JCB p. 140 Shopping for “we-ness”

I think the majority of the time I personally was an outcast with my shopping and fashion choices. But the one thing I can compare for this topic is when I got into anime! At a point in my anime obsession, I saw people in Japan who were cosplaying (dressing up as the anime characters I loved so much) and I wanted to do that as well. Being a theater kid and a dancer dressing up and becoming someone different was one of my favorite things to do ever since I was a small child. So I started to research if people do that here in America or anywhere near me would be even better and I found SacAnime and anime convention in Sacramento (that I’ve been going to religiously now twice a year for the past 7 years). My first time going I wore a wig and threw together what I thought at the time was an awesome costume but going to that convention and being surrounded by such nice people who all loved and obsessed over anime like I did, was probably one of the best and most excepting experiences of my life. I have been going to SacAnime now with much better costumes and even sometimes spending upwards of $300+ on one costume, but it really does give me that satisfaction and sense of belonging; and in the past for a while gave me the opportunity of being a professionally cosplayer, being invited to events where people would buy my photographs and ask me for advice on cosplay or wanting to know and talk about my favorite anime and even meeting and interacting with people I never would have, like handicap kids, the full original power rangers cast, voice actors of my favorite anime, and friends now I’ll have for a life time. So, in the end, without making the many purchases of costumes, wigs, and material for my props, I would have never found that beyond amazing sense and desire of belonging.