As the final weeks of the semester approach faster
than we want to think about, I am finding solace in looking forward to my
summer vacation plans. This year I am kicking off my summer as I always do by
attending A-Kon 25 in Dallas. For those of you who don’t know, A-Kon is an
anime and Japanese culture convention, so basically a place where I go to
massively geek out in my overly adorable, frilly outfits (I mentioned in an
earlier blog that I participate in a Japanese fashion style known as Lolita).
I’ve been going for years and honestly, I measure my relationships based upon
who I went to A-kon with; this year will be my third year going with my current
partner! ^_^ I have yet to see the schedule;
they usually don’t come out until a week or two before the convention but I am
excited see what type of programing they are offering this year and whether or
not they will be hosting any “queer” panels. You can learn more about A-kon on
their website:
Although I have seen “queer” programing expanding at
anime conventions in the past few years the majority of the panels presented
are either “yaoi” or “yuri” panels. “Yaoi,” also known as “boy love,” and “yuri,”also
known as “girl love,” are terms used to describe homoerotic relationships
depicted in manga and anime which are generally targeted at teenage female readers.
These relationships are comprised of beautiful, feminine characters,
mid-embrace surrounded by sparkles and hearts and everything kawaii. Needless
to say, this is problematic and honestly I kind of dread leaving the
progressive, forward thinking LGBTQ community here to vacation in a community
were LGBTQ relationships are fetishized and placed on display for others.
However, I am still looking forward to the convention because there are
literally a “bazillion” other aspects of it that I am excited about and as much
as I hate to admit it I love these panels because that is where I can find other
LGBTQ identified attendees with whom I can connect.
Now, I wish I had the time or the ability to host my
own panel, one possibly titled “Ways in Which Yaoi/Yuri are Harmful to the
LGBTQ Community and Ways in to Challenge the Negative Perceptions Perpetuated
by them.” In it I would share my feelings about having my sexual orientation
objectified by fan girls and tell them about some of the negative behaviors
that these manga and anime seem to be reinforcing; behaviors like obsessing
about and expressing how “cute” gay relationships are. I am not going to lie, I
have seen young female attendees photograph LGBTQ couples showing each other
affection, so that they can “enjoy” the moment later. Such attendees lead me to
believe that they think that those relationships exist purely for their
enjoyment.
Marie Antoinette and Lady Oscar
from Rose of Versailles
It is also hard for me to hate “yaoi” and “yuri” because
I believe that some of its worst depictions have been accompanied by some
amazing LGBTQ characters in manga and anime. Let’s be honest, as Lolita I am
basically obligated to love Rose of Versailles; in this particular series I am a
fan of Lady Oscar who was born female but raised as male because her family
lacked a successor. She is a military officer who serves as the leader of the
Palace Guard while also having to navigate gender (she is a female bodied
individual serving as a top military officer in pre-revolutionary France) and
her affections for Marie Antoinette, the queen who it is her duty to protect. What
I find most amazing about this series was that it was released in 1979! I feel
that manga and anime is becoming more progressive but I feel it is not where it
should be considering how early some of its most groundbreaking series arose;
check out the following article which discusses queer and feminist characters
in the extremely popular series Attack on Titan, which I will be extremely
excited to see as the dubbed version begins being released next month! (Sadly,
because of my dyslexia I have yet to have the opportunity to see what all the
hype is about because I cannot read fast enough to enjoy subtitles :’( )
Squee!
^_^
<3
Mylo
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