Let's Play Dress-Up

As October approaches, I usually like to remind my readers of the excitement and fantasy-fun of role playing. The month of October is the perfect time to visit the costume shops and lingerie stores and find that fantasy costume of your partner's dreams. It's a great time to stock up on stockings, wigs, uniforms and costumes of all sorts. But this year, it's not the upcoming Halloween holiday that has spurred my creativity and has me writing this article, it's an event that I participated in over the weekend that has my juices flowing (creatively speaking)

For the past few years, my daughters have introduced me to the world of anime (Japanese animation) At first I thought, "Oh great, they want me to watch cartoons." But anime is far from your American Spongebob, Bugs Bunny and Family Guy. Anime ranges from programs for children to programs for mature adults. Yes, some animes contain humor, but for the most part, Japanese animated programs are serial type programs that are very much adult. The characters are richly developed, the stories are intriguing and the animation is stunning and realistic.

It's easy to see that many animes are geared toward men as the female characters are usually very voluptuous, curvy and endowed with enormous breasts that at times have a mind of their own. However, many of the male characters are also created to look as we all fantasize the way a man should look....rippling muscles, tattoos, flowing hair, piercing eyes and enormous......weapons. And some male characters are created to be romantic, chivalrous and charming....the romance novel hero who sweeps you off your feet and wisks you away to a secluded shack in the forest.

In watching anime of the past few years, I have found myself actually having fantasies about certain male characters. Whether it's the character's look or the storyline, I find myself completely enamoured and drawn into this animated fantasy life. At first, I thought I was weird.....I mean, come on, fantasies about an animated character? However, I learned very quickly that I was not alone. It is quite common to bring anime and fantasy together.

That brings me to this past weekend. For months, I had promised to take my younger daughter to a local anime convention. In addition, we were going to attend in Cosplay. Cosplay is the combination of two words "costume" and "play". Cosplaying is dressing up as a character from a program you enjoy....mostly Japanese animes. We Cosplayed my daughter's choice in animes, which was a program geared toward the younger set. I wrapped myself in a traditional Japanese Yukata, cinched my waist by wrapping an Obi around me 3 times and donning traditional Japanese Getas (wooden sandals) I also had a cherry tree on top of my head.....but that doesn't add anything to the point of this article.

As we entered the event space, as far as the eye could see, were people of all ages dressed as their favorite anime characters. There were girls in very skimpy, lacy dresses, men wearing leather jackets and carrying enormous weapons. It was fun and exciting......and as I say exciting, I mean exciting in an adult sort of way. I found myself checking out the fantasy type costumes of the men, seeing if I recognized any characters. Then I actually starting hoping to see the characters I fantasize about most. I even wondered to myself just how I would react if I were to come face to face with one of my fantasy anime characters brought to real life.

I realized that there was more of an appeal to dressing in Cosplay than the "fun" a child would want to have. For an adult, Cosplaying can be much more than that. Cosplaying is no different from the prelude to bedroom role playing.....but it is done in public. So this act of dressing up that I once believed was just something kids, anime geeks and sci-fi nuts did for giggles, became much more. It was a type of exhibitionism. It was a type of role playing....stepping into a character role and playing it out fully from the clothing down to the pose you strike when someone asks to take your photograph.

Now I'm not saying that this is typical for all Cosplayers....I'm sure many do it just for fun. And I too will do it again....just for fun. But I will continue to look high and low for my dreamy anime hero in black, carrying a huge cello case or the sexy, powerful soul reaper dressed in a black with a huge sword carried across his broad, muscular back. I will keep my fantasies to myself.....for now...and in public. That is, until I find the one who will dress for me and help me fulfill my anime fantasies.

So remember girls and guys.....role playing and dressing up can be alot of fun and extremely arousing. Ask your partner to share their wildest fantasies.....or look around you and figure out what your partner likes....and surprise them. Either way, stepping away from "you" and stepping into another character can open doors that you never imagined. Leave your inhibitions behind and just go wild! After all, you are not "you"....but someone who can be far more demure or far more naughty that "you" ever could be.