Current Connection 3.2

     In many American television shows and movies, women are making a stand as equals alongside men. However, in Japanese anime and manga, women are still seen as weaker sex objects, while the men they interact with are portrayed as stronger breadwinners. This is in keeping with a gender role stereotype that has been a problem for many years among men and women everywhere. The point is as such: is Japan taking a stand for or against gender equality?
     In an article written by Eri Izawa, a student at MIT, mentions that a friend from America complains that Japanese pornography was "...sadistic, (heterosexual)[and] male-oriented." This shows that even Americans can see the one-sided nature of what the Japanese show their people, a blanket of favoritism, a monster consuming the progress that had made. However, further on in her article, Izawa states that "women have not been invisible... some of Japan's greatest literary figures were women." It would seem that Japan has not been prejudiced, giving their citizens an equal amount of male and female influences. People just have to think for themselves, and use what influences they get to create a personal opinion of gender roles.
     A statement in a separate article written by Sean Boden, a writer for nausicaa.net, states that " Women are offered few roles in [Dragon Ball Z] and what roles they’re given are dismally backwards. While it has been pointed out that fundamental beliefs about gender roles are difficult to change in any society... Dragon Ball Z has portrayed the role of women as subservient/secondary at their core." In this anime in particular, the men are the heroes of the anime and they save the world several times, however the women are left in their homes, making little more than cameo appearances to show that they still exist. However, a few changes from this routine exist, primarily in the case of the inventor Bulma. Boden writes that "Bulma is portrayed as a confident, intelligent woman who, while not of equal status, still remains an important part of the team." A few exceptions are always going to happen, throwing a wrench in the systematic response. Some women in anime are made to think of everything as a nail, being a hammer themselves.
     Gender roles in anime, while prevalent, are not incapable of being overcome. The women in these anime are sometimes powerful, while other times depending on the men to do what needs to be done. Definitely not equal, but they are certainly getting close.


Works Cited:

Boden, Sean. "Women and Anime: Popular Culture and Its Reflection of Japanese Society."
     Www.nausica.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
Izawa, Eri. "Gender and Gender Relations in Manga and Anime." Gender and Gender Relations in
     Manga and Anime. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

Current Connection 3.1

     In a paper written by Tracy L. Dietz, a student at the University of Central Florida, the impact of video games on people, most notably children and teenagers, is discussed. Are games influencing gender roles as we know them today?

     Tracy and her friend, Michael D. Ware, used 33 popular video games at the time it was written, in 1998, to conduct the study. The top 10 Nintendo and Sega Genesis games were used for their experiment. They would play the games, paying close attention to subject matter and the role of females in the games. Out of all the games tested, Dietz says, "Only 15% portrayed women as heroes or action heroes. However, one might note that in many instances these heroes were dressed in stereotypical female colors and/or clothing." So women are displayed as typical stereotypical women, even in the world of video gaming. In other cases, Dietz found that women "are shown wearing skimpy clothing," or are "frequently presented as sex objects or were depicted as contributing less than men." It seems like video games are showing women to be less than men overall. 

     Looking just at the largest numbers, women would be appalled, but there is little reason to be. In many cases, women turn out to be fan favorites, or become a goal for the player. For example, in the series "The Legend of Zelda," created by Shigeru Miyamoto, the trend of including the playable character's name in the title was thrown out in favor of adding the name of Zelda, the "damsel in distress", the main character's final goal, and, as seen by many fans, his love interest. In an article written by Nicholas Zacharewicz, Miyamoto stated that he "makes playable characters not to placate female gamers but to better fit game mechanics." So, therefore they use females to create a reason to play, as a tool to enhance your experience. But they do not do this in a way that is insulting, rather in a way that makes you wonder who came up with this, who had the bright idea. Creating games that make bad on the roles of women in society, it seems, is not something Miyamoto does for a living.

     In conclusion, video games do have an impact on gender roles, but only because people over think the reason for the main character to be who s/he is. If the people who play these games and think "Hey, that's how I need to be," would understand that it's just a game, this wouldn't even be an issue. But, to each their own, I suppose. 





Works Cited: 


Zacharewicz, Nicholas. "Shigeru Miyamoto on Women in Nintendo Games." Examiner.com. N.p.,
     n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. 

Dietz, Tracy L. "An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games:
     Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior." Sex Roles, Vol. 38 (1998):
     425-42. Print.