Exploring Gender Construction and Performance In Japanese Comics

Abstract

In looking at Japanese comics, otherwise known as manga, a reader may find the idea of a boy turning into a girl when inadvertently splashed with comical, if not incredible. The storyline of this manga becomes an illustration of the complex ideas of gender creation established by Judith Butler in Gender Trouble. The theories that are set forth by Butler can be difficult to understand; with the aid of this manga entitled Ranma ½, by Rumiko Takahashi, the intricate theory becomes easier to comprehend. Through the examination of three integral relationships within the comic, involving the character and self, character and others and the characters and the reader, this thesis shows how gender is created and perpetuated within both the microcosm of the comic world and within our own lives.