Exploring Japanese anime fandom subculture in China

: an ethnography and autoethnography of cosplay, otaku culture, forms of resistance, and gender dynamics

Abstract

This research investigates Japanese anime fan subculture in China through the central analytical lenses of resistance and gender. It explores how these two themes manifest in fans’ cultural practices and community operations within the interwoven context of digital media, cultural backgrounds, and commercial dynamics. Adopting an inductive, interpretivist approach rooted in ethnography and autoethnography , the researcher conducted fieldwork as a cosplayer at anime conventions, otaku gatherings, and in online communities in Hefei and Hangzhou, China, and pioneered the use of gender cross-play to generate rapport with participants. Its originality lies in transforming the cisgender male researcher’s body into an embodied research tool, thereby gaining an empathetic understanding that transcends the textual through the first-hand experience of the politics of the gendered body, and ultimately touching upon the core of survival politics. The analytical approach is centred on thick description (Geertz, 1973), placing participants’ lived experiences at the heart of the argument. The theoretical framework combines subcultural theory (Hall and Jefferson, 1976) and the theory of the practice of everyday life (de Certeau, 1984), alongside concepts of symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 1984), gender performativity (Butler, 1990), the cinematic gaze (Mulvey, 1975), and feminist perspectives (Paasonen et al., 2020). The thesis argues that these subcultural practices constitute a form of symbolic resistance for Chinese fans, used to negotiate and challenge structural pressures. It reveals cosplay as a contradictory field, which simultaneously provides a liminal space for gender performativity and queer expressions that challenge heteronormative norms, whilst also being fraught with symbolic violence and sexism. This research critically challenges the simplistic interpretation of sexy cosplay performances as merely catering to the male gaze, revealing the emergence of viewing modes within the community that transcend the traditional gaze, in stark contrast to the prevalent gender-based violence.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Canterbury Christ Church University