Boys’ Love for the Love of it: Progressive Prosumers and the Proliferation of Queer Culture through Manga Antonija Cavcic BA (Hons) in Communication and Cultural Studies Master of Arts in English Studies Image courtesy of Carolina Reyes (2017) This dissertation is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Murdoch University, 2017 School of Arts Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. In addition, I confirm that the fieldwork conducted for the purpose of this thesis was approved by the Human Ethics Committee at Murdoch University. Permit Number: 2013/133. Permit Title: Dōjin and Fujoshi Culture. .................................... Antonija Cavcic ii ABSTRACT Boys’ love (BL) manga (as a genre of Japanese comics) with either homoerotic or homosocial graphics and content, is largely produced by and for female readers. Much like the audacious women writers in Victorian Britain, these amateur female BL artists (dōjin) and their respective consumers in Japan have arguably empowered themselves as a subcultural community, as well as the represented LGBT community, through progressive and often radical means. Although much scholarly attention has focused on the readers’ gratifications and why BL has such a large female readership, little attention has been given to how, or the extent to which, the popularity of BL manga has potentially fostered LGBT visibility; or to the illustrators who have continued to independently publish such content at their own expense. Essenitally, I analyse the positive socio-economic effects and greater significance which lie in autonomous authorship, exclusive fan rituals, and their potential by-product of progression towards equality in terms of gender and sexuality. By comparing content, readership and fandom practices from the Victorian era and modern-day Japan, I demonstrate that the dissemination and consumption of cultural products which cater for and stem from a disempowered gender group may foster an explicitly queer space and its wider tolerance in the community. Determining if and how this phenomenon has fostered the empowerment of traditionally disenfranchised groups in Japan can provide insight into the subtle social and ideological shifts currently underway in Japan—shifts in which gender and sexuality are enmeshed, and occur in a contemporary context of an ageing population which is clinging onto the security found in traditions and conventions, albeit while adapting to the effects of globalisation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................... 15 Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 1: On British Women’s Engagement in the Publishing Industry ............. 45 1.1. Women Writers, Women’s Rights: The Life and Times of Victorian Women Writers ......................................................................................................................... 47 1.2. Women in Print, Women’s Imprints: Methods and Means of Publishing in the Victorian era ........................................................................................................................ 57 1.3 Circulating in Libraries: Consumption and Reading Practices of Victorian Women ........................................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 2: From Cultural Legacy to Industry: The Former Manifestations and Current Appropriations of Beautiful Boys in Dōjin Subculture ................................. 82 2.1 From Shunga and Bijinga to Boys’ Love Manga: A Brief History of Homosocial/-sexual Representations in Japanese Culture .................................... 83 2.2 Same-sex but Different: Transitions in Themes, Genres and Motifs of BL Manga and Associated Fiction ........................................................................................... 103 2.3. From Pictures to Pages and Panels to Print: On Mainstream Manga and Dōjin Manga Publishing Practices .................................................................................... 124 2.4. From Sketches to Circles and Amateurs to Artists: An Overview of Recent Traditions and Trends in Dōjin Publishing and Consumption Practices ........ 134 Chapter 3: Findings and Discussions: On the Evolution of Fandom-based Friendships to Making Boys’ Love for the Love of it .................................................... 170 3.1 Ethnographic Approach and Findings .................................................................... 172 3.2 On General Views ............................................................................................................ 179 3.3. On Income .......................................................................................................................... 184 3.4 On Interaction ................................................................................................................... 186 3.5 On Inspiration ................................................................................................................... 190 3.6 On Interests ........................................................................................................................ 198 3.7. On Gender Representation ......................................................................................... 204 3.8 On Sex and Sexuality ...................................................................................................... 209 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussions: An LGBT Perspective on BL ....................... 224 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 241 Appendices ..................................................................................................................................... 244 Appendix 1: Dōjin/Fan Questionnaire ........................................................................... 244 Appendix 2: LGBT Questionnaire ..................................................................................... 252 Appendix 3: LGBT Venue and Correspondence List ................................................ 258 Appendix 4: Fan/Artist Associated Venue List .......................................................... 260 References ....................................................................................................................................... 262 Cited Works of Manga Publishers and Specific Event Catalogues: .................... 262 Correspondence with Respondents and Cited Anonymous Works: ................. 264 References (General) ............................................................................................................. 265 iv List of Figures Figure 1: Kashō Takabatake. Uchū no jūsei ................................................................... 88 Figure 2: Hikosō Itō. Unmei no ken ................................................................................... 89 Figure 3: Shōkichirō Yamaguchi. Shinshūtenmakyō ................................................. 89 Figure 4: Kashō Takabatake. Saraba furusato! ............................................................. 95 Figure 5: Kyanpingu raifu ...................................................................................................... 95 Figure 6: Akibare ....................................................................................................................... 96 Figure 7: Shūeisha’s Tiara Award .................................................................................... 130 Figure 8: Betsuma Manga Grand Prix ............................................................................. 131 Figure 9: Participant and Circle Attendance at Comic Market (Ichikawa, 2009) ............................................................................................................................................... 137 Figure 10: Gender and Age Statistics .............................................................................. 137 Figure 11: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 145 Figure 12: Web profile .......................................................................................................... 146 Figure 13: Attack on Titan Atogaki .................................................................................. 146 Figure 14: Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subculture ................... 149 Figure 15: Omake yon-koma .............................................................................................. 150 Figure 16: Postcard ................................................................................................................ 161 Figure 17: Banner ................................................................................................................... 162 Figure 18: Furī pēpā ..............................................................................................................