What will be the evolution of the human social body in Chinese culture as it
encroaches upon imaging technologies and Virtual Reality zones such as social
networks, fandom and idol sites, and gaming networks. Who will be the real
members of our so-called families and who will be the imagined ones? What will
our spouses and children look like and do we want to preserve the biological
uses of our bodies and genders? How do we act out new kinscript structures as a
way to process desires/aspirations and waves of societal rejection (sexism,
homophobia)?
Fantasy Family is a multi-disciplinary arts and research project at City University of Hong Kong funded by the GRF grant [Gothic Lolita Unchained:The Appropriation of Japanese Animation Narratives and Gender Discourses in Chinese Digital Media Contexts]. The Project envisions the
Chinese cultural dissemination and Chinese adoption of concepts of gender in
Japanese animation culture and related subcultures.The project is carried out
by researchers Katrien Jacobs, Anne Peirson Smith and Kal Ng. It uses visual
ethnographic methods to compile case studies about the development of
sexuality, love & friendship within these areas of popular culture. It develops interviewing
methods, research texts and audiovisual documentation to document young people’s adoption of alter egos and virtual kinship structures.
