That’s right it’s time for another NERD ALERT!! For those of you who don’t know what a NERD ALERT is let me explain, it’s basically a time where I take a “nerd term” and spell it out for anyone not engulfed in the nerd culture.

For some reason on Twitter I have been seeing a lot of people talking about “cosplay” lately. I, of course know this term as I am deep into dating a nerd but I thought that newbie nerd daters might need a little lesson in what exactly the term “cosplay” means.

The term “cosplay” is short for “costume play”, which is a type of performance art in which participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture centered on role play. A broader use of the term “cosplay” applies to any costumed role play in venues apart from the stage, regardless of the cultural context.

For example, when you see all those “crazy” people walking around San Diego every July for Comic Con all dressed up, you are seeing people cosplaying.

What makes it different from holidays like Halloween you ask? A cosplayer not only wants to 100% accurately depict a specific character, they will also often seek to adopt the mannerisms and body language of those characters.

The popularity of  this art form has grown so much that there are even specific conventions and competitions for “cosplayers”. To read more about “cosplay” check out the Wikipedia article here, or just type in the term to Google and be ini-dated with thousands of “cosplay” dedicated sites.

Now you know, the next time your significant other throws around the term “cosplay”, be prepared to suit up as your favorite superhero, anime or TV show character!