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.
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.
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.