"He says, She says": Sexualization of females

“Why is she always thinking this way?”

“I cannot believe how insensitive he can be!”

Have you ever said such things to the opposite gender? Everyone knows that the view of a female can be very different from the view of a male, simply because they look at things in a different manner. Here at T.H.A.T anime blog, we have a good mix of males and females (5 males and 3 females actually), which will present the best opportunity for these different views to stand. From that perspective, we came out with “He says, he says”, a simple editorial to discuss on a certain topic and bring you the difference of views. Are men from Mars, and women from Venus? There’s only one way to find out and that is to test it out.

The first topic is on the sexualization of females. The topic actually came about after surfing the net around one of my non-anime friends. Her first word she remarked was “hentai”, which made me wonder. Hence, I will use two pictures that she has seen in order to see if there is indeed a strong sense of sexualization.Does females really think differently compared to males?

Read on to find out.

First case: Mikan of Manabi Straight

Impz’s view

The first example is a very simple Mikan picture complaining about how she can talk to Mei in a rant to Mutsuki. On first glance, this picture is hardly sexual at all. In fact, it is really hard to see why anyone can consider her to be anything other than cute. If anything, it looks more like a very cute picture of Mikan. She is probably a little tired, with that little whine-like mouth.

However, on closer inspection, there is in fact just a slight sexualization in the way that the character portrays itself. The connotation of a bed often speaks a little, especially when Mikan is wearing a sleeveless shirt that can show some flesh. Still, the portrayal of the character is hardly sexual.

To my total amazement, I was shocked when one of my classmates actually passed by while I am checking my blog. The first reaction she said was “HENTAI”. At first, many of you reading will be thinking that it’s probably just the view of a non-anime watcher.

However, on further analysis, it is in fact possible that the above picture can be interpreted as very sexual. First, it is the posture of the hand that is similiar to many nude portraits of females, where the hand is always placed on the forehead. The posture of the body also increases the frontal concentration of the chest to increase a sexual portrayal. It is also the lack of clothes that covers Mikan’s thighs that can cause this sexualization. Things and explanations given by my friends are plausible but I personally think that the first look of the picture does not have that strong a sexual connotation.

After listening to my friends, one thing strikes me. I am so desensitized to the use of such cues that I no longer even see such things as anything sexual.

ThirteenSugars’ view

If you are a regular visitor of THAT Anime blog, you might be shocked or wondering “How in the name of Zangetsu did a commentator get herself to be a part of this?” Don’t worry; you are not alone in wondering. I’m surprised myself. It was probably the most intense five-minute bargaining I’ve ever done with Impz which almost involved extortion. We ended up committing bribery instead that convinced me to take a part of this collaborate post entry.

But to clear one thing out, I am not a part of THAT anime blog crew. I’m more like a guest blogger here for now.

Here we go.

So about the first image, in all honesty, I will never see this picture as an image that portrays anything sexual at all if it wasn’t for two things.

• The slight opening of Mikan’s mouth with the hint of her tongue

• The subtle but very unmistakable blush on Mikan’s cheeks which often indicates of either warmth or sensuality.

Mikan’s pose, her outfit and her hand-on-forehead placement are really just normal stuff. They do not necessarily, though they often do, convey sexual notions to the viewer. But because Mikan’s “little whine-like mouth