Collective achievement of making in cosplay culture

TL;DR

This study explores how female cosplayers in Japan learn and share skills through peer interactions and scaffolding within their community, emphasizing connected learning and ethnographic insights.

Contribution

It expands understanding of scaffolding and peer-based learning in cosplay culture through ethnographic case studies and qualitative analysis.

Findings

Cosplayers engage in reciprocal learning and skill sharing.

SNSs serve as key platforms for exchanging costume-making knowledge.

The concept of scaffolding is broadened to include peer support in cosplay.

Abstract

This paper analyzes peer-based learning and the concept of Scaffolding represented in ethnographic case studies of ten female informants aged 20-25 participating in the cosplay community. Cosplay is a female-dominated niche subculture of extreme fans and mavens, who are devoted to dressing up as characters from manga, games, and anime. Cosplayers are highly conscious of quality standards for costumes, makeup, and accessories. Cosplay events and dedicated SNSs for cosplayers are a valuable venue for exchanging information about costume making. First we frame this work as an effort to think about their learning environment using the concept of connected learning by Ito et al(2013). Then we share an overview of cosplay culture in Japan and our methodologies based on interviews and fieldwork. The interview transcripts were analyzed according to the Steps for coding and Theorization method, a qualitative data analysis technique by Otani (2008). In this study, We focus on their reciprocal learning and expanding the concept of Scaffolding.