Cosplay in Purchase and the Evolution of Nerd Culture

My senior project was based on cosplay, specifically the cosplay culture that exists within Purchase college. When i started my research i wanted to know if within Purchase there were issues of discrimination within the cosplay community. To go about trying to answer this question i conducted many hours of participant observation and interviews with people from my field site. My research also lead me to the New York City Comic Con convention. What i found was a negative finding regarding the possible issues of discrimination within the Purchase college cosplay community, instead what i found was a rich history and diverse group of individuals with a strong focus on community and togetherness.