On the Perceived Sexualization of Females
March 21st, 2007 at 9:41 pm (Miscellaneous, Take)
“He says, She says”: Sexualization of females (from Impz)
Hmm, looking over both Impz’ and ThirteenSugars’ analyses, it is clear that there is a clear difference of opinion in terms of perception. I guess it takes a more experienced analyst to delve deeper into this, but I’m not the person with that type of expertise.
Here are my 2 cents on the issue of the post:
The pose in case #1 might have the possibilty of generating a sexual vibe to the anime viewer, but to the non-seasoned individual, he sees nothing overly “sexual” about the illustration, and passes it off as an art, or animation, or (in Impz’ classmates’ case) an accusation of being “hentai” (the meaning being “abnormal”, taking Wikipedia’s discussion).
In case #2, however, having pre-knowledge about the origin of the said illustration might stir up notions of “lesbian undertones or overtones (take a pick) will convince an observing individual (who incidentally has een watching the anime a time ago in his lifetime) that there is a sexual cue being conveyed by the way the girls in the picture are drawn. To the non-anime watcher, there is nothing overly wrong “sexual-wise”.
So there you have it. An “expertly constructed” analysis by your truly. Now off I go to study for an Invertebrate Exam tomorrow aftertoon. Oh, and tell me if I viewed something incorrectly. 
mochi said,
March 22, 2007 at 1:06 am
Just found that you had posted your comments on you own blog as well…here is a copy of the comment I posted at THAT Animeblog:
@ronin
“…having pre-knowledge about the origin of the said illustration might stir up notions of “lesbian undertones or overtones (take a pick) will convince an observing individual (who incidentally has een watching the anime a time ago in his lifetime) that there is a sexual cue being conveyed by the way the girls in the picture are drawn.”
By “origin”, I’m not sure if you mean the fact that it is taken from the MariMite anime or that the illustration itself is based on an Italian Renaissance painting. If it is the former, then don’t bother to read the rest of this as it has nothing to do with your analysis and my apologies for wasting your time.
If it is the latter, then I do not see much in the way of sexual under/overtones. The original painting (Primavera by Sandro Botticelli…see my first comment for a link to a photo of the painting…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SandroBotticelli038.jpg) shows from left to right (as the viewer sees it)…Mercury, the three Graces (Aglaia, Euphrosyne, & Thalia), Venus, Flora, Chloris, & Zephyrus…also, above Venus’ head is her son Cupid. To me, the original painting shows some, but not much in the way of sexual under/overtones. There are three elements to the painting which may be viewed in this manner. There is a fair amount of near- nudity; Cupid is the god of erotic love in Roman mythology; the back story of the two characters on the right (Chloris and Zephyrus). The back story according to the Roman poet Ovid in his Fasti, says that the God of Winds Zephyrus pursued the nymph Chloris, took her by force, regretted his actions and turned her into Flora, the Goddess of Spring (or Flowers)…yes, the same Flora in the painting.
The MariMite version is more subdued than the original. As far as I can see the sexual elements from the original do not exist in the “copy”. The dress of the characters show little skin. The cupid character was not included in the “copy”. The two characters in the position of Chloris and Zephyrus are not in the same pose as in the original and, to me, the pose in the “copy” looks less sexual than in the original.
So, for me, knowledge of the original painting, makes me think…”an interesting pastiche of Botticelli”…and sexual under/overtones would never occur to me.
Again, if I was mistaken in my interpretation of your comment, many apologies. Also, sorry for this long winded squirrel or tangential post.
Ronin AnimeLover said,
March 22, 2007 at 1:24 am
Don’t worry, mochi. I actually intended to post my comments here to stir up the discussion. To arouse the interest of the intellectuals among our anime-watching brethren, so to speak. You are one of them, I suppose. ^^
And a very insightful comment, I might add. I suppose you’ve done enough reserach on this subject before you posted your “interpretation” on Impz’ (and ThirteenSugars’) “analysis”. An applause is needed.
Hmm.. Might have to look back at that painting. I want to interpret it myself (though I’m no art student, lol) so I can better understand.
mochi said,
March 22, 2007 at 2:09 am
Thanks for the compliment. I just have a layman’s interest in history and art…and in this case, art history…as I mentioned in an earlier comment on THAT Animeblog, I got to see the painting last March at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and I guess it left an impression on me.
One other observation which I did not include since it didn’t appear to have great significance…the MariMite artist drew the left side (as the viewer sees it) pretty faithful to the original with respect to the character poses. The right side (with Venus, Flora, etc.) has all four characters in different poses from the original.