IJAPS, Vol. 14, No. 1, 133–163, 2018 “EXPRESSIVE RATIONALITY”: HABITUS AND FIELD IN A MALAYSIAN COSPLAY COMMUNITY Rachel Suet Kay Chan∗ Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia E-mail:
[email protected] Published online: 15 January 2018 To cite this article: Chan, R. S. K. 2018. “Expressive rationality”: Habitus and field in a Malaysian cosplay community. International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies 14 (1): 133– 163, https://doi.org/10.21315/ijaps2018.14.1.6 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.21315/ijaps2018.14.1.6 ABSTRACT Malaysian cosplayers, as a subset of Asian cosplayers, engage in a visually performative activity which raises the issues of ethnic and gender performativity, among other identity markers. This is further contextualised within an “everyday- defined” experience of identity, in which its formation is influenced by non-“social power” agents such as popular narratives (Baharuddin 1996: 18; Baharuddin and Athi 2015: 268). In addition, cosplayers are noted to be affected by global cultural flows. Given its relevance to studies of cosplay, I use Bourdieu’s framework of cultural capital to outline the components which make up an established cosplayer. Using a snowball sample, I survey several tertiary educated and employed Malaysian cosplayers regarding the cultural capital they use to navigate the intersections of race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. I compare the responses of my sample to that of cosplayers from international forums, and to the content of emerging counter-hegemonic popular narratives. My findings suggest that cosplay can be viewed as a form of public theatre, comprising rational and expressive elements.