Why I cosplay my heroes | Aka Dee | TEDxTraleeWomen

Quick Overview

Cosplaying her heroes, like the character Red from Transistor, helps Aka Dee embrace and practice positive traits like confidence, curiosity, and creativity that she wishes to embody in her real life, demonstrating that dressing up is a powerful tool for self-discovery and personal evolution rather than mere escapism.

Key Points: Aka Dee uses cosplay, specifically embodying characters like Red from Transistor, as a form of self-discovery and personal development rather than simple escapism. She cites academic research (e.g., studies by Clark and Carlson) showing that embodying desired traits through role-playing, like wearing a costume, can influence real-world behavior and confidence. The speaker shared an anecdote about wearing a wig to buy bread five years prior as a small, early step outside her comfort zone. Cosplay allows individuals to borrow traits like confidence, playfulness, and curiosity, which can then translate into improved performance in real-life tasks like job interviews. She encourages the audience to identify one trait from a character they admire and actively try to integrate it into their life. The speaker mentions completing a Master's degree and pursuing a successful career path, which she initially felt was 'someone else's dream' until she started integrating her passions.

Context: This is a TEDx talk delivered by Aka Dee at TEDxTraleeWomen, focusing on the personal and psychological benefits of cosplay. The speaker discusses how adopting the persona of characters she admires allows her to experiment with and internalize positive personality traits she wants to cultivate in her everyday life, challenging the perception that such activities are childish or purely escapist.

Detailed Analysis

Aka Dee argues that cosplay is a profound form of art and self-discovery, not just escapism. She recounts feeling stuck in a career path that felt like 'someone else's dream' until she started embracing the qualities of characters she admired through cosplay. She notes that she wore a wig to buy bread five years before the talk as a small step outside her comfort zone. Citing research on cognitive psychology (specifically mentioning studies on 'The Batman Effect' by White and Carlson), she asserts that embodying the traits of heroes we admire—like confidence, playfulness, and curiosity—can positively affect our mindset and behavior in reality. Cosplay is presented as a safe space to 'try out' these qualities and discover the person we could become, ultimately leading to a stronger sense of self and the energy to pursue our true passions, such as her own musical endeavors, which she pursued after realizing the impact of these character explorations.