Three Manga that Explore Gender
I Want to be a Wall by Honami Shirono
Yuriko Sonoda is an asexual woman, a big fan of the 2-D relationships in Boy’s Love manga. Hanazono is a gay man who has never admitted to his crush on his childhood friend, Sousuke. Both are under pressure to marry. Though they initially turn down the marriage their parents arrange, they become friends and confidants and, eventually, legally man and wife. There are two volumes translated so far, dealing with their relationship and the non-sexual parts of a marriage. But it is becoming clear that both of them have a thing for the oblivious, beautiful Sousuke
The Gay Who Turned Kaiju by Kazuki Minamoto
A gay high school teen named Arashiro finds that his wish to be someone else has manifested in the sudden change of his head into a giant kiaju shape. Arashiro has been bullied, though not necessarily because he is gay, but finds that people are much more comfortable with his new monstrous appearance than they were with him being gay. This single-volume story is a wonderfully quirky metaphor for coming out, accepting oneself, and the power inherent in no longer being able to hide.
Until I Love Myself by Poppy Pesuyama
The non-binary manga artist Poppy Pesuyama hates their female body almost as much as they hate themself. When they are sexually harassed by a famous manga artist, who they need to work for to advance their career, it is devastating. This is an honest, autobiographical story which leaps from past to present. It details the psychological consequences of gender dysphoria and past sexual harassment; along with present attempts to move forward. It is blunt, brave and, since there are very few stories from a non-binary perspective, important. The final volume of this two-volume series arrives in translation in September.
Comments
Three Manga that Explore Gender — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>