As I began writing an article discussing my feelings for a female character in “Black Butler,” I immediately told my readers that, although she’s an anime character, she still has plenty of feminist qualities to appreciate. I wondered, then, why I was so adamant to defend my choice in character. If I chose to write about a literary character, I wouldn’t need to defend them from the stigmas of the genre. At least, not immediately and not as adamantly.
This got me thinking. Most people in the anime community have experienced criticism for their interest—largely, from my perspective, due to the portrayals of women. Generally, they reside on opposite extremes; either, the women are childish, flat-chested and “innocent,” or thin, large-chested women who exist mostly for the viewing pleasure of the male audience. When I first started watching anime, my high-school friends were appalled and disdainful. Even one of my more sheltered friends looked at me distastefully and sneered, “Oh, so you’re one of those people now.”
While the negative stereotypes of anime aren’t strictly invalid, it’s extremely annoying to me that no one, in my experience, turns their noses up quite the same way at any other media. Maybe it’s because anime is created, therefore allowing writers and animators to make whatever kinds of characters they’d like, instead of working more closely with reality. Maybe it’s because people would like to feel better about watching reality TV shows where (mostly) rich people just cattily attack each other.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t feel like this criticism of anime seeks to defend women from objectification. Everyone seems to be aware, on some level, of anime’s pitfalls, yet drastic change hasn't occurred and the same standards that influence this misuse of female characters reflected in other media aren't criticized. Negative stereotypes about anime hurt the people watching it, not the people making it.
Most movies and TV shows are still sexist. Choosing to draw women specifically to please the male gaze isn’t much different from demanding that female actors dress and act certain ways. Characters can be glorified sex objects in any type of show or movie. People who spit on anime purely because it isn’t “mature enough” or “inappropriate” ignore that the qualities they seemingly loathe are everywhere.
So, as a self-proclaimed feminist with a penchant for anime, where do I stand? Where does any feminist stand when they are open about supporting any form of media that has ties to sexism and objectification?
Sadly, if you want to avoid any sexism, you’d be avoiding pretty much everything on TV. (Social media would be a nightmare. What music would you listen to? Even if the lyrics themselves aren’t strictly sexist, would you still listen to music that excluded female participants?)
This leaves feminists in an interesting position. You can’t really avoid sexism without drastic measures and avoidance-without-purpose beyond evading unpleasantness. Besides, that doesn’t change anything—feminism wants to evoke change.
Not everyone can evoke drastic change. Although we may want to see more female characters with more significance than the size of her boobs, not everyone has the ability to change that. To some extent, there will always be shallow objectification, so long as the audience at large craves it. However, simple awareness and expression of dissatisfaction might cause the amount of fan-service characters to dwindle.
Most of the anime I enjoy aren’t brimming with female objectification. Ultimately, what I look for in an anime is the story line. There are plenty of complex, well-written and entertaining anime out there if you are willing to ignore the stereotypes that anime is childish and inferior to “normal” shows and movies. (Even if you enjoy more “childish” animes, who are people to judge you for that?)
I think the most important thing with enjoying anime—really, any media—is being aware of its flaws. Do not be complacent and allow yourself to fully detach your mind from what you see or hear, but don’t be so critical of one genre that you miss out on the good it has (you’ll make a massive hypocrite out of yourself). If we as feminists avoid everything with the slightest hint of sexism, we’d have little to watch or read.
Finally, don’t let anyone make you feel inferior just because your interests are different. No one has the right to automatically assume that your interest in anime means you support the objectification of women.
