Three pairs of underpants, a crop top and a sledgehammer: Gender-bending cosplayer who's turned himself into Miley Guyrus (and he's not the only man dressing like a lady)

By Maria Lewis

Published: 02:38 BST, 11 July 2014 | Updated: 14:36 BST, 11 July 2014

They're dudes that look like ladies, but don't confuse it for drag.

From bodybuilders to professionals, men aren't letting gender stereotypes restrict them from dressing up as their favourite characters - even if they just happen to be women.

A growing number of Aussie blokes have taken a liking to gender-bending cosplay, donning everything from Miley Cryus and Pokemon costumes, to that of popular Disney characters such as The Little Mermaid and Cruella de Vil.

Cosplay is the act of dressing up in costume as a character and role playing, usually at pop culture conventions such as San Diego Comic Con and WonderCon in the US with the participants going under pseudonyms.

Yet the phenomenon has now arrived in Australia, taking off recently at the Oz Comic Con event in Melbourne over the weekend.

Newcastle local Alex Towner goes by the cosplay name Augustus Winchester and caused a stir after he took a wrecking ball to gender conventions and donned a Miley Cyrus costume for the event.

The 23-year-old - who is studying politics and history at university - wore three pairs of white underpants, a white crop top and borrowed a sledgehammer to recreate the pop singer's now famous video clip look.

'I had a lot of friends who were really into Miley Cyrus last year so I though why not? Why not dress up as Miley Guyrus,' he told the Daily Mail Australia.

But not everyone loved the look, with organisers at Oz Comic Con approaching him and another male dressed up as Ariel from The Little Mermaid and asking them to cover up or be removed from the event.

'A representative from Reed Pop came up and got a photo with me, and then said I had to change because my cosplay was against company policy.

'When I asked to see the company policy, he said they didn't have one.

'I had three pairs of underpants on to cover everything, I was being respectful and keeping to myself, nothing was overt and I posed for pictures when people asked for them.

'Everyone that I saw loved it, but for some reason organisers had a problem with myself and a few other guys.'

Show Director читать манхву com-x.life Bernadette Neumann didn't address the issue directly, but did say that they 'ask cosplayers to exercise modesty when wearing their costumes and if we feel it is too revealing or offensive to other attendees we ask them to change'.

Cosplay personality Zeek had no such problem, becoming an internet sensation after he dressed up as Misty from Pokemon at Supanova Pop Culture Expo in Sydney in June.

The bearded bodybuilder said he has been a fan of the popular Japanese video game, animated series, movies and manga for over 13-years and didn't hesitate at the idea of dressing up as his favourite character - even if she was a woman.

'A lot of people were freaking out, not in a bad way - in a good way,' he told 2SER 107.3FM.

'They were like "Oh my God, it's manly Misty" and they would sprint up to me.

'You don't have to look like me. You don't have to be a body builder, you don't have to be super skinny, you don't have to be a Victoria's Secret model... you can be an average Joe who has an amazing costume and has amazing skills and puts something together.

'Cosplay is about dressing up as your favourite character, going out, having fun, getting pictures and hanging out with people of similar interests.'

And it's not just the men having all the fun, with women getting involved in the gender bending cosplay trend as well.

From ladies taking on famous male characters such as Freddy Krueger and Captain America, to female versions of the Spider-Man and Thor, sex isn't stopping hardcore fans.

Sydney cosplay identity Denise Pirko has flipped the switch on several conventional characters, dressing up as a lady version of Marvel comics vigilante Punisher and taking on Captain America multiple times.

'Over the past two to three years there are more and more cosplayers both gender-bending and crossplaying and there's a lot more acceptance and excitement about it as well,' she told the Daily Mail Australia.

'There was a time that a man with a beard in a Sailor Moon dress would have been teased, and now it's not uncommon to see three or four of them at each convention.'

The 38-year-old executive assistant said the gender-bending craze has taken off online, with artists twisting the sexes of popular properties such as The Avengers and Sherlock. 

She added: 'As a fan, my love isn't limited to female characters, nor should it be.

'And while it is great fun to dress up as (Disney's) Megara or Captain Marvel, it's also a lot of fun to have a new take on Captain America or the Joker.

'There are also a lot of iconic characters out there that people adore, and that they want to pay tribute to, no matter what gender.

'The more that you see people doing it, the more that you get your own ideas.

'What would Wolverine look like as a bombshell? How would Harley Quinn look like as a guy?'