proposed topic

so, assuming it gets "approved" (a.k.a. a better grade than my first paper proposal), here is a brief summary of what i will be writing a paper on for ONE of my classes this semester....

Rebel, Rebel: Soushoku Danshi (“Herbivore Boys”), Makeinu (“Losing Dogs”), and the Queering of “Traditional” Gender Roles in Japan

The emergence of social groups in Japan who are re-inventing/re-imagining/re-defining “traditional” gender-normative behavior fascinate me both as a third-wave feminist and in how it fits within the ever-expanding scope of Queer studies. Playing with gender expectations, bending-gender and identifying oneself against the societal gender norms are now being welcomed under the academic umbrella of Queer theory. I hope to examine why the younger Japanese generation is choosing to redefine their views on gender normativity. What role has globalization played in this? How does this effect “group” verses individual identity? Can these movements be seen as new spaces in which to appropriate new gendered identities? What are the possible implications/ outcomes for the greater Japanese society?

Two specific groups I plan to research are the externally-named soushoku danshi and the self-proclaimed makeinu , who appropriated a negative image and turned it into a rallying cry for new definitions of what it means to be “female”. In many ways, both of the groups are considered social pariahs, and even passing fads. However, it is my belief that these two groups embody an undercurrent of change and redefinition. I hope to frame my paper within a context of how these groups merit consideration when it comes to Queer theory- by defying traditional categorization of gender- and explore the possibilities of how they are paving the way for a more fluid definition of gender and gender roles. Using scholarly publications, academic journal articles and possibly first-person interviews, I hope to demonstrate that soushoku danshi and makeinu both merit further consideration and research within the field of Queer theory, which is no longer fixed to just LGBT issues. For as theorist David Halperin succinctly puts it:

"Queer is by definition whatever is at odds with the normal, the legitimate, the dominant. There is nothing in particular to which it necessarily refers. It is an identity without an essence. ‘Queer’ then, demarcates not a positivity but a positionality vis-à-vis the normative".¹ (emphasis mine)

1 Halperin, David M. Saint Foucault: towards a gay hagiography. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, USA, 1997. 62. Print.