The Female Gaze in Contemporary Japanese Literature
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2013 The Female Gaze in Contemporary Japanese Literature Kathryn Hemmann University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian Studies Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, and the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons Recommended Citation Hemmann, Kathryn, "The Female Gaze in Contemporary Japanese Literature" (2013). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 762. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/762 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/762 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Female Gaze in Contemporary Japanese Literature Abstract The female gaze can be used by writers and readers to look at narratives from a perspective that sees women as subjects instead of objects. Applying a female gaze to discourses that have traditionally been male-dominated opens new avenues of interpretation that are empowering from a feminist perspective. In this dissertation, I use the murder mystery novels of the bestselling female author Kirino Natsuo and the graphic novels of a prolific four-woman artistic collective called CLAMP to demonstrate how writers are capable of applying a female gaze to the themes of their work and how readers can and have read their work from the perspectives allowed by a female gaze. Kirino Natsuo presents a female perspective on such issues as prostitution, marriage, and equal employment laws in her novels, which are often based on sensationalist news stories. Meanwhile, CLAMP challenges the discourses surrounding the production and consumption of fictional women, especially the young female characters, or shojo, that have become iconic in Japanese popular culture. Likewise, the female consumers of popular media are able to view and interpret popular texts in such a way as to subjectify female characters and emphasize feminist themes. In addition, the erotic elements of a female gaze may be used to apply a subversive interpretation of the overt or implicit phallocentrism of mainstream media. The male gaze should not be taken for granted in the study of literary texts and graphic novels, and an awareness of an active female gaze can change the ways in which we understand contemporary Japanese literature and popular culture. Female readers and writers can find enjoyment and create messages of feminist empowerment even in works with flawed and problematic representations of femininity. The female gaze thus acts as a mode of resistant reading that allows alternate methods of reading, viewing, and interpreting the female characters and the gendered themes and issues of a text, regardless of the gender of the creators or the gender of the reader. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group East Asian Languages & Civilizations First Advisor Ayako Kano Keywords CLAMP, Japanese fiction, Kirino Natsuo, manga, esistantr reading, shojo Subject Categories Asian Studies | Comparative Literature | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/762 THE FEMALE GAZE IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE LITERATURE Kathryn Hemmann A DISSERTATION in East Asian Languages and Civilizations Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2013 Dissertation Committee Linda H. Chance, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Susan J. Napier, Professor of Japanese Studies ii for my mother, who fights for love and justice iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation has been fostered by the interest, encouragement, and contributions of many people. My mentor and dissertation advisor, Ayako Kano, is a beautifully functioning model of intelligence and efficiency tempered by patience and good humor. I am by nature a pragmatic person who is more interested in results than in process, but Professor Kano has inspired me to think deeply and at great length about the philosophical and political issues that underlie my project. She has also corrected no small number of mistakes and oversights on my part as she has guided me to be a better writer and a sharper thinker. She never ceases to amaze me, and it will not be long now before someone makes an anime about how awesome she is. If Linda Chance were a bodhisattva, she would be Fudō Myōō, compassionately cutting through nonsense (and poor syntax) with a magnificent sword of fire. It has been my immense good fortune to have benefitted from her guidance and wit throughout my time in graduate school, and the manner in which she puts out all manner of theoretical fires without breaking a sweat has been a great inspiration to read more, write more, and never leave things broken when they can be fixed. Professor Chance is a true superhero, and one day I hope to be worthy of the honor of having been able to work with her. I owe an enormous intellectual debt to Susan Napier, whose book The Fantastic in Modern Japanese Literature introduced me to an incredible body of stories right at the moment in my life when I most needed something to read. I have been guided by Professor Napier's insights ever since I was a teenager in high school, and it has been a dream come true to have had the chance to work with her. If I am able to achieve any good in the world through my own work, it is because she first inspired me to set foot on the path she blazed through academia. I have been superlatively lucky to have the opportunity to take classes with some of the finest professors in the field of Japanese Studies, and the patchwork of ideas I have received from Cameron Hurst, Julie Davis, Lewis Harrington, Eleanor Kerkham, Timothy Corrigan, Tomoko Takami, Hank Glassman, Pierce Salguero, and William LaFleur has come together into a rich intellectual tapestry. The indefatigably sympathetic Noriko Horiguchi has been an inspiration both as a teacher and as an exemplary model of what it means to be a junior scholar. When I was an undergraduate at Emory University, the care and guidance of Cheryl Crowley, Mark Ravina, Rebecca Copeland, and Julia Bullock meant all the world to me, and it has truly been a pleasure for me to get to know them once again as a graduate student. The best part of finishing my dissertation and launching a career in academia is that I get to keep working with such amazing people for the rest of my life. iv I am extremely fortunate to have received financial support from the Benjamin Franklin Fellowship, the Japan Foundation, and the Cecilia Segawa Seigle Fellowship Fund. Professor Seigle herself has been a good friend and a great conversation partner, and it is my honor to have been able to stand in the light of her legacy. Professor Kitahara Megumi of Osaka University sponsored a sojourn in Japan that was absolutely essential to this project. I thank her from the bottom of my heart for sharing her research, opinions on Japanese feminist scholarship, and knowledge of Kyoto with me. The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania have also helped me in no small number of ways. Since it would be impossible to thank the people who keep these two organizations running for each of the many things they have done for me during my time in graduate school, I would like to thank Linda Greene, Diane Moderski, Peggy Guinan, Paula Roberts, Nicole Riley, and Melissa DiFrancesco for everything. Professor Frank Chance has been an especially helpful source of administrative support, whether that support has been a careful explanation of the methodology of different academic disciplines or stress relief through dog walking. I am grateful to my friends and colleagues who have supported me intellectually and emotionally, including Nona Carter, Nathan Hopson, Madeline Wilcox, Eiren Shea, Molly Des Jardin, Travis Seifman, Erika Alpert, Leah Zoller, Daniel Sou, Jonathan Smith, Bryan and Alicia Ventresca Miller, Kate Baldanza, Jeremy Sather, Max Dionisio, Sarah Laursen, Frank Clements, Matt Anderson, Rachel Epstein, Jeannie Kenmotsu, Erin Kelley, Beth Tucker, Brooke Mccorkle, Amanda Kennell, Sean Rhoads, Leah Hagler, Judy Huang, Jeremy Anderson, Christine Giustra, and Amanda Harris Souvannamethy. Special thanks go to Brenda Zera, Elizabeth Deacon, Abby Goodlaxson, and Laura Nüffer, whose enthusiastic conversation over many late nights and long weekends has kept me excited about the possibilities and the potential of the study of gender and literature. My family in Georgia and my family in Israel have all done their best to ensure that I haved stayed fed and stayed focused. Whenever I have needed someone with whom to celebrate small milestones, and whenever I have needed someone to put a roof over my head, they have been there for me, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. My brother, P.J. Hemmann, has been especially supportive, and I have nothing but admiration for his ability to listen patiently to my ideas about everything from affirmative action to Harry Potter. Finally, I would like to thank my partner Ori Tavor. A full account of his kindness and support would be a dissertation in and of itself, so let it suffice to say that I couldn't have done any of this without him. Together the two of us can change the world. v ABSTRACT THE FEMALE GAZE IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE LITERATURE Kathryn Hemmann Ayako Kano The female gaze can be used by writers and readers to look at narratives from a perspective that sees women as subjects instead of objects. Applying a female gaze to discourses that have traditionally been male-dominated opens new avenues of interpretation that are empowering from a feminist perspective.