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In attempting to analyze the discursive aspects of the Japanese popular concept of 'cosplay,' we examine cosplay narratives in manga directed specifically at female readers: ie, shōjo manga, BL manga, and Ladies' Comics. We examine the historiographic development of cosplay and related concepts, reading these female-oriented cosplay narratives within the contemporary Japanese socio/cultural context a genre that expresses a specific attitude toward gender and sexuality. In examining the contexts of these female cosplay, we argue that gender stereotypes in female-oriented cosplay (eg, the depiction of Victorian chambermaids, flight attendants, nurses, and so forth) continues to reflect a patriarchal ideology which assumes that sexual desires and fantasies are essentially male-oriented. However, female sexual desires and fantasies can only genuinely be inscribed through a female understanding of female sexuality; thus, these stereotypical portrayals suggest a parodic intention to deconstruct gender in terms of a subversive and performative 'masquerade,' as a potential means to further gender liberation.