Dr. Elizabeth Gackstetter Nichols specializes in Latin American Culture and Women and Gender Studies with current research interests in International Beauty Practices, Cosplay and Popular Culture. Dr. Nichols’ current research deals with the international practice of cosplay in the United States, Mexico and across the Americas. She is a cosplayer herself, a cosplay mom and an advocate for fan-led artistic creativity. She blogs at www.cosplaymom.com. She is currently working on two articles: “Playing with Identity: Storytelling, Performance and Feminine Agency in Cosplay,” and “Weirdo Barbie and Punk-Rock Daddy’s Girl: Ambiguity, Gendered Identity and Appearance of Eleven in Stranger Things” to be published in 2019.
