Yaoi Cinderella Boy by Makoto Yumeno
From the introduction of Yaoi comics in class as target to older housewife women that tell the stories of love between young men, I was surprised by the transgender plotline of the first chapter of Cinderella Boy. The genre as a whole is off-putting as the sexualization of young people for adult pleasure and the fetishization of homosexual love are potent societal issues and are manifested in this popular comic media.
Although I do appreciate the discussion of transgender subject matter, the handling of it in this comic left something to be desired. At the start of the comic the character Riku, is said to have “complexes” about gender identity that would be fixed in her transition from a lonely female to a male pop star. This sincerity in words does not align with the character’s later identification as a female brought upon by the gifting of traditionally feminine objects, lipstick, by Touya. The proposition that the character’s gender identification would change with the whim of a present, is belittling to the transgender identity, the assertion that a male can gift femininity to a woman further belittling to women.
The band’s success conditioned upon the secrecy of Riku’s identity acts as an oppression of diversity on the assumption of difference. The assumed difference between men and women is tangible in the gifts given by Touya, and his treatment of Riku. The inherent power dynamics of that relationship present in the mandated secrecy of Riku’s womanhood.
No comments:
Post a Comment