What's up with Shoujo abuse?

[DragonMaster2010]

I've been reading a few shoujo for a bit and Ive come to realize that there's a lot of abuse and obsession in them. In some manga (not all) there's the naive girl and the cool brooding boy. The boy treats the girl like crap and calls her all these names, pins her to a wall, almost sexually assaults her and insults her, but yet she still goes back to that abuse either way. Then the whole "he has a dark past" crap comes out of nowhere and that's suppose to make up for that fact that he was such a rude ass to her in the first place? What's even worse is that the heroine is so pathetic that she ends up being the one to say sorry or that it was her fault when clearly it's his fault for being such a douchebag to her this whole time.

I hope I'm not the only one whose noticed this.

 

[Blue_Rose]

I've been reading a few shoujo for a bit and Ive come to realize that there's a lot of abuse and obsession in them. In some manga (not all) there's the naive girl and the cool brooding boy. The boy treats the girl like crap and calls her all these names, pins her to a wall, almost sexually assaults her and insults her, but yet she still goes back to that abuse either way. Then the whole "he has a dark past" crap comes out of nowhere and that's suppose to make up for that fact that he was such a rude ass to her in the first place? What's even worse is that the heroine is so pathetic that she ends up being the one to say sorry or that it was her fault when clearly it's his fault for being such a douchebag to her this whole time.

I hope I'm not the only one whose noticed this.

It's not just in Shoujo either. What bugs me the most is that when they mention the boy's dark past but don't go into it that far.

 

[AngelEyes]

thatsmyfetish.gif

 

[ROCKMAN X]

Abusive lover+battered woman syndrome Hmm... maybe shoujo is just 50 shades of manga? :laugh:

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

I haven't read nearly enough manga, though I've probably seen a few anime that fit that description. Most of the ones that come to mind don't involve the guy being an outright dick though; kind of reserved and mysterious around the girl, or if he does show any temper, yeah...the girl apologizes a lot, for whatever reason. ^^;

I think I've honestly seen more involving pushy, nosey girls who don't know when to back off (the guy usually spending half of his time dodging said girl, while trying to lead his double-life) than anything, though.

 

[Sieghart]

Shoujo have met it's peak with Rose of Versailles. Read that one. Seriously.

 

[EA9Sol]

No, no DM you are not alone. I hate it when Shoujo manga do this. Making the main female character a walking a talking door mate. >.> That why I can't get into most shoujo manga like some of the other genres of manga.

 

[V]

It's not always so much the demographic but the content that becomes the label. "Adult women" but also just "adult", meaning it's probably gonna contain themes unsuitable for everyone. Yaoi is by no means "all rape" or "always rape" but the label gets confused with the content often enough and then more content gets made to fit the label resulting in more of it. (Yaoi also falls under shoujo)

So when you think "adult women's" manga, remember it's not necessarily so much that as a term for a specific genre or story type. There are shoujo manga that don't contain this stuff but as someone who writes and draws manga, yep I've noticed it. I assume this is what the intended readership and the writers do kind of enjoy, since it's prevalent but is also in some part the expectation of the culture from where it originates. Men get away with acting like jerks a lot more in Japan (in relation to women) than they do in the West, they have an automatic 'privilege' there for being men that may be surprising to Westerners.

 

[DragonMaster2010]

I assume this is what the intended readership and the writers do kind of enjoy, since it's prevalent but is also in some part the expectation of the culture from where it originates. Men get away with acting like jerks a lot more in Japan (in relation to women) than they do in the West, they have an automatic 'privilege' there for being men that may be surprising to Westerners.

I had a feeling it might have had something to do with cultural differences but there's still something I feel off aobut;

I find it very hypocritical that people would applaud the jerk off shoujo lead for slamming the girl into the wall, calling her a pig, and doing all these stalking things to her mostly because he's handsome, but if it were a regularly drawn male, he's labeled a pervert or scum.

Like a friend of mine is a strong advocate of feminism and is against forceful sexual harassment or mistreatment...and yet she reads the very manga that pretty much go against all of those morals she follows. When I call her out on that, she gets mad and says "this is different". Maybe in the fact that its fictional, but keep in mind she also called 50 shades of Grey misogyny and nothing but sexual assault in a book but THAT'S fiction too.

EDIT: She also likes Twilight and calls Edward and Bella's relationship a "misunderstood romance."

 

[V]

That's a tough one, I guess. But it is just fiction, not reality in that sense; writing and reading about this isn't the same as doing it or personally endorsing it. Or all the people who wrote crime novels and horror stories were endorsing crime and violence. Which they probably weren't - they were just writing stories. And all the people who enjoyed them were just enjoying them.

If I were asked in an intelligent world should people be allowed to entertain themselves with fantasies, however much I did or didn't agree with them, I'd say yeah, because it's the mark of an intelligent mind to be able to "entertain" or explore a thought without actually agreeing with it. I'd only say there would be a "problem" if this fiction were used to justify an equivalent in actual reality~ if it normalized this behavior, when I suspect it's more the other way around.

I mean, I write dark stuff myself. In these stories people get coerced, attacked, manipulated; I don't agree with these things or think they are great, but they're part of a story I want to tell. If someone came along and said "you shouldn't write that because a) I personally think it's wrong or b) it's a potential bad influence on people, I'd have to tell them to grow up and understand that it's okay to do this in fiction and that free speech is a good thing. If everyone was fully aware it was fiction, and that they shouldn't be using it as some kind of guide in life, I don't see a problem there.

But yeah, the guy will often get away with a lot if he happens to be a looker and not an old lech. I suppose this may well be tapping into fantasy/fetish stuff that the writers or audience like... and it's something of an unfortunate fact that if somebody is handsome or pretty IRL they have an immediate advantage over people who aren't and this is a part of that aspect of the human pysche. Just look at all the Edward or Loki fans out there... it doesn't seem to matter so much what he does as long as he's hawt. But I also do think most people understand this is not reality, so they don't feel like they're endorsing this behavior in real life. I wouldn't say they are, either.