me.

Before that they were looking straight through me and they still didn’t know it’s me! It was really amusing, and happened to me a few times more when I came across other friends and colleagues. No one was able to see through it, even while talking to me.

It made me feel better and more light-hearted for sure, knowing that I’m not looking like my male self. Quite the contrary – I never was treated with that much chivalry before! Guys around were really nice to me, opening doors before me, letting me go first… And one of my colleagues informed me discreetly, that folks around are totally checking me out.

At one point I even got a chance to chat with a guy, who approached me because (allegedly) didn’t know I’m a crossplayer and tried to hit on me! What can I say? That’s the charm of being a blonde in fishnets, I guess?

I know it may sound like bragging, but that’s not my point – well, not entirely. After all, I don’t really believe I was any way pretty – just passing as a woman in an interesting costume. What I actually want to say is that convention gives you a vibe of freedom which is hard to capture in any other public space. If that happened to me on the street or in the mall – I’d feel endangered because I couldn’t be sure of anyone’s intentions.

But here, none of my usual fears seemed to matter. Other people’s stares or approaches were not scary anymore. They were actually nice! After all, I didn’t put on a sexy heroine’s costume to be afraid of being seen! While free of my protective mindset, I could let myself be less shy, and more confident. And that’s my sister is truly a game changer in any crossdressing experience.

The – Unfortunately – Ending Story

I spent about 19 hours in my costume that day. Starting from 9 A.M, when I got my makeup and got ready to go, and ending at 4 A.M. the next day while I finally got back from the con and transformed back into the male. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and I’m pretty sure it looked pretty much like that video meme.

But I felt good at the same time. I’ve spent the whole day and a half of the night in the colorful and accepting crowd, while being the prettiest version of myself in my whole life. I could be truly myself up to the point I was not thinking of my cosplay anymore. I was wearing a complete female outfit and felt just right with it even with thousands of people who could – and they did – see me. I could just focus on having fun.

I’ve attended to few panels, photo-hunted for The Witcher and DC Comics themed cosplays, played an unreleased beta-version of PC game, browsed through comic-selling stands, bought a few souvenirs, met one of my favorite YouTubers (And got hugged as a girl, while guys were getting a handshake. So nice of him!). I danced, I drank, I ate, I attended great concerts, spectated historically themed duels, and more.

To do all this stuff, to spend this day with my friends, while looking and feeling feminine as never, was truly a blessing to me. And I’m 100 percent sure, I’m gonna do this again. I have more and more ideas for the next crossplays to express my feminine side, so…

World of cosplay – you didn’t see the last of me!