Why men love dressing up

A fan dressed as Varian Wrynn from World of Warcraft at the Comic Con exhibition in London last month. Photograph: Piero Cruciatti /Barcroft Media

Perhaps because it is seen as an extension of the frivolities and vanity of fashion, or perhaps because it is associated with children, dressing up is a niche activity for men. Very few adult men engage in dressing up, even on sanctioned occasions such as Halloween. However, a new generation of men are becoming more engaged with costume. Costume play, or cosplay, is seeing an increase in popularity, largely in the virtual world.

In multiplayer online games (RPGs such as World of Warcraft) the dressing and preparation of the avatar is a significant part of the player's gaming experience. Janine Fron et al observe that male gamers devote a lot of time and effort to developing their costume, justified by their use of terminology such as "gear" rather than "costume". Such terminology suggests that the avatar's wardrobe is primarily a matter of function rather than style. Moreover, it is quantifiable. One choice of armour may offer more effective defence than another, enabling players to "treat the costume as a statistic more than a decoration or form of personal expression" [1].

These gaming experiences "may also serve as an entry point for men into dress up, for whom its convergence with technology may dispel some of its more feminine connotations" [2]. If costume can be justified as a functional object, particularly in that it is associated with the very masculine act of combat, it can be distanced from feminine acts of vanity, and childish acts of play.

The notion of costume as functional object has made dressing up more acceptable to mainstream cinema audiences. Photograph: Ivan Pierre Aguirre/AP

The notion of costume as functional object has also made the practice of dressing-up more acceptable to mainstream cinema audiences. Contemporary audiences find that the lycra unitard of Adam West's TV Batman lacks masculinity (to the extent that articles point to homosexual overtones) [3]. Christopher Nolan took great pains to justify Bruce Wayne's costume in his more recent cinema incarnation. The Dark Knight (2008) depicts the Batman costume as "pseudo-utilitarian" [4]. Lucius Fox, Batman's equivalent to Bond's Q, is employed in technical development. His role as innovator and curator of Wayne Enterprises' vast collection of military technologies ensures the feasibility of an endless supply of new gadgets, many of which form part of the costume.

But contemporary audiences find the Lycra unitard of Adam West's original TV Batman lacks masculinity. Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/20th Century Fox

In the real world too, association with battle gives dressing up a masculine purpose. Battle re-enactment provides men with the freedom to dress-up, combined with the restrictions imposed by authenticity [5]. Such strictly regulated scenarios avoid the free improvisation of child's play. There are sets of rules governing how the costume may be worn, dictated by the demand for historical accuracy. The act of dressing up takes on mature and masculine associations with war and rule-making.

[1] Fron, Janine; Fullerton, Tracy; Ford Morie, Jaquelyn; Pearce, Celia. Playing Dress-Up: Costumes, Roleplay and Imagination; paper presented at Philosophy of Computer Games', University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 24-27 January 2004.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Daniels, Les, Batman: The Complete History, Chronicle Books, 1999, 84.
[4] Chabon, Michael. Secret Skin: An Essay in Unitard Theory; Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. New York: Yale University Press, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010, 18.
[5] Fron et al, Op. Cit.

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