[Last modified: October, 5 2024 10:19 PM]
Research proposal
My research question is how young Chinese females from diverse backgrounds use the Internet and social media to participate in “imaginary interactions” and establish quasi-homosexual relationships within the subculture.
Language cosplay is a category of role-playing games with verbalized words, and a branch of cosplay subculture in the otaku culture. Most players are girls under 20. Using language to perform roles in an anonymous virtual space according to specific rules, players rely on the art of language to construct a new self-image, eliminating gender-related constraints.
By shunning male players, they attempt to create an exclusive female subculture. Nevertheless, unlike the homosexual group, male roles are not rejected: several of these female users opt to behave as male characters in the virtual realm and create (virtual) intimate relationships with one another. From a cyberfeminist perspective, I contend that these lack recognition of female heterotopia. The inherent gender-related demands driving female users’ behaviour ought to be addressed. I seek to apply a combination of Goffman’s Mimesis theory, Butler’s gender performance and Cyberfeminism to examine facets of their behaviours and experiences.
I tend to conduct semi-structured interviews with users on their language cosplay experiences, and incorporate participant observation.
During the data analysis step, I will use Voyant text mining to highlight the keywords they are concerned about and facilitate deeper exploration. I am inclined to delve into how these female players perceive their gender identity and intimate relationships. ① Otaku Culture is one of the most famous Japanese pop cultures worldwide and includes manga, anime, video games, girl idols and so on. And Otaku are the people who are obsessed with some pop cultures such as manga and anime. ② The evidence comes from internal questionnaires from Celebrity Friend Circle, which is a specialised language cosplay application.
I’m also curious about the impact and significance of this encounter on their personal growth. The language of subcultural female groups’ cosplay activities signifies the awakening and expression of personal convictions in certain young Chinese females. To demolish a patriarchal society, they create an online ideal emotional society free of gender power dynamics—a female heterotopia. This analysis, I anticipate, will provide a brand-new perspective on cyberfeminism and a theoretical foundation for inspiring more young women to embrace their cyborg identities through subcultural practices.