Gender and Gender Relations in Manga and Anime

Recently, too, there is growing controversy over gender roles in Japan. An American friend recently complained bitterly over the pervasiveness of sadistic, (heterosexual) male-oriented Japanese pornography in Japan. She says that the message that women are sexual objects has become almost epidemic in Japanese culture, and that male chauvenism is everywhere. Many career women in Japan seem to be so disgusted with things that they refuse to marry. And too many men are expected to sacrifice themselves to their jobs, to the point of having no family involvement. When a man retires, he sometimes becomes trapped in a family he doesn't know, with nothing to do, and he tends to die soon after from his sudden lack of purpose.

I am not an expert in this topic; however, maybe I can provide some insight into Japanese culture and its reflection in manga, as well as some recent trends in manga. I am writing, by the way, from the point of view that individuality is more important than one's gender --- and hence to stereotype genders and to force people to conform to those stereotypes is not a good thing. I personally think we'd all be better off if each of us picked up the stereotypical strengths of both genders, if, say, men were more nurturing and women were more likely to speak and be heard.

Historical and Modern Attitudes

Unlike in the West, however, some women, not just men, were trained as samurai and ninja, and they fought with the long, halberd-like naginata. Supposedly, for a woman to touch a sword was a dishonor to the sword; conversely, it was (up until recently) considered disgraceful for a man to use a naginata, a "woman's weapon." Women samurai were not given the "honorable" and less pleasant way of committing suicide by cutting open the abdomen; they were given, instead, the "easy" way out --- cutting their own throats.

Still, that some women were trained for combat at all is an insight into the Japanese attitude toward women. Women, though second-class, are important assets to a family. Like any culture, most men and women come to care for each other, and a man heard deprecating women at the pub might be willing to risk his life for his wife. And that is one of the characteristic quirks of Japanese culture.

The macho ideal of a strong, cool male fits the Japanese ideal very closely. At home, some Japanese men tend to order their wives about. They have a tendency to speak gruffly, and use the wife's first name. "Kyoko, the tea!" or "Mayuko, please get me more coffee." Wives, meanwhile, are generally expected to refer to their husbands with the polite form of "you," or "anata," and they are expected to use more polite phrases and to obey their husbands. An interesting exception to this, however, are many families with children. Some parents take to calling each other as "Mama" or "Papa" (or "okaasan" and "otousan"); hence, not only do the children refer to their mother as "mama" or "okaasan," but so does the father (and vice versa). "Let's ask mama when she gets home," the husband might say. "Papa, is this your wallet?" the wife might say. This is extended further once the parents become grandparents, and they start calling each other "grandfather" or "grandmother," just as the newest generation does.

At work, though, it is reported that women are the last to be hired and the first to be fired. Many college-educated women simply aren't hired, even if they're qualified. There is still an expectation that a married woman will quit her job to stay at home. Sexual harassment, though technically illegal, is apparently common at the workplace, and both men and women are expected to regard it as normal.

In society in general, naked women are plastered here and there --- from subways to the TV set (yes, even prime time TV). As one American family in Japan put it, "At first the kids would stare at the TV set [because of the prevalence of female nudity], but after a while, they got used to it." Pornographic bookstores are pretty common, and business men are frequently seen reading pornographic books openly, in public. Much of the recent pornography, reports a friend, is based on sadistic themes.

As I've said of men before, often they are expected to spend most of their waking hours at work, or on business-related entertainment outings. He feels he must shoulder the entire burden of financially supporting the household, and for this, he needs to sacrifice himself to his job. Children sometimes grow up without knowing their fathers, and sometimes the mother will admit she prefers not having her husband around, because he gets in the way. A recent trend has more and more women putting off marriage or even not marrying at all.

Of course, not all is this bad! There are brilliant and capable women in various professions, from government to science; and there are men who are wonderful fathers, loved by their children and wives. One person has reported that there is very little open discrimination left in many professional fields.

So much for the background on Japanese gender relations. Yes, much of it sounds fairly dismal. But how are gender relations depicted in the manga and anime?

Gender Relationships in Manga and Anime

1. many manga are targeted at either girls or boys, and can be classified as either girls' or boys' comics. Generally, though not always, boys' comics are told from a male perspective, and vice versa. Also, girls' comics tend to focus on human relationships more than the boys' comics; the latter focus more on competition or contests of will (such as a detective struggling to close a case). Lastly, girls' comics tend to have artwork that is dreamier and softer, while boys' comics tend to be brasher and flashier.
2. Japanese manga for young people tend to be far more intricate, human, philosophical, and mature than American comics. Responsibility and the consequences of one's actions are taught at all levels; so is the essentially humanity of even one's enemies (usually). Conversely, the increased maturity level also means that nudity and sexual themes are present in comics meant for grade schoolers.

Here are some categories that I've created. I believe they represent a large proportion of young people's comics.

• The Unequal Relationship: Women as Cheerleaders and Damsels-in-Distress. Most 1970's manga and a good percentage of modern comics depict the old stereotypes: the women tend to be shy and weak, meek and humble; the men tend to be strong, gruff, and "cool." They tend to stay this way, though the female does tend to become stronger mentally, though usually not to the point of becoming equal to the male. This theme runs through both girls' and boys' comics.
  • In boys' comics, girls are routinely depicted as damsels-in-distress who otherwise act as the male character's cheerleaders. Sometimes, in the case of the 1970's stereotypical action team in which one out of five members was female, the woman was routinely the one who screwed up in battle. Examples of this are anime like GoLion ("Voltron") or Cyborg 009 or the Ultraman series. A great number of modern manga follow this trend as well. Even the 80's City Hunter played heavily on the unequal strengths of Ryo and Kaori; Kaori, though a decent partner, usually wound up as bait. The older Black Angels also had women who were competent, but not nearly as much as the men. In many other manga, the girls sit in the bleachers cheering on their boyfriends as the latter play bastketball, or soccer, or baseball, or battle giant monsters, demons, or whatever. She often will sacrifice her own goals and activities to help out her favorite male, and of course she dreams of marrying him, staying at home, and doing the laundry. He, meanwhile, dreams of winning the ball game and sacrifices the time he could have spent with her on practicing instead. (Speaking of sacrifice, in a scene from a Gundam movie, a mother opts to send her son over her daughter to safety --- because it's assumed boys are warriors and hence more valuable). In the best manga of this variety, however, the male gains strength from her caring, gains strength from his own love for her, and wins his battle as much for himself as for her.
  • In girls' comics, both old and to some extent recent, our heroine's mind is often full of devotion and trepidition about her chosen male. It's sometimes highly annoying to read a comic book where page after page depicts a girl whose mind is completely filled with her adoration and respect (and worship!) of a guy she likes, her fear of approaching him, her wondering what he thinks of her, wondering what she can do for him, thinking she's worthless, comparing herself to other girls, and so on. Alas, this is a typical romance-oriented girls' comic theme, though modern heroines seem (thankfully) less neurotic. It is often assumed that boys are more stable, more reliable, more intelligent, stronger, and more capable than the main-character girls. The males tend to assume this as well, and take up the role of leaders and teachers. Examples of this story are too numerous to list, but one particularly insiduous one is the 1970s-era Aim for the Ace --- in which the entire manga, even though it's about a woman tennis player, philosophizes on the inherent weakness of women, and how men must train women to be strong like men. The main character, the tennis player, spends much of her time apologizing to male characters and blushing a lot. In the better examples of this type of manga, though, we get to see the heroine develop enough courage to stand by her man in a difficult situation, and frequently it is her gentle love that saves him from harm. In a mixed-gender team, her role is definitely one of (anxious) support, a direct parallel of the boys' comics message. (In my opinion, this really wouldn't be so bad, if only the heroines would stop being quite so insecure and low in self-esteem).
  • Should I bother mentioning certain (not all) men's comics? The hero tends to be a defender of women, but the series often focus so much on sex-crazed male "bad guys" and their behaviors (as well as on certain female body parts) that one begins to think the author has more in common with the bad guys than the hero. I won't even mention the comics where the "hero" is a rapist.

• Adjusting Relationships: Bringing the Woman Down. These have a more natural balance and more realistic male and female characters; however, the male often has to help the the woman reach a more "normal" state --- usually by helping her become weaker and/or gentler (and/or dependent). In the case of Maison Ikkoku, Godai was expected to be able to support Kyoko so that she could quit her job and depend on him, and in the case of 3X3 Eyes, Yakumo needs to help Pai until she can become human, lose all her powers, and "live like a normal human girl." (Moreover, though at first Pai is more powerful, Yakumo slowly becomes stronger than she). This theme crops up in book 2 of Chojin Locke, in which Locke berates the psychic woman he's fighting and demands to know why she doesn't stop living like a tool and start living as "a human --- a woman!" Later, in the movie version of the story, the warrior-woman is mentally "corrected" by the government to become just another fashion-conscious woman. Other examples: The eldest of the Cat's Eye thief sisters loses her memory of what she is, and it's supposedly "better for her" that way. In fact, there is a general tendency to have strong female characters forget who they are. In Kimagure Orange Road, our hero wins Madoka's respect when he snatches a cigarette from her and tells her that if she smokes, she "won't be able to have a healthy baby." In Chojin Locke again, a young man who once had to be saved by the princess by the end of the book is saving the princess (who has inexplicably become quite a wimp). In one adult manga, the hero observes that women concentrating in the officeplace look ugly, while men in the officeplace look good and handsome. Where do women look their best? In the bedroom. The message seems to be that women ought to become a societally accepted notion of "a woman"; otherwise, they're unnatural in some way; men should help them reach that state. Men should be their protectors and the breadwinners, as well as their leaders and teachers. (Ranma 1/2 falls under this category to an extent, but I'll be discussing it more below).

• The Stable, Equal Relationship: Yes, there seem to be some of these, too. Some of the more recent girls' comics seem especially to be picking up on this theme. Usually (not always) the male is assumed to be stronger, but the female is often smarter (at least academically) and/or more stable. There's a balance here, and both sides have a respect for the other, personally and sometimes professionally. Usually (not always) the male is the main character and the woman is a sidekick, but still, one can sense the mutual respect. Wow. Even if the woman is a housewife, one can see that she doesn't automatically worship her husband; she can use her own brain, and she does. Both use their talents, and both know the other's faults. There isn't a delusional, ideal stereotype blinding them about each other. As a note, I do include in this category some manga that have the double message of women as competent people and also as sex objects. However, if the female character, no matter what her supposed role in society is, solves most of her problems with sex, or if there is an overbearing emphasis on body parts, then I must conclude that the author's primary view of the character is as a sex object.

• The Initially Unequal Relationship: Super Women Who Bring the Male Up. A recent style of manga and anime introduces the "Super Woman" notion, though it could be said the earliest "super woman" was Oscar, of Rose of Versailles, from 1974. Main character heroines such as Mikami (Ghost Sweeper Mikami), Gally (Gunnm) and Natsuki (Natsuki Crisis) are of this type, stronger and smarter than everyone else around them, including their love interests. And, unlike some other manga, they are not ashamed to be better, and they fight hard to stay sharp and competent. The male doesn't strive to change/lower the woman, but instead strives to raise himself to her level. (It doesn't help that sometimes the male is slightly unstable in some way --- usually a tad dense, a bit lacking in self-discipline, a bit unreliable, or sometimes overly sex-crazed). The trend is for the heroine to remain independent and aloof until the male character gets enough of a "grip" to improve himself until he is worthy of her. The end result of this type seems to be a more equal partnership --- though it's notable that, at the very end of the series, Gally loses her powers and Mikami may be far surpassed by her apprentice.