Masks, Identity & Cosplay

This post is my entry for July’s IndieWeb Carnival being hosted by Joe Crawford. Joe prompts: I invite you to consider what masks and cosplay mean and how they interact with identity, for you. For effectively my entire life, I’ve been said to be a bit of a chameleon. I don’t dress up in costumes or attend events or conventions for people that enjoy that lifestyle. I just put on whatever mask or masks that are needed in pretty much any situation. There have been times where I’ve wondered does this make me fake, or relatable? Both? One day, as I matured and grew into myself, I came to a realization. I don’t give a shit. I don’t give a shit if someone thinks I’m fake, if I know that I’m a genuine person. If the masks that I put on allow me to engage with a person or group of people in ways that make me, them or both of us more comfortable, then what’s the harm? There are times that I’m mid-sentence with my kids and someone knocks on the door or the phone rings and I need to answer… This…