TY - GEN
T1 - Professional Cosplayer’s Entrepreneurial Identity and Exploitation.
AU - McCutcheon, Christopher
PY - 2022/4
Y1 - 2022/4
N2 - We interviewed ten Australian professional and semi-professional cosplayers focusing on topics of identity, perception and exploitation for this relatively new category of entrepreneurs. Using thematic analysis, we identified a number of issues such as self-esteem, body positivity, cosplay business practices and settings, and exploitation. We discovered that, contrary to current theory, professional cosplayers do not identify with the characters they cosplay. However, professional cosplayers face personal and business obstacles that leave them vulnerable to exploitation by non-cosplay businesses.
AB - We interviewed ten Australian professional and semi-professional cosplayers focusing on topics of identity, perception and exploitation for this relatively new category of entrepreneurs. Using thematic analysis, we identified a number of issues such as self-esteem, body positivity, cosplay business practices and settings, and exploitation. We discovered that, contrary to current theory, professional cosplayers do not identify with the characters they cosplay. However, professional cosplayers face personal and business obstacles that leave them vulnerable to exploitation by non-cosplay businesses.
M3 - Conference contribution
T3 - Routledge Studies in Media and Cultural Industries series
BT - Entrepreneurial Cosplay: Building Identity, Brand and Business Acumen.
PB - Routledge Taylor & Francis Group
ER -