Spectacle/Performance sub-culture cosplay

作为追求精神世界的青年群体，对趣味性较高的动漫作品有着较高的接受程度，并且热衷于动漫的衍生产品，例如动漫人物手办、海报、cosplay等。动漫借助网络等途径得到 ...

... 亚文化新部落自由流动，并与多个主体展开线下或线上的交流互动。某个个体可能既有“宅男”的标签或“up主”的身份，同时也可能在参加线下的亚文化兴趣社团，甚至参与Cosplay表演。

[4]在亚文化群体中，个体的本我常常以另一种形式得以表达，例如通过换装、Cosplay成另一角色等方式。Cosplay文化早已成为青少年对抗主流社会的一种文化样式：在现实 ...

摘要: 本文以“观展/表演范式”为理论依据重点研究身份认同建构，综合文本分析、参与式观察的方法对豆瓣“假装我们生活在魔法世界”小组进行探究，研究哈迷交流实践的“角色扮演” ...

(1) 角色扮演与搞笑演绎.当下的短视频平台,用户更倾向于通过角色扮演的方式对三国时期的诸多历史人物(如曹操,袁绍,诸葛亮,刘备)进行现代化的,契合当代文化语境的诠释.

... 角色扮演、同人创作等实践形式，构建起具有独特审美范式与价值体系的青年亚文化形态。其文化实践包含三个维度：视觉符号系统(如特定角色造型)、叙事话语体系(如架空 ...

戏剧而来的沉浸体验在于“看戏”，剧本杀沉浸体验在于“演戏”。看戏在一定程度上是一种被动的给予，一些剧场要求是需要安静的进行的享受，由被动的听觉视觉的 ...

In todays youth cultural landscape, Cosplay has transformed from a niche fan pastime to a worldwide cultural event. Participants bring characters from virtual world like anime and game into real life via costume, props, body performance. This is far from being just a reproduction, it is full of cultural and communicative gravity. From the perspective of Communication studies the study mainly includes two questions first is that how people find identity from multifold identity, second is that how Cosplay-loving community form, communicate and meet internal problem. The study finds that cosplayers get liminal spaces by participating in cosplays, in which they can find their ideal selves and challenge social norms in terms of role-play, so that they can have different kinds of identity practices and temporary cross-dimensional identities. At the same time, Cosplay groups, via ritualistic interaction online and off, build significant cultural recognition and a feeling of homeliness. But they face hierarchies shaped by cultural capital and problems linked to commercializing, with competing for cultural capital inside showing differences in control. This study suggests that cosplaying is a kind of important culture practice that allows modern youth to express themselves in their own word and makes them have many friends.

Language cosplay is a niche subculture that involves role-playing through text. Initially relying heavily on social platforms like Baidu Tieba and QQ, it has shown a trend of expanding outwards in recent years. This paper aims to explore the underlying motivations behind this phenomenon and the changing emotional needs of contemporary youth reflected in it. The study constructs an analytical framework based on Freud's theory of projection and Cooley's theory of the "looking-glass self," and collects and analyzes data through in-depth interviews. The study finds that due to the rapid development of modern society and the accelerated pace of life, contemporary youth are experiencing increased pressure. Young people project themselves onto virtual characters and construct their "looking-glass self" through interactive feedback to improve self-awareness and gain emotional value. This research provides assistance to society and parents in providing correct and reasonable psychological support and guidance for the emotional needs of adolescents.

Cosplay has become a popular subculture among teenagers and is prevalent in Hong Kong, yet it is subject to misconceptions and prejudices. The imagined identities formed through cosplay can contribute to the formation of preferred identities. Cosplay can facilitate self-exploration, expression, social connection and the active construction of identity. I employed a narrative approach to explore the meanings of cosplay in young people’s lives. In conversations with Julia, a secondary student, we made links between the “imaginary self” she constructed through cosplay and her skills, hopes and intentions in life. Our conversations provided the basis for a series of questions that can be used with other young people who are interested in cosplay. Julia was supported to document her story of using cosplay to support preferred directions in life. This facilitated connection with other young people, who were invited to respond as outsider witnesses. It also allowed Julia to challenge some misunderstandings and stereotypes about cosplayers, fostering new understandings for teachers and others working with young people.

The cosplay trend has quickly developed into a subculture in Indonesia, especially among teenagers. This research aims to see how the cosplay phenomenon influences the development of interpersonal communication. This research uses a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach to achieve this goal. This approach was adopted to understand cosplayers' experiences and interpersonal communication perspectives thoroughly. Data was collected using several stages, including in-depth interviews with cosplayers, direct observation of their interactions in various cosplay scenarios, and joint documentation with them after the interview process was completed. Data processing and analysis are linked to interpersonal communication theory according to Joseph A. Devito to achieve effective interpersonal communication with the main characteristics, namely openness, empathy, supportive attitude, positive attitude, and equality. The results of this research show that there are differences in interpersonal communication between cosplayers when wearing costumes and when they are not. In addition, this research found that cosplay activities help cosplayers' self-development, especially in terms of communication skills.

ABSTRACT This study explores the Yu-C (language cosplay) community, a female-dominated digital subculture within the Chinese internet landscape. Yu-C, a text-based role-playing platform, enables participants to construct and perform diverse identities—including cross-gender, non-human, and fictional personas—cultivating a unique site for storytelling, social interaction, and feminist expression. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 36 female participants, supplemented by online ethnographic observations, this research examines how Yu-C facilitates identity exploration, challenges patriarchal norms, and serves as a microcosm for feminist resistance and subcultural innovation. Utilising theoretical frameworks of cyberfeminism, queer theory, and intersectionality, the study analyzes the dynamics of inclusion, exclusion, and subcultural capital within the community. Findings reveal that Yu-C offers women a space for self-expression, emotional connection, and the reimagining of traditional gender roles. At the same time, it highlights the complexities of balancing exclusivity and inclusivity. This study contributes to feminist literature by demonstrating the transformative potential of digital spaces for identity reconstruction and collective empowerment, emphasising Yu-C’s role in challenging and reconfiguring societal narratives around gender and power.

abstract:Cosplay has seen significant growth in popularity in Hong Kong, yet understanding of this subculture remains limited. This study employs a phenomenological approach to explore the online and offline experiences of Hong Kong adolescent cosplayers, with a focus on their personal growth and identity development. Through semistructured interviews with eleven participants, the research provides a comprehensive view of how these adolescents navigate their identities and relationships within the cosplay community. The findings highlight the unique challenges and rewards of this subculture, showing its profound impact on personal development. Adolescent cosplayers engage in a novel and meaningful community, experiencing enjoyment and recognition as well as challenges and criticism. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers, educators, health professionals, and researchers, contributing to the existing literature on cosplay, adolescent development, and identity formation.

This study investigates the expression of cosplay culture and its influence on local cultural identity among cosplayers in Makassar, Indonesia. In the context of the growing globalization of Japanese popular culture, cosplay has evolved into a prominent form of youth cultural engagement that facilitates creativity, self-expression, and community interaction. Grounded in Henry Jenkins’ theory of participatory culture, the research explores how cosplayers engage as both cultural consumers and producers—manifested through costume creation, performance, and participation in cosplay events. Utilizing a qualitative descriptive approach, data were collected through participant observation, documentary studies, and in-depth interviews with cosplayers, event organizers, and attendees. The findings reveal that cosplay serves as a medium of cultural negotiation, where global and local values intersect, leading to hybrid forms of expression. While cosplay fosters artistic innovation and social cohesion, it also presents challenges to traditional norms and local identity. However, initiatives such as the integration of indigenous elements into costume design highlight cosplay's potential to support cultural continuity and intercultural dialogue. This study offers insights into the localization of global cultural practices and underscores the dynamic interplay between global influences and local identities within contemporary youth culture.             

: Cosplay, as a cultural phenomenon, is viewed as a tangible reflection of contemporary youth's desire to escape reality and explore unconventional ideas in the collectivist values championed by mainstream Confucianism. This article illustrates why Cosplay can coexist relatively harmoniously with the existing Chinese social order, despite the inherent tensions and conflicts between these two realms. By employing Foucault's theory of "docile bodies and power" alongside ethnographic field research, the author aims to reveal that the coexistence of Cosplay within the contemporary Chinese social system is facilitated by the fact that under the constraints of Confucian appearance politics and the personal identity conveyed through appearance, a dynamic relationship emerges between Cosplay and traditional social values. This relationship can establish a foundation for mutual compromise, despite underlying confrontations. By doing so, it reduces friction between the two sides to a manageable level while fulfilling the requirements of power dynamics and supervision.

Cosplay is a fan culture that involves dressing up as and performing fictional characters from popular media texts. Since the late 2000s, commercial enterprises in Japan have been creating and exploring new places for cosplay, such as rental studios and real-life locations, and marketing them to cosplayers for profit-seeking purposes. Based on fieldwork at cosplay events and rental studios, as well as interviews with staff, cosplayers, and chiefs of companies, I explore and discuss various ways in which spaces for cosplay are commodified in Japan. I argue that part of cosplayers’ creative spatial experience within rental studios and locations is predicted and staged by place providers. Still, cultural meanings are co-created by both cosplayers’ creative agency and place providers’ attempts to control cosplayers’ consumer behaviours. This co-creation is the result of the power dynamics between cosplayer users and place providers, along with the employment of cosplayers’ subcultural and online social capital by place providers. This study contributes to the understanding of how cultural meanings are co-created between cultural organisations and their users. It also broadens critical discussions on the collaboration between corporations and prosumers.

Digital social networks are becoming a great showcase to display very diverse messages. In an easy, fast and accessible way, users can search for content based on their interests. In this research work, twelve international cosplay content creator accounts have been taken on the TikTok application. Using a quantitative and analytical methodology, a total of 8,847 posts made between September 2016 and October 2022 have been analyzed in the different selected tiktokers accounts, with the main objective of delimiting those elements that most favor engagement with the user and establishing their effectiveness. In this way, it has been possible to verify how this type of content creators bet on videos with a short duration -between 12.2 and 17.11 seconds. and a much more concentrated publication strategy in the afternoon and weekend time slots as a bet on their success.

This resource piece explores commonly held adult beliefs about young people’s play and challenges some of these ideas through published research and examples from child and youth participatory fan cultures. We begin this piece by examining some of these misconceptions and myths, primarily the ideas that children’s play is in decline, that children’s play is trivial and non-productive, that popular culture reduces children’s desire to play, and that children are no longer creating their own cultural artifacts (Small 259). Challenging these assumptions, we discuss the ways that children and youth engage in three participatory fan activities—writing fanfiction, creating fan videos, and participating in cosplay— drawing on examples from a range of popular youth fandoms including Harry Potter, Girl Meets World, Percy Jackson, The Avengers, Monster High, and the Hunger Games.

Cosplay commission (cos-commission) is a new form of commodified intimate relationship within the Otome game community in China. To explore the motivations, practices, experiences, and challenges, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 participants in different roles. Our findings reveal that cos-commission, as a hybrid activity, provides participants with a chance to collaboratively build meaningful connections. It also offers a pathway for personal exploration and emotional recovery. However, the vague boundary between performative roles and intimate interactions can give rise to unexpected negative outcomes, such as attachment-driven entanglements and post-commission “withdrawal symptoms.” While digital platforms facilitate communication in cos-commissions, they often lack sufficient safeguards. This preliminary work provides insights into the formation process of hybrid intimate relationship and its potential to foster personalized, long-term support for mental well-being, and reveals potential privacy and safety challenges.

Cosplay has developed with the influences of contemporary society since its early beginnings. From analog event-based interactions to online activities, this growth in popularity has been gradual and encountered challenges along the way. The COVID pandemic lockdown conditions of 2020, however, have been extremely disruptive for conventions. Cosplay activities online have changed from a supporting element of the physical event to being the only option available for a period. In tumultuous times human society has proved capable of adapting rapidly and popular culture is no different. Particularly during the early days of the restrictive measures, there was a burst of online activity and for the global cosplay community this manifested as cosplay collaboration videos. These cosplay community-based projects coalesced around themes familiar to the fandom from anime and manga to games and beyond. The global reach of the digital realm facilitated groups to come together in cooperation in a unique way which inspires further development of tools available to cosplayers. 

This research aims to find out the process of the formation of the cosplay community and to find out the development of the cosplay community in Makassar City. In this research, the method used is an ethnographic method where the data used comes from interviews with informants. In the process of collecting data, the author gets from interviews with the founders of the cosplay communities. The results of this study show the process of the formation of the cosplay community in Makassar City and the development of the cosplay community in Makassar City. Members of the cosplay community are aware of the profit opportunities that exist when becoming a cosplayer. The community is only a place to express their hobby by gathering with people who have the same passion for cosplay. The cosplayers carry out their hobbies in cosplay while also running a business to gain profit and fame in the world of cosplayers in Makassar City.

This paper reports an interview study about the practice of teenagers’ chat-based cosplay in China. Findings reveal the four primary motivations of the participants and their main practice in chat-based cosplay. We found that adolescents perceived character presentation and portrayal as a central aspect of chat-based cosplay and they devoted significant effort to refine their characters to achieve higher character consistency. We highlighted the positive feedback loop between social relationships and story creation in chat-based cosplay community. In addition, we identified the influence and negative experiences on adolescents in the chat-based cosplay community.

Video games are one of the most popular forms of digital leisure among Russians in general and young people in particular. Passion for video games can be accompanied not only by virtual practices, but also by participation in offline events of various levels: from regional “gatherings” to international festivals. Cosplay is one of the forms of activity of gamers in the offline space, the study of which can contribute to channeling the activity of young people into non-gaming projects. The purpose of the study is to analyze the attitude towards cosplay practices among young Russian gamers. The author's sociological research was carried out using qualitative methodology, the method of in-depth interviews. The sample consisted of 30 people, the main criteria for selecting respondents were: age (18–30 years), experience in participating in the practice of computer games (at least 3 years), the presence or absence of experience in participating in cosplay, residence in Russia. The number of respondents is due to the saturation of the coding categories (interviews with new respondents do not give researchers a new understanding to reveal the topic). The interview was conducted online using voice and video chats (TeamSpeak, Mumble, Discord). The results of an in-depth interview among the youth segment of the Russian audience of computer games are presented. The interviews were conducted among representatives of two segments of the Russian audience of online games: cosplay gamers and gamers who do not bother with cosplay. Based on the data of the study, the perception of cosplay among gamers and the experience of their participation in this offline practice were analyzed. The study showed that today in the community of young Russian gamers there are different positions in relation to cosplay and cosplayers. Some gamers have noted a positive attitude towards this practice, however, their assessment of the quality of cosplay varies depending on their role in cosplay (cosplayer or spectator), others pointed to a lack of interest in cosplay or a lack of understanding of its meaning. The main reasons for refusal to participate in cosplay as actors among gamers who are positive about it are established: the resource-intensiveness of creating an image, lack of confidence in one's skills and creative abilities, fear of the publicity of this activity and the possibility of replacing one's goals with someone else's, artificially created ones. The data obtained made it possible to identify the ambiguous attitude of gamers towards cosplay, which is important in the context of permanent monitoring of modern practices in the field in order to highlight the value orientations of young people.

Through “cosplay” (costume play) fans perform existing fictional characters in selfcreated costumes, thereby enriching and extending popular narratives. Cosplay is a scarcely studied form of appropriation that transforms and actualizes an existing story or game in close connection to the fan community and the fan’s own identity (Lamerichs, 2011; Newman, 2008; Okabe, 2012; Winge, 2006). The activity can be read as a form of dress up. In the field of game studies, dress up is an often overlooked but significant category of play with its own affordances (Fron, Fullerton, Morie, & Pearce, 2007). While dress up can involve actual costumes or fantasy play, it is also encouraged in digital games and their user-generated content. Customizable characters and “dollhouse” structures in The Sims series are but one example (Wirman, 2011). Similarly, cosplay provides the player with the joys of make-belief and productive play. This paper explores the possibilities of reading the costume itself as a product that facilitates performance and play. I analyze cosplay as a transmedial activity that is constructed at different online and offline sites through small-scaled ethnography and close-reading. The transmediality of cosplay is foregrounded in the methodology that, rather than adopting a player-centered approach, construes a cultural reading that involves both participants and spectators (e.g., photographers, fans, media professionals or outsiders such as parents). Through two case-studies, I focus on the costume’s materiality and emerging performances. The first case details the materiality of cosplay through its consumption culture. Cosplay blurs the relations between labor and play. The activity takes shape at fan conventions but also increasingly at promotional events of the industry itself. Costumes are commodified by fans themselves as well that sell their cosplay photos, commission their dress from others or buy parts of them. Increasingly, costumes and accessories are sold over platforms as eBay and Etsy which will illustrate the dynamics between commerciality and creativity. The second case explores the visuality of the costume through its mediation. While the costume can be experienced first-hand at convention sites, it is also remediated in photography, for instance, thereby extending its potential audience and performative

Children’s engagement with Japanese toys and fictional characters has taken on new significance in the age of YouTube. Drawing on ethnographic research on technology-mediated play among 8- and 9-year-olds in Norway, this article shows how boundaries between “real” humans and “fake” non-humans are blurred and undermined when children take on the perspective of a fictional pop star known as Miku. I argue that YouTube provides a platform for children’s playful experimentation with posthuman subjectivities, where they orient themselves toward the future not in terms of becoming adult but in terms of multiple becomings.

The Handmaid’s Tale television adaptation (Miller, 2017–25) produced a cultural and media phenomenon inspiring feminist and human rights activists in dozens of different contexts to dress as handmaids in protest, particularly to challenge the rhetoric of Donald Trump. This article considers the handmaid’s symbolism from book to screen into protest, as well as the costuming and performances of participants dressing as handmaids in protest. Drawing on interviews with those who dressed as handmaids in the United Kingdom between 2018 and 2019, this article will investigate what the handmaid symbolizes and how handmaid-dressed protesters have approached costuming, tactics and the performance of the handmaid in protest. The handmaid inhabits a polysemic positionality as a costume of conflict, oscillating between various contradictory states to produce a popular and accessible figure to explore the multifaceted activism of feminist practice. The handmaid in protest produces and denies submissive femininities, which creates a vehicle for participants to contend with their own political identities and feelings. The handmaid is powerful because of its complexity and ambivalence, allowing participants to find it useful from multiple different angles. At the same time, the handmaid is at risk of being interpreted as a post-feminist figure, in which traditional conventions of femininity are reinscribed.

This article analyses the complex relationship between the construction of gender identities among young Chinese females and the practice of dressing up in Hanfu attire. The study employs the perspectives of dress as a situated embodied practice, the performativity of gender and the catwalk as a form of performance art. By drawing on an ethnography of self-defined Hanfu fans in Beijing, China, the authors investigate how the female participants construct femininities through performing on Hanfu catwalks. The ethnographic findings are that, first, the Hanfu catwalk mediates the intricate interplay of Chinese aesthetic norms and gender expression between performers and the audience. Second, wearing Hanfu is an embodied practice unifying the Hanfu costume style, gender construction and corporeal acts, situated in China’s sociopolitical context. Third, Chinese femininity is complex, with both flexibility and internal conflicts, reflecting China’s paradoxical modernization.

This article addresses the subcultural imagery deployed in the neo-burlesque communities, through the ways UK performers access the costume, iconography and spectacle of Goth, Gothic and horror. Taking several performances from recent events as case studies (Joe Black, Rosie Lugosi), I maintain that a critical intersection of burlesque and Goth(ic) allows for a reconsideration of both genres. I also suggest that the cabaret and burlesque scene complicates ideas of belonging in subculture, despite the popular narrative that subcultures such as Goth are overwhelmingly welcoming to minorities. Given how both Goth and Gothic are traditionally located in the realm of the unconscious, or the taboo, I also maintain that gender performance is central to any discussion of these artists, with onstage scenes including gender non-conformity, monstrous beauty, and fetish. I maintain that the use of music and costume choice (with especial reference to the films of Tim Burton), suggest a homage to Goth(ic) culture, whilst also satirising the practices and iconographies popularly associated with that community. Finally, addressing the post-COVID-19 climate and the precarity of live performance and health/well-being, I address how far the apocalyptic Gothic has influenced the content of neo-burlesque shows.

The article is devoted to an examination of fan culture in indie games and analyzes how the activities of fan communities can support independent video game developers. Particular attention is given to the benefits of developing such communities specifically within the indie segment of the gaming industry. The term “fandom” is defined, and key characteristics of such communities are highlighted. The terminology and features of indie games that distinguish them from other representatives of the industry are also explored.Within the scope of the study, the activities of fan community members were analyzed, including feedback on social media, the creation of fan art, cosplay, game modifications, and other forms of interaction between players, the community, and developers. The article outlines the advantages of having an active fan base for promoting video games, with a focus on indie projects. Practical recommendations are also provided for independent developers on how to encourage player engagement and build a loyal community.

The article explores postsecular modes of engagement with fictional worlds as forms of ontological participation. Key concepts such as secondary belief, paracosm, participatory mythopoesis, ontological slippage, hyperdiegesis, and deep play are analyzed as cultural regimes in which fiction can be experienced as real. Fictional involvement is interpreted not as escapism, but as a form of aesthetic, existential, and even ritual interaction with fictional structures that function as sacralized experiential spaces. The article also addresses the ambivalence between re-enchantment and simulation, drawing on the concepts of Baudrillard, Taylor, and Žižek. Methodologically, the study combines cultural phenomenology, philosophical hermeneutics, and critical media theory.

ABSTRACT The Takarazuka Revue is commonly differentiated from other Japanese theatres based on their gendered stage performances and distinct relations between the performers and their patrons. So far, little research has been conducted on Takarazuka’s fan culture beyond the prism of a theatre performance and performer/fan relationships, especially when it comes to issues such as locality, fan tourism, or fans’ consumer practices that are not limited to the activities of fan clubs. Looking at Takarazuka from the perspective of the imagined core of Takarazuka fan culture offers us a glimpse into the reasons for the unprecedented popularity of this establishment: the fantasy beyond the stage. Drawing on ethnographic data from fieldwork conducted in Takarazuka City and interview data with Takarazuka fans, this article examines Takarazuka fans’ perceptions of Takarazuka Revue’s birthplace, the core of Takarazuka City, and the landscape surrounding its home-theatre, the Takarazuka Grand Theatre. I explore how past memories, lived experiences, and personal encounters of individual fans transform an urban neighbourhood into a shared fantasy surpassing the theatre stage; an embodied space characterised by movement, liminality, and affect, which is hidden behind the idea of the “Takarazuka space”. I argue that Takarazuka fans’ awareness of the ubiquitous Takarazuka space on both communal and personal levels signifies a multi-layered fantasy which exceeds the expectations of theatregoing practices, and provides us insight into the way local theatres within urban landscapes have the potential to shape individual fan identities and promote the creation of fan networks.

The purpose of the article is to analyse the evolution and transformation of performative practices in modern mass forms of culture, in particular in the context of digitalisation, commercialisation, and changing models of cultural consumption. The focus is on studying the ways in which performance (as a form of artistic expression) adapts to the demands of a global audience and mediatised space. The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach: cultural analytical methods were applied, as well as elements of semiotics, case studies of contemporary performances in the fields of music, fashion, politics, and visual art. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive understanding of performativity as a cultural universal that undergoes significant changes as a result of the massive impact of technology, social media, and participatory culture. For the first time, the transition from theatrical-ritual models to hybrid performances in the formats of vlogs, streams, flash mobs, and virtual shows has been systematically analysed. Conclusions. As a result of the study, it was found that performative practices in modern mass culture are undergoing significant transformations, which are due to both internal evolutionary processes of art and external technological, social, political factors. Performance, which arose as an experimental form of artistic expression, has become a multi-level tool of communication, influence, and self-presentation in the conditions of a postmodern and digital society. Mass culture today actively uses performativity in a variety of formats: from theatrical shows to virtual events, flash mobs, streams, interactive online performances. Performativity in mass culture also increasingly performs social and ideological functions: mobilises public attention, initiates dialogue, and contributes to the formation of collective identities. Due to the effect of emotional engagement and emphasis on visuality, performance becomes an effective means of symbolic influence, which is especially noticeable in socio-cultural activism, branding, the fashion industry, youth subcultures. At the current stage, performance in mass culture is becoming a structural element of the modern cultural process.

USA has the lowest life expectancy of its peer countries and steadily increasing obesity rates. Although exercise is key to health and well-being, long-term exercise participation is a significant challenge. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative, hermeneutic study was to examine the reasons for the long-lasting participation in a community-based aerial sling class (Flow) among adult women. Drawing on the philosophical underpinnings of techne (art) and phronesis (practical wisdom/reasoning), it was hypothesized that the techne-related elements of the Flow class (e.g., performativity, creativity, play, accomplishment of challenging skills) would be highly motivating and thus lead to the participants’ decision to continue with the class and other similar movement endeavors (link between techne and phronesis). Study participants were seven women (aged 28 – 48 years), including the class students and instructor at a major US city. The Flow class commenced in January 2024 and took place once per week for 1.15 hours. The class included skill based and performative elements such as dynamic sling choreographies. Following a show performance in May 2024, individual interviews were conducted via zoom to collect the study’s data. Based on the qualitative analysis, three themes emerged regarding the reasons for the long-lasting (at least nine months) participation in the Flow class: a) Performativity, creativity, play: creating and performing choreographies, returning to childhood; b) “Proud” feeling of accomplishment; Motivating and not boring: “does not feel like a workout”: sensing the “addictive” nature of aerial arts vs. “being bored by lifting weights at a gym”, “mentally rewarding,” “feeling accomplished”; and c) Improved strength, energy, stamina, and health: being stronger and healthier than before (e.g., improving symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis). Based on the study findings, the techne elements of the Flow class led to long-term participation in the class and other similar exercise endeavors. Therefore, exercise promoters should incorporate performative, creative, playful, and challenging elements in movement programming for long-lasting exercise participation.

  This paper investigates the issue of identity construction in the emerging field of virtual clothing, using a set of digital artworks and a gaming community case study as research objects. Within the globally influential ACG (Animation, Comics, and Games) subculture, the digital “Avatar” has become the primary site for identity construction. Employing a mixed-methods approach that combines semiotic analysis, case studies, and exploratory metrics, this paper argues that virtual clothing, hairstyles, and aesthetic modifications are not mere representations but are practices imbued with performativity. The article uses a triangular theoretical framework composed of Roland Barthes's fashion semiotics, Judith Butler's theory of performativity, and Homi Bhabha's concept of the “Third Space” as its main structure, supplemented by theories such as the “Proteus effect”, the “extended self”, and posthumanist thought, to provide a multi-dimensional interpretation of digital identity construction. The core proposition of this paper is that the “digital skin”, as a “performative interface” and “wearable capital”, not only constructs fluid, networked identities but also embodies social and economic value that operates within specific platform ecosystems. Through the analysis of visual grammar, in-game unlock mechanisms, and community discourse, this paper aims to reveal that the study of digital self-presentation has become a critical new frontier in the field of costume and culture studies, elucidating how identity is shaped, negotiated, and capitalized upon in the increasingly prevalent virtual environments of the 21st century.

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In 2025, the release of the Minecraft movie triggered a wave of youth-driven audience participation centered on the meme reference “chicken jockey,” which escalated into viral, in-theater performances. This paper examines the event as a case of memetic performance, where digital cultural scripts shape real-world behavior. Drawing on media ritual theory, participatory culture, and platform studies, the analysis explores how symbolic fluency and algorithmic amplification transform spectatorship into collective ritual. Using an interpretive case study approach based on secondary sources, the study situates the “chicken jockey” chant within a broader shift toward participatory spectacle. While focused on a single, culturally specific case, the paper offers conceptual insights into how memes function as both communicative codes and ritual cues, blurring boundaries between online signaling and offline performance in a platform-mediated media environment.

This article analyses the live Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event to explore how contemporary sport spectacles are governed through affective and communicative forms of control. Drawing on Blackshaw and Coetzee’s (2020) concept of performative governmentality and Debord’s (1967) theory of the spectacle, it examines how spontaneity and participation are choreographed within a commercial event ecology. Based on ethnographic research conducted between 2016 and 2023, the study identifies a system of decentred control in which fans are both empowered and regulated. Building on Harper’s (2010) idea of communicative ontology, it argues that fans’ chants, costumes, songs, and humour constitute the event’s affective texture while serving the PDC’s and media broadcasters aims. The analysis reveals that control operates through atmosphere rather than authority, transforming spectators into co-creators of value. The article concludes by highlighting implications for event managers seeking to design participatory yet ethically governed live experiences.