#kare kano

[botan]

[roseillith]

[yoyoyopt]

[magneticros]

His and Her Circumstances (1998)

[mercurymascara]

[hotwaterandmilk]

Series: Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou Artist: Tsuda Masami Publication: 'Tsuda Masami Hakusensha Card Gallery′ (03/1999) Source: Scanned from my personal collection

[satalight]

[lonndoodles]

Some childhood shoujo manga I read growing up!

[animefeminist]

Powerful feelings, intimacy and sex in Joseimuke anime

Sex is a part of many people’s lives, yet the way that it’s depicted in media often offers a very narrow view of it—and often presumes a certain set of audience expectations and desires when choosing what to depict and how.  Heteronormative porn particularly has a controlling share of representations of sex, depicting it as a predictable story, one that’s often violent towards women and usually ends with men’s orgasms. Foreplay, kissing, comfort, and even conversation are shelved so we can get to a guy’s big sensational finish. The way sex is represented in media can be one-note, draining all the eroticism from the experience. If we want exciting variations on the representation of sex in media, it seems to me that joseimuke (media intended for a female audience) anime are optimal mediums for representing the erotic aspects of sex. 

For a long time, I’ve sought out joseimuke anime because they steep in feelings that other media don’t always devote attention to, a tendency that Berserk creator Miura Kentaro once described as “powerfully expressing every feeling.” His words echo those of legendary feminist philosopher Audre Lorde, who distinguished between the pornographic and what she termed “the erotic.” Where pornography “emphasizes sensation without feeling,” she describes the erotic as “what we do; it is a question of how acutely and fully we feel in the doing.” In other words, porn tends to be all about the spectacular orgasm, while the erotic is about the entire experience and more, the depth and range of emotions we feel, and how keenly aware we are of our full sensorium. Joseimuke anime are powerful expressions of every feeling, felt to their fullest. What’s more erotic than diving deep into the ocean of sensations and emotions of the human experience?

To explore this a little, I’ve chosen first-time sexual encounters from three joseimuke anime: His and Her Circumstances (aka Kare Kano), Paradise Kiss, and Fire in his Fingertips. Each one depicts a different dimension to sex: the emotional connection, the awkward reality, and the physical pleasure, respectively. This variety in narratives counters the near-monopoly that pornography targeted at men have on collective understandings of sex. Joseimuke anime, erotic or otherwise, show sex as a nuanced, erotic experience, capturing the humanity therein.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

[kariuyellowshootingstars]

This show brings me back beautiful memories.

[idlkllr]

[botan]

[roseillith]

[himawaari]

@animangacreators alphabet challenge

k is for Kare Kano

[magneticros]

His and Her Circumstances (1998)

[mercurymascara]