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Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0
I do agree that very few anime ever explicitly comment on patriarchal structures or gender roles.
I do, however, think that quite a few anime implicitly comment on gender roles, and contrary to what some may initially think, it's not always in a supportive fashion.
I don't really read much in the way of shoujo, but I've noticed that a fair number of seinen shows I watch have fairly feminine male leads (and just in case anyone gets the wrong impression here, I'm not saying something stupid like "pathetic harem leads are feminine"). Toradora's Ryuuji and his l33t domestic skills would be one well known example. Obviously, it's meant to be somewhat comedic and to some people, that supports patriarchy by ostracizing the odd one out... but personally, I often kind of admire these guys and I wonder if some authors intend this. I know I sometimes end up thinking I'd like to be as pretty as these guys (well, Ryuuji isn't exactly pretty LOL) or have their cooking skills, which is definitely not something I could have said prior to getting into anime.
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That's the point. It's meant to be comedy. Sometimes it outright fails and is seen as sexist, but the fact that its meant for laughs still remains. On the other hand, you have things that just appear sexist without any comedic base. And how is males having good domestic skills a bad thing? It's the same with that 'males are good at cooking and females suck at it' i see a lot. Having MORE things in your skill set is always a plus. I can't fathom why guy's would be looked down for it, even if it is outside stereotypical gender roles. Similarly, girls shouldn't be looked down for NOT being able to cook, though the difference here is that their...'expected' skill of cooking is taken away, giving a negative impression.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0
In light of which I have to wonder if female anime fans have had similar experiences. The "give the female lead an extremely feminine "foil" to humourously highlight how unfeminine she is" trope is incredibly well entrenched - and in some (but of course certainly not all) cases, I don't get the impression that the unfeminine lead is intended to be unappealing or looked down on.
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The main heroines from the Wallflower and Kimi ni Todoke come to mind.