![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/25.media.tumblr.com\/b6c2d92c77b006a614bd29b93993b88e\/tumblr_n0fjh3TxNR1rskdrao2_500.jpg?resize=423%2C598\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
So Ed Chavez posted a really interesting question on twitter the other day. Why aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we talking about Josei?<\/p>\n
It made me think a bit about the genre, reflecting on the things that have been posted and realised, yes, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been quite mum about Josei. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hardly any people talking about it. Interestingly, there are people saying Josei in relation to a manga and loved them dearly (Wandering Son, Pink, Helter Skelter, Sakuran, etc.) but it is a surprise that as readers and to a degree, critics, haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really voiced what we think of the genre. Even academics hardly pay attention to josei with only one book<\/a> and a handful of articles discussing the genre.<\/p>\n Is it because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to talk about what women want? Is it because women would rather escape in the pages of shoujo or shounen and be immersed in a fantasy rather than face the reality of loneliness, fears, and worries of an adult woman?<\/p>\n Maybe. I say that as a woman who hardly talks about Josei as a genre. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve actually mentioned a couple of Josei titles and authors in this blog but I really haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exhausted the genre as I have boys\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 love.<\/p>\n At most I can reflect on my interactions with my friends and sixty percent will admit that they refuse to touch Josei things for various reasons (too boring, too sad, rather read shounen, i like my shoujo\/bl fantasy, etc.) and the remaining forty will admit that reading Josei has been painful. Beautiful but painful. Josei manga touches on issues that trouble women at their worst, containing insecurities piled up by years of media identifying how women should be. What women must be.<\/p>\n In yesterday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s discussion, Ed Sizemore raised the point that maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because the likes of Frederik Schodt didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk about it. Well he did in Dreamland Japan but back then it was labeled as Ladies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 comics. \u00e3\u0192\u00ac\u00e3\u0192\u2021\u00e3\u201a\u00a3\u00e3\u0192\u00bc\u00e3\u201a\u00b9\u00e3\u201a\u00b3\u00e3\u0192\u0178\u00e3\u0192\u0192\u00e3\u201a\u00af (Ladies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Comic) is a different animal compared to what we know as Josei. He featured Comic Amour and Yan Mama for mothers. He also did a feature of Milk Morinaga but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m surprised he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t touch upon comic magazines like Feel Young, Young You, or Chorus where all the josei action was really happening. I mentioned that Schodt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s focus on Ladies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 comics was at most a predecessor to what we know as Josei today. In reflection, maybe Schodt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s feature is also the reason why people hardly talk about it. If women are so hooked on crazy fantasies of housewives, then really it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not worth investing time on it. Back in the day, I reckon that we identify a Josei title if it had some kind of explicit sex in it since they never really showed that in shoujo (and boy was I sooooo wroooong about this). There was also a time that josei titles were associated with yuri too. \u00c2\u00a0Surprisingly, this messy view of josei is also true for me in the academe, where in my old university, the sociological exploration on why women are drawn to these kinds of materials are considered irrelevant. The reality is I needed to get out of that university just to find one that would consider this a relevant issue.<\/p>\n It’s interesting how quick we are to dismiss the interest of housewives while people still continue to sing and dedicate issues of journals and books to Osamu Tezuka. I find this particularly frustrating when manga has so much to offer but sadly, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just how the world turns and sadly things like this stay outside of the radar.<\/p>\n Take for example the interest in Insufficient Direction by Moyoco Anno. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically a story that captures the relationship of Moyoco Anno with her husband Hideaki Anno. But looking at the asks in Vertical\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tumblr; people are more concerned in reading more about Hideaki Anno\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thoughts on his works<\/a> or influences<\/a> rather than read about his marital bliss. But what about Moyoco? Can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we be interested with Moyoco Anno’s work process and inspirations too?<\/p>\n The silence on Josei might also be a reflection on our own neglect for things related to women. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just men neglecting women but even women neglecting women. And this might be deliberate for some but it can also be something that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve just forgotten or taken for granted. I wonder if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reflection of our submission to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the man\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and how we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be bothered fighting the system anymore. Interesting how this thought has suddenly become a feminist argument but really, if anything, Josei manga is perhaps one of the most feminist genre out there and that should be recognised.<\/p>\n I think, more than ever, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time we should be talking about Josei. With more Josei titles coming in English, people can finally have an idea on how amazing this genre is and how diverse and subversive it can be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So Ed Chavez posted a really interesting question on twitter the other day. Why aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we talking about Josei? It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"I had some time to reflect on @Mangacast's question on why we've been silent about Josei manga.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[473,447],"class_list":["post-1686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-insights","tag-josei","tag-manga"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p26e5y-rc","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1941,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2015\/01\/04\/manga-resolution-for-2015-all-about-josei\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":0},"title":"Manga Resolution for 2015: All about Josei","author":"khursten","date":"January 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"As I was writing down my favourite reads of last year, I sat back and wondered, how much attention did I give to josei that year? I remember writing last year about the silence on josei but did I even make an effort to tackle josei, let alone understand this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fujoshi Life"","block_context":{"text":"Fujoshi Life","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8668\/15994894688_a84d1ae6c0_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2012,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2015\/12\/31\/10-awesomesauce-manga-from-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":1},"title":"10 awesomesauce manga from 2015","author":"khursten","date":"December 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"2015 came and went so fast and I feel like I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read enough manga. OTL. More like, I feel like I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t written much about the manga I read in the last year. I remember making a call for more josei this year but I ended up reading so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favorite Reads"","block_context":{"text":"Favorite Reads","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/favorite-reads\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shelf","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":959,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2012\/03\/31\/spotlight-yamashita-tomoko\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":2},"title":"Spotlight: Yamashita Tomoko","author":"khursten","date":"March 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Just where did January and February go?! I promised myself in my last spotlight that I will make a point in writing 12 spotlights for this year, but here I am in March writing my first spotlight! Que horror! That said, starting the spotlight again is a lot better than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spotlight"","block_context":{"text":"Spotlight","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/spotlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/her2.jpg?fit=360%2C200&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1369,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2013\/02\/13\/23-87clockers-by-tomoko-ninomiya\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":3},"title":"#23: 87Clockers by Tomoko Ninomiya","author":"khursten","date":"February 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When I heard that Shueisha's Jump would start a josei magazine, I was skeptical. Jump may have a following that spans a large age range and influences both sexes but I never felt they had the \"josei\" touch. Jump rode on a formula and given that their josei magazine bears\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fujoshi Reads"","block_context":{"text":"Fujoshi Reads","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8375\/8364389062_6bc203901c.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":464,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2011\/01\/17\/sneak-peek-at-2011-manga-taishou-list\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":4},"title":"Sneak Peek at 2011 Manga Taishou List","author":"khursten","date":"January 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Manga Taishou season again and I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even started reading Therma Romae (once\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I find my copy somewhere). Out of all the award ceremonies, I tend to enjoy the selection in Manga Taishou because these manga do not disappoint at all. Some awards tend to let some title win\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fujoshi Life"","block_context":{"text":"Fujoshi Life","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2007\/07\/17\/manga-kissa-finally-has-titles-for-girls\/","url_meta":{"origin":1686,"position":5},"title":"Manga Kissa finally has titles for girls!","author":"khursten","date":"July 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Ah~ Manga Kissa finally has a line of shoujo and josei titles. From Kocha Ouji, Hanakima, to Nodame and Gokusen, Manga Kissa has all the lovely shoujo goodies for you~! I'm so happy they fulfilled my requests during my last visit. I placed Nodame & Kekkaishi and true enough they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1686"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1689,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1686\/revisions\/1689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}