You are cordially invited to a joint DIJ Humanities and Social Science Study Group on

Thursday, June 25th 2020, 06:30 p.m. JST (Zoom Meeting open from 06:15 p.m.(JST), max. 100 participants)
Cute Masculinity - Investigating the Meaning of Virtual Shōjo and Girl Parody by Young Men in the 2010s
Sharon KINSELLA, The University of Manchester

This event is the second part of the DIJ Lecture Series Gender and Sexuality in East Asia - Cultural Studies and Social Science Perspectives. For further information see lecture series website.

Around 2010, cute male characters, drawn visually identical to bishōjo (beautiful girl) characters, moved beyond erotic computer games (eroge-) and into cosplay and cute cross-dress fashion subculture, on campuses and online. By the middle of the 2010s, M2F cute and girlish boys were also a tangible theme in advertising and major media production. The well-trained bodies and willing faces of young girls lining screens and interfaces in the city, became infiltrated by male talents and pop idols in cute cross-dress. This paper explores the pick-up and adaptation of cute as a male visual aesthetic in subcultural practices and fashion and considers its complex play with transformation and masculine identity.

Sharon Kinsella is a leading theorist of gendered subcultures and cultural production in Japan, who has published and lectured widely on the politics, history and social relations of kawaii, otakuism, seinen manga zasshi, shūkanshi, gyaru, and enjo kōsai. Sharon's work is widely known for its close attention to empirical detail, visual quality and close attention to the symbolic meaning of mass media and visual cultural trends.

The event is open to all. Registration is required via geilhorn@dijtokyo.org or kottmann@dijtokyo.org. Log in data will be provided after registration.

For further information and technical details refer to our website
The DIJ History and Humanities Study Group is a forum open to scholars working on Japan in any field of the humanities. It is organized by Barbara Geilhorn.