If you’ve ever seen pictures of regular people dressed as superheroes, you’ve seen someone doing cosplay. It stands for costume play, and it’s a hobby that started in Japan.

Cosplayers don’t just dress like superheroes, they draw their inspiration from movies, television shows, books and more.

There is a passionate and thriving cosplay community in the United States, but that doesn’t mean it is always welcoming. In this segment, we hear from three women —Che Grayson, Chaka Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Schweizer— who share their stories of why they love cosplay, what they’ve learned and the harassment that some of them have faced.

Photo by Filipo Monteforti AFP/Getty Images.