Is Mermaiding essentially Cosplaying?

[Aquos Savar]

I am a mer, cosplayer and avid photographer. I've worked on these 3 areas.

Cosplaying is the activity of "Becoming someone else" by the use of similar wear as the characters being portrayed. This may include wielding weapons, extra equipment aside from clothing, or any special accesories or facepaint, body paint, full latex suits, etc. It is becoming someone else.

Mermaiding is different. It still involves the use of extra clothing (Tails), but most of the time, it is not the act of becoming someone else, but rather a different side of you. There are some exceptions, like people who cosplay as merfolk. Mermaiding also involves the use of any body of water, which differentiates from cosplaying, which involves dry-land areas.

And as a photographer that had to take photos of multiples cosplayers here in my town, and some mers who came from far, the pictures you take are really different and help you give you a scope on how different both groups are. Cosplayers usually just stay with their character's poses and movesets, while mers are more unique and create their own, as they're themselves, and not another character. Just like furries, they're not being someone else, they're being their other personas.