Title

Consuming Manga: Cake as a Symbol of Sexual Orientation and Gender Fluidity

Start Date

18-7-2022 11:15 AM

End Date

18-7-2022 12:15 PM

Description

In Japanese culture, it is often assumed that women and girls have outsized appetites for sweets, especially cake. The gendered association of sweet baked goods is so strong that allusions to cake are often used as a sort of cultural code to indicate “female.” Women who remain unmarried after the age of twenty-five, for example, are referred to as “Christmas cakes,” since almost no one is interested in them after December twenty-fifth. Relatedly, men who are fond of cake are often thought of as unmasculine and even presumed to be gay. In manga, stories that include visual images of pastries juxtaposed with attractive characters are often messages about sexual orientation and the fluidity of gender.

Additional Files
Consuming Manga Proceedings - Mellon.pdf (237 kB)
In Japanese culture, it is often assumed that women and girls have outsized appetites for sweets, especially cake. The gendered association of sweet baked goods is so strong that allusions to cake are often used as a sort of cultural code to indicate “female.” Women who remain unmarried after the age of twenty-five, for example, are referred to as “Christmas cakes,” since almost no one is interested in them after December twenty-fifth. Relatedly, men who are fond of cake are often thought of as unmasculine and even presumed to be gay. In manga, stories that include visual images of pastries juxtaposed with attractive characters are often messages about sexual orientation and the fluidity of gender.

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Jul 18th, 11:15 AM Jul 18th, 12:15 PM

Consuming Manga: Cake as a Symbol of Sexual Orientation and Gender Fluidity

In Japanese culture, it is often assumed that women and girls have outsized appetites for sweets, especially cake. The gendered association of sweet baked goods is so strong that allusions to cake are often used as a sort of cultural code to indicate “female.” Women who remain unmarried after the age of twenty-five, for example, are referred to as “Christmas cakes,” since almost no one is interested in them after December twenty-fifth. Relatedly, men who are fond of cake are often thought of as unmasculine and even presumed to be gay. In manga, stories that include visual images of pastries juxtaposed with attractive characters are often messages about sexual orientation and the fluidity of gender.