Revised Introduction

THE EFFECTS OF GENDER ROLE REVERSALS FEATURED IN ANIME CARTOONS IN THE PHILIPPINE SOCIETY

A Research Paper Presented to

Sir Dustin Celestino

Asia Pacific College

Magallanes, Makati City

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the course

RESWRIT - Research Writing

Mikaela Gheline S. Jovellano  

October 2012 

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION 

 A. Background of Study 

In the Philippine society, women are called the “ilaw ng tahanan” because they are the one who takes care of the children and  guides the family while men are called “haligi ng tahanan” because they are the one who provides the needs of the family and protects the family from all harm. But in the Philippine settings today, such practice are being hindered because of an exchange in gender roles of men and women. Women have a fairly well defined role in the society and so do men. The macho male tradition is very much in place and women are seen in terms of being a support for the male. Men are described as someone who is tough, fearless in the sense that they will not retreat from a fight and responsible in their families. They hate showing their emotions because they do not want to appear weak in the eyes of the society. They only cry when they are alone and aggressive when it comes to women while women are described as someone who are tied to the house and their roles were confined exclusively to housekeeping and child rearing. Men are seen higher than women but now, many social changes are occurring in terms of relationship between men and women and their roles in the society.

Gradually, role reversals are very common in the Philippine Society. Before only men works for the family but now even women are also making her way in the industry. Based from the article, Cultural Connections > The Roles of Men and Women, many senior bureaucrats today are women. In many offices there are a lot of women in senior positions as managers because they are observed as much organized than men. While women are working, it’s the husband who does the household chores which is a new practice in the society today.

Anime and manga are the popular culture in Japan. Some anime fans prefer watching anime than reading manga because of its color and music or voice overs and fight scene which they find hard in manga to follow. One thing that makes an anime otaku wonder is the depiction of gender in those anime. When we speak of male and female, we talk about sex but when we talk about gender, we are talking about the characteristics of males and females on how each function in the society. In order for a man to be a real man, he must develop masculine traits while in order to be a real woman, she must develop feminine traits which are sometimes not depicted in Anime.

Numerous anime shows changes in the traditional gender roles of men and women in the society. Most anime engages in the style of parody that complicates traditional gender roles by refiguring them. Anime provides ideals and artistic devices to its audience of all ages. It gives knowledge about another culture because of the stories which are often based on Japanese traditions and Asian mythology and symbolism. Anime deals with complex, thought-provoking themes with characters that change as the stories progress. These anime are supported through TV episodes and Original Video Animation (OVA). Gender role reversals have proven to be one of the most widespread practices in the evolution of Anime.

Based from an article Switching Gender Roles in Manga: Men as Women and Women as Men, the gender role reversal exposes the conventions of a story in terms of character, story genres, and the hero’s journey despite cultural and traditional differences to have knowledge from another culture. These anime includes Utena and Bakuretsu Tenshi and Gankutsuo (Viscount Albert de Morcerf). Utena have strong personalities that are unconquerable and has the duty to save a princess which is not the usual work of a woman. On the other hand, Gankutsuo who is a man has a softer emphatic personality. He doesn’t have powers and the only way to save a hero is by a kiss which is totally opposite of the characteristics of Utena who is a woman.

Aside from these anime, other anime includes Witch Hunter Robin, Shakugan No Shana (Shana), Fate Stay Night (Saber, Rin Tanaka, Emiya Shiro), Inu-Yasha (Sango), Oh! My Goddess (Urd, Keiichi Morisato), Evangelion ( Shinji Ikari), Absolute Boyfriend, the Chinese epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms gets three series that feature most of its historically male characters as attractive females, Claymore which is basically a Gender Flip of the typical Fighting Shounen series, Mai-Hime with Tate Yuuichi, the only masculine male protagonist in the show is constantly frustrated by the fact that he is completely helpless compared to all the Magical Girls despite his "rusty" kendo skills, and others.

The occurrence of gender role reversals featured in anime cartoons in the society affects individuals in some way. It may affect relationships between man and women because each of them is portrayed differently from what have been the traditional practices. These changes may be good and may be bad. Good because women will be viewed equal to men in terms of rights and powers while it could also be bad because there might be conflicts in terms of decision on family settings.

Some people perceive that watching anime with gender role reversals will add satisfaction to all anime “Otaku” and some views that the pursuit of such opposition to the traditional role will give a negative impact on the viewers. Therefore, having background knowledge on anime will give the viewers knowledge on what could be its effect on the society.This paper will focus on the effects of gender role reversals featured in anime cartoons in the society.

B. Statement of the Problem

1. What are the effects of gender role reversals featured in anime cartoons in the society?

C. Significance of Study

Anime Artists. Anime artists can benefit from this study because they would be able to make use of the information in this research on what kind of anime genre can they focus with that could help them make another remarkable masterpiece considering its effects on the society

Anime Fans. With the information gathered in this paper, it would be able to inform young-adults to be more aware or alert and responsible whenever they watch anime because of its ever changing characteristics which might influence them

Men and Women. These people can benefit from this study because they would be able to make use of the information to know the true essence of being a man and the essence of being a woman

Homosexuals,transgendered & Queer. These people can benefit from this study because they would be able to make use of the information to gain more acceptance in the society and to accept themselves of who they are. 

 Future Researchers. This research paper will be able to help future researchers having curiosity on anime effects on society to continue my research which could give them a little background that will add up in their research

D. Scope and Delimitation

This study focuses on the effects on gender role reversals featured in anime cartoon in the society for these study is very broad and due to time constraints, I will no longer discuss all anime genres and will only focus on genres connected to my research.

E. Materials and Method

This paper uses a descriptive method because the researcher aims to describe the gender role reversals in anime and to discuss further its effects in the society by gathering information about the topic, analyzing past studies conducted related to the topic, interviews, surveys or comments from different people and then make appropriate conclusion about it.

F. Definition of Terms

Anime – Japanese movie and television animation, often having a science fiction theme and sometimes including violent or explicitly sexual material. It is the Japanese animation of manga

Otaku – These are people who are the obsessive fans of manga, anime, video and PC games and pop idols

Shonen Anime – Anime marketed toward males

Harem Genre - Harem is a genre/plot frame that is mostly present in the Japanese media of Anime, Manga, Light Novels, Visual Novels, and Video Games.

Gender – A range of characteristics of feminity and masculinity

Gender Role – It is a set of social and behavioral norms that are generally considered appropriate for either a man or a woman in a social or interpersonal relationship.