Final Project - Conclusion of Topic

   After communicating with anime enthusiasts, Lolitas and cosplayers via the genre of online social media, I concluded that anime overall is not sexist. Sexualized content is ultimately the author's decision to include if they decide that their creation belongs to the harem, ecchi or hentai subgenres. These categories exclusively use fanservice, or mature content, to solely entertain their audiences instead of furthering the story's plot. Below is an analysis of how each stakeholder determined this conclusion.

Anime Enthusiasts 

   The research I conducted with Facebook friends belonging to the "anime enthusiast" community provided insight about how anime is not a chauvinistic form of entertainment. Both Nicholas McClary and Jenna Isaacs specified that an author may want to portray their character as being obviously attractive because they are both fictional and contribute enjoyable fantasy elements. Characters in Japanese cartoons, similar to Western animation, almost always wear the exact same outfit as previous shows in an effort to be consistently represented and remembered.

 Lolitas

  

  After posing as a prospective Lolita, as well as asking this stakeholder questions pertaining to their daily lives, I found that their answers contributed to the overall conclusion of anime not being a sexist form of entertainment. The Lolitas I spoke to stated that their subculture and the anime industry were not related just because they both "originated from the same country" and that most Lolitas in anime were portrayed "incorrectly." Similarly, the user "trialsanderrors," shown below, indicated that "different genres would have different representations of characters." The Shonen and Josei examples that she provided were true, as female characters in Shonen (typically catering to preteen boys and young men) might be shown as more motherly than those portrayed in Josei (usually watched by adult women), where the same character may undergo adult situations not understood by the latter. 

Cosplayers 

  When I posed the question "what can we do to reduce harassment at conventions" to this stakeholder on Reddit, I was surprised to see no reference to how the portrayal of certain women in anime may have contributed to disrespect. One user named "snek-queen" discussed how she was ridiculed more at clubs than conventions, which provided evidence that the atmosphere of the event may determine whether participants are harassed or not. Another user explained how "Dragon Con" illustrated their badges with a "code of expected behavior" that outlines acceptable behavior for attendees. Overall, it appeared that this stakeholder felt comfortable portraying sexualized characters accurately, as long as there were enough safety precautions present. 

  In conclusion, the research I conducted with each stakeholder proved to be effective in determining how anime was not sexist altogether, but in some specified genres, it was the author's choice in order to be labeled a "mature" anime. Japanese culture is more accepting of homosexual relationships, as well as revealing content, which may be considered chauvinistic to other countries who do not embrace the same ideals.