On Wednesday night, I was a guest on ANNCast to talk about sexism in anime and fandom. It’s the most popular podcast I’ve ever been on, and certainly the most structured.
We talked until midnight for me (since I’m on the East Coast, they’re three hours behind), and I’m usually in bed by eleven. I prepared some notes before we started talking, but I don’t think I had enough of a filter. Simply put, as soon as I signed off of Skype, my fiancé said to me, “You’re gonna get hate mail for that.”
He’s probably right. I’m definitely going to get shit for accusing lolicon fans of being childish, for saying that geek culture rewards women who act like sluts, and other equally unfiltered remarks. The former high school debater in me cringes, but these raw musings probably made the podcast more interesting than if I had been my most thoughtful, polished self. At least that’s what I’m telling myself!
Give it a listen here.
23 Comments.
I think you did great. But I’m a crazy feminist. :D
@Patches, thanks! I think you would have been better on that particular podcast though.
Oooh, can’t wait to listen to it! I keep meaning to listen to the ANN podcast, but haven’t. Now I definitely have a reason to!
Were you honest in your remarks? If so, then that’s all that matters.
Better to be honest & true to yourself and hated than lying to yourself just to appease others. Not everyone can be pleased, but at the same time, not everyone will be angered either.
Thank you so much for your input with this specific ANN podcast. Its actually the first ANN podcast I ever listened too (the subject of Sexism ultimately caught my attention). As a fan of anime and manga (and feminist) from South Africa I found the subject discussed within the podcast proved to be very important to me. The subject of sexism in our country of South Africa is actually a serious thing these days and of course it ultimately extends into our almost unrecognized strong growing anime and manga community.
Again, thanks for the input and I have subsequently “liked” your Facebook page.
@Petsu-chan, thanks for the listening, and thanks for the like! Sexism is no joke, and it bothers me when fans ignore the subject because “it’s too serious and anime is supposed to be fun.” We can still enjoy anime while being aware of more problematic storylines. And when we’re more aware, we’re less likely to let sexist beliefs unwittingly seep into our behavior.
oh snap! Daryl Surat has been CALLED OUT!
In his defense he didn’t mean to be sexist, hes just defending the meaning of terms. His personal definition of “Otaku” is the Japanese definition, that you have 1 solitary interest to the expense of everything else. ie he didn’t say “Your not an Otaku because your a girl’ He said “Your not an Otaku because your a normal person” He doesn’t even call himself an Otaku unless hes being Ironic.
However, you can continue to call him sexist, he wont argue with you on that XD but don’t take his words out of context or he gets mad.
@worthwhile_kyle, I don’t know Daryl (though friends keep telling me I need to meet him), so I couldn’t really choose a side in that discussion. I do call myself an otaku though, and I explain why in my Otaku Journalist Manifesto – http://otakujournalist.com/the-otaku-journalist-manifesto/. My definition of otaku lies much closer to Patton Oswalt’s definition of the American otaku, especially since I’ve never been to Japan and can’t pretend to understand Japanese culture.
You do need to meet him. While Daryl and I don’t see eye to eye on a lot, he is an absolutely excellent person to trade ideas with.
With hate mails, comes also love mails. You know, the ones that tells you that the podcast was interesting and well done considering the touchy subject.
I personnaly can’t tell which of the 2 voices you were (I am more of a visual person…) but at least it made me discover another good blog.Yay internet!
@Liguinii, I was the woman with the deepest voice, I think. I’ve got a really low voice for my size. Hurray blogs!
I was inspired by you and your fellow co hosts words. I’ll keep them in mind. Thank you. It really did open my eyes.
@Phantos, thanks for your kind words. As Zac said, sexism is like the arrow in the FedEx logo— you can go a long time without seeing it.
I’m so glad you and your co-hosts had this discussion! As a fan of manga/anime who happens to be a feminist, I discuss sexism in anime/manga on my blog and I’m very interested in what other people have to say about it as well.
Just out of curiosity, have you seen Kemono no Souja Erin (a.k.a. The Beast Player Erin)? You three were discussing strong female characters in anime/manga that aren’t brought down by the story at some point and I thought this anime did a fantastic job with its heroine, Erin.
@Erin, I wish you had linked to your blog! That sounds like something I’d definitely love to read.
I have not seen Kemeno no Souja Erin. Based on the Wikipedia page, it sounds fascinating. I’ll have to check it out.
Whoops! Looks like I messed up the link. I think I did it correctly this time. If you’re interested, I did a piece specifically on Kemono no Souja in January.
I’m so glad I discovered you from the podcast. You have a great blog going on here, plus you’re very funny and insightful.
@KrazyKobun, Thank you!
Girl, I got SO much hate for my articles on other sites, but the real thing that bugged me was that I was being beat up for writing stuff I didn’t even believe in. When I say something I really believe in, I don’t even care if people agree with me. Say what you believe and what you’re passionate about, and you will win the respect of so many!
I found your blog through the ANNCAST, and have been enjoying it. keep up the good work
Hi I came to this site by the anncast, since I am not a native speaker so I was trying to find a good blog for me to read (I’m glad I found one), Do you produce another sort of material that I can find on the internet? (like videos, or even podcast)
@Peter, actually, yes! I sometimes film videos. Here’s my YouTube channel – http://www.youtube.com/user/laureninspace
I love how you brought up how Japan loves to keep things running hen they shouldn’t–they are notorious economically for government propped industries that drag them further into debt due to familial or certain relationships between government officials and industry heads. I could totally see anime being produced regardless of what still really makes sense and doesn’t.
They’re usually keiretsu, with shady ties keeping them alive.
Just made the eco-political background in me jump with happiness at the reference!
You did great. It’s good to do things off the cuff sometimes :D