Feminism in manga, anime, and popular fiction

[timepiececlock]

autoschismatic wrote a thoughtful and thorough analysis of why so many fans think that the Naruto manga marginalizes and sidelines its female characters, and why that is a problem that should be discussed, not ignored. Many people have replied, including myself, and there's an active debate going on about the issues discussed.

I only occasionally make my feelings on these topics known in my LJ, because I mostly squee about fandom and shipping, and politics are, at best, a distant third. I'm more likely to discuss those issues in reply to someone else's post than my own. But, just for full disclosure, I'd like to make a general reply to the people on that thread and to fans of manga and anime in general--and fictional in general, on both sides of the Pacific---about why I feel these issues matter as talking points in fandom and IRL.


For the ones who say that padding extra development into the lone female character is overdoing it just to make her PC for the feminists:

I don't think that feminism requires people to change their stories to make female characters more PC by "stretching" them to the detriment of the plot around them. I want stories written from the start by an author who recognizes that women are people too, and live in that world, and matter to that world. It shouldn't have to BE a stretch at all. Women aren't added to anything--we're already here.

Let me say that again:

We are already here.


For the ones who are content with shonen manga as is, or Hollywood movies as is, or comics or TV as is, feel it's already good enough, and by including a few women are doing all they really need to do:

I think it's great that you love how Naruto handles gender in the workplace, and that you love the series as it is. I love this series, too, and I don't want to take away someone else's love. But I can't be as satisfied as you are. Because--I'm not satisfied. Almost isn't enough. And yeah, my voice here won't change the story, won't make anything better. But we've got to "complain", we've got to scream it from the mountaintops or the messageboards every. single. time.

Or nothing will change. Because:

I AM NOT SATISFIED. I AM NOT TOTALLY HAPPY. WE DESERVE BETTER.

ALL OF US, READERS AND WRITERS AND ARTISTS, CAN BE BETTER.

WE CAN BE BETTER AT GENDER BALANCE. WE CAN BE BETTER AT RACIAL BALANCE.


And I will never, ever, stop complaining until I get what I want. You can't shame me into silence, because I am not ashamed to call out the problem when and where I see it. This, dear world, dear internet, is what I demand. Me: one person. And us: oh, so many more.

We are here.

Comments

[mswyrr]

Dear sweet pineapple! I saw the first comment, and then kept scrolling and comment after comment reiterated the same ignorance. Wow.

WTG speaking up!

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

WORD.

[gojira007.livejournal.com]

"Naruto" is definitely one of the more frustrating examples of how Manga tends to marginalize women, honestly. Here we've got a pretty full spectrum of female characters, all brimming with potential stories and great designs and all that good stuff...and the story literally bends over backwards to AVOID utilizing them. I'm a guy, and it drives me CRAZY.