English translations of gender nonconformity in shōjo manga and anime: a trans-queer materialist feminist analysis

Abstract

Shōjo, a category of manga and anime (Japanese comics and animation) primarily marketed to young girls, has a notable history of depicting gender nonconformity — i.e. gender/sexual identities, expressions, or embodiments marked as divergent from dominant norms. With the increasing popularity of manga and anime outside of Japan in the last three to four decades, many shōjo series have been translated into English, where particular linguistic constraints and political imperatives have manifested in the approaches taken to translating gender nonconformity. Applying a decolonial and trans-queer materialist feminist theoretical framework to the domain of multimodality, this thesis investigates English translations of gender nonconformity in three key titles that have defined shōjo’s growth and movement into English-speaking popular culture: The Rose of Versailles, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, and Ouran High School Host Club. I use a comparative analysis methodology to analyse selected excerpts of official translations and fan translations and develop an understanding of how their treatments of gender nonconformity were influenced by material factors. Through these three case studies, I attempt to define an overall trajectory of translational approaches to gender nonconformity in shōjo and shed light on shōjo’s role in the mutual negotiation of gender/sexual frameworks between Japan and the English-speaking Western world.