For my semester project, I am promoting and discussing the concepts of gender identity and the transgender characters in the manga “Wandering
Son” by Takako Shimura to encourage
understanding of people with different gender identities than the
ones that society wants us to conform to.
Shuichi stares at himself in the mirror with a girl's hairband on.
Yoshino stares longingly at a boy's coat which she plans to wear to school. She tends to wear hoodies and baggy clothes.
In an article called
“Stigma, Mental Health, and Resilience in an Online Sample of the
US Transgender Population,” for the American Journal of Public
Health, studies were conducted to assess the association between
sexual minority stress, health, and potential ameliorating factors in
a diverse sample of the US transgender population. For transgender
people, coping with stigma can mean concealing transgender identity,
the study said. In “Wandering Son,” the character Shuichi often
struggles with his inclination to wear female or male clothing.
Disclosure and social support seemed to moderate the negative effects
of minority stress on mental health in these transgender subjects.
In one sample of 181 transgender participants, 66% reported being
discriminated against because of their gender identity or
presentation. Instances of Shuichi being teased and bullied by his
peers can be found in the later chapters of the manga.
Another report
published in September 2012 called “Predicting Homophobic Behavior
Among Heterosexual Youth” examined sexual orientation-specific
factors to predict homophobic behavior. The study showed that more
frequent viewing of positive media portrayals was associated with
lower sexual prejudice. The study used the example of “It Gets
Better” videos targeted to LGBT youth. Other media depicting
portrayals of LGBTQ people was not identified. Promoting manga such
as “Wandering Son” could aid in understanding of transgender
people and children struggling with gender identities. Shuichi takes
on the obsession with a hairband and a dress more than any “typical
boy” would do. Berger said in “Ways of Seeing” that women are
socialized to act as surveyor and someone who is surveyed. Shuichi
surveys himself and acts as surveyor when he saw Yoshino cut her hair
short. He sees that she can pass as a boy. It is easier for her.
Upon further reading
about transgender issues, Amy Page writes in the Journalism of
Homosexuality, “Smaller populations within the larger society
negotiate their gender and sexual identities when the traditional
framework does not apply.” Gender can be fluid. The characters in
“Wandering Son” cannot help but stray from the gender binary that
traditional societies have put in place for them.
Recent news: Last month in England, a transgender primary schoolteacher named Lucy Meadows committed suicide after a tabloid published a scathing and derogatory article about her. What lesson would this teach to a transgender child who happened to be one of her students? Such discrimination and ignorance is prevalent in today's world.
Lucy Meadows: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-21946728
Recent news: Last month in England, a transgender primary schoolteacher named Lucy Meadows committed suicide after a tabloid published a scathing and derogatory article about her. What lesson would this teach to a transgender child who happened to be one of her students? Such discrimination and ignorance is prevalent in today's world.
Lucy Meadows: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-21946728
Sources:
Paul Poteat, V.;
DiGiovanni, Craig; Scheer, Jillian. Journal of Youth &
Adolescence. Mar2013, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p351-362. 12p. DOI:
10.1007/s10964-012-9813-4. http://proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=85399689&site=ehost-live
Bockting, Walter O.;
Miner, Michael H.; Romine, Rebecca E. Swinburne; Hamilton, Autumn;
Coleman, Eli. American Journal of Public Health.
May2013, Vol. 103 Issue 5, pe1-e9. 9p. 4 Charts. DOI:
10.2105/AJPH.2013.301241.http://proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=86141441&site=ehost-live
Page, Amy Dellinger.
Negotiating Identities in a Heteronormative Context.
Journalism of Homosexuality, 60:4, 639-654 http://proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=86010030&site=ehost-live
Shimura, Takako, et al.
Wandering Son. Seattle,
Wash. London: Fantagraphics Turnaround distributor, 2011. Print.
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