Preview

Sailor Moon

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2795 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sailor Moon
This has been a post I’ve been meaning to write for a long time. I’m an absolutely die-hard fan of Sailor Moon, and part of that is because it served as my childhood introduction to feminism. That might be a little bit hard to believe, considering the super heroines of the show are known for outfits not much more revealing than Wonder Woman’s. Silly outfits aside (you get used to them), this show was absolutely groundbreaking. Its protagonists are 10 realistically flawed, individual and talented teenage girls (and women) who, oh, you know. Save the world.

First, let me take you back in time to the summer of 1995. I’m a 9-year-old Canadian girl with a lot of time on her hands. I’m bored out of my mind, because there’s very little on television that appeals to me. Sure, there were shows made for girls back then. But they were Care Bears and My Little Pony (and I sure as heck doesn’t mean the Lauren Faust version) and obviously meant for very young girls. Jem and She-Ra are long since off the air, and the Powerpuff Girls won’t premiere for another 3 years. Generally, my choices were gender-neutral shows like Alvin & The Chipmunks, or male-audience shows like the 90s revival of Spider-Man. I wanted a little action. And, bless the alignment of the stars; I see this commercial for this new show called Sailor Moon. The stars aligned so perfectly that I happened to tune in on August 28th, 1995, the day that Sailor Moon premiered on YTV. I was hooked after one episode, and I can honestly say that this show changed my life.

So why is Sailor Moon feminist, besides having a mostly female cast? I have decided to take a page from my previous feminist Disney Princess essay and go through the characters individually, and explain why I, as a feminist, value them. Although I initially got into Sailor Moon via the English version, I will be basing my analysis off of the Japanese version of the series. I have long since felt that the English version does a disservice to its
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Analysis of Sandra Cisneros' Short Stories "Barbie-Q" and "My Tocaya"
    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Analysis of Sandra Cisneros' Short Stories "Barbie-Q" and "My Tocaya"

    Two stories that are abundant with feminist views and stereotypes are Cisneros' Barbie-Q and My Tocaya. In both stories, we see characters struggle with what it means to be a woman. Cisneros explores the standards women are held up to, and the standards they make for themselves. Cisneros does a wonderful job of bringing out the worries, fears, and Otherness that women frequently grapple with in their daily lives. She writes her tales, all the while reflecting and dismantling stereotypes of women. Cisneros, when participating in a project titled Interviews with Writers of the Post-Colonial World, stated: "I guess my feminism and my race are the same thing to me. They're tied in one to another, and I don't feel an alliance or allegiance with upper-class white women" (Jussawalla, Dasenbrock, 74).…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Political Cartoon Analysis: Giesel, Veteran Recalls Battle Of 1943
    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Political Cartoon Analysis: Giesel, Veteran Recalls Battle Of 1943

    Audience- The main audience this cartoon is aimed at is men most likely ages 18-30.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Summary of “Killing Us Softly? A Feminist Search for the Real Buffy”
    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Summary of “Killing Us Softly? A Feminist Search for the Real Buffy”

    Sherryl Vint, feminist and science fiction scholar, analyzes the close relationship between feminism and popular culture, in her online essay “Killing us Softly? A Feminist Search for the Real Buff.” Vint utilizes the commonly watched TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to exemplify how multiple perspectives within culture are beneficial to building scholarly feminists who can critically fight against the “ideological battle” of gender construction (parag. 22). She does this by showing how secondary sources, such as magazines can construct images that are contrary to a primary source’s original motives, such as the main character Buffy, in the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Vint hopes that audiences will begin to think critically. She argues that popular culture doesn’t require young women to think critically or to recognize that feminism still has relevance in their lives.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Synthesis Table for Research Paper
    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Synthesis Table for Research Paper

    | The influence of the Japanese female and male has reconstructed gender stereotype in Japan.Female artists yield hope for Japanese women to redefine their gender roles and even embrace the…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Power Ranger Stereotypes Essay
    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Power Ranger Stereotypes Essay

    The article “Gender, toys and learning” was a good starting point for discussion and understanding elements of how media can truly impact the roles projected to the observer, usually children that are at a very impressionable age. Studies show that 3-year-old children could accurately separate toys with over 90% accuracy to what their parents believed was appropriate and acceptable. At age 5, children could perfectly identify gender-specific toys in accordance with their parent’s beliefs (Freeman, 2007). It’s easy to blame toys and media for categorizing the roles of different genders. Those businesses have a primary goal of making a profit. And keeping abreast of what consumers want is good for earnings. The conclusion I have reached is that gender typecasting begins at home, whether it’s through parental involvement or them being disengaged, role models make a huge difference in who we grow up to…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Curley's Wife Feminism
    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Curley's Wife Feminism

    Feminism is a very prevalent theme in the book, present from the beginning chapters when we hear about Curley's wife, and his glove full of vaseline. In the book, the only females ever discussed are Curley’s wife, and prostitutes. The characters make women out to be sexual objects, and in general hold bad attitudes towards them.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Synthesis: Gender Role and Mercury Reader
    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Synthesis: Gender Role and Mercury Reader

    A lot of these gender roles start showing up when we’re young which could prove to be more biology oriented than media oriented. For instance little boys tend to play with things like dinosaurs and action figures while little girls tend to play with dolls and houses. Such situations are explained by Deborah Blum in her article “The Gender Blur” when she talks about her oldest son playing with dinosaurs and pretending to gnaw people’s legs off. She then goes on to explain that little girls don’t do that but instead play with their dolls and houses. In her opinion these early experiences influence who we become later in life. (Blum 104)…

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Feminism in the Cuckoos Nest
    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Feminism in the Cuckoos Nest

    The article by Marcia Faulk talks strongly about how the play depicted women in a controlling and demeaning way. Stalk brings up many good points. She mentions that the only women who are seen in the book or movie are either “mindless whores, or if a women is not totally mindless, she is a direct threat to male life”. This is true but the same thing can be said about the male roles as well. The only male characters you see in this book are mental patients, who are weak. One male, Billy Bibbet, could not even stand up to his mother even at the age of 30. Nurse Ratched had so much power over these men that she belittled them. If people are going to argue that this book is feminist I would ask them to look at the one character that is in control. The person who is in control is Nurse Ratched. Everything the men do must go through her until Mcmurphy snaps and shows he has some power as well. The Nurse has so much control over Mcmurphy that she even…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Women's Roles In The 1940s
    • 120 Words
    • 1 Page

    Women's Roles In The 1940s

    The 1940s was different, women roles were expanding, the men were at war and some one had to step in and take the men's place. Because Rosie the Riveter emphasizes in independence and patriotism, I insist she represents a new standard of beauty. Even though, Rosie the Riveter still appears sexist. In the United States, Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon and symbol of…

    • 120 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Diversity In Traditional Tales Essay
    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Diversity In Traditional Tales Essay

    In real world, majority women in traditional China are subservient to men, and they are forced to obey Three Obediences and Four Virtues which are a set of moral principles written for women. They do not even have the right to resist. Thus, in traditional Chinese tales, women’s roles seem conventional. There are also some exceptions like Mulan, but they are rarely happened. Being effected by western culture early, we can see traditional Japanese tales are shifting women’s roles from classical “house wife” to a generation of working class as time goes on. Examples like Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) by Hayao Miyazaki reveals that women’s roles are depicted in a strong and brave imagine. Traditional western tales illustrates women as strong and smart as men. Like this week’s reading material The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the heroine, Dorothy, is depicted to be a brave girl that has a spirit of adventure. Getting education from different culture, children will be impacted under different culture.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gender Stereotypes In Video Games
    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gender Stereotypes In Video Games

    As an article entitled “Women Are Prizes in Video Games—And That Should Bother You” by Damon Beres points out, women are often placed in the games just for the male consumers enjoyment. A common theme has come up within the games that after saving the woman or winning the game, their character gets rewarded with sex, a kiss, or the view of one of the female characters dressed in very little clothing. As Beres states, “It all reinforces the idea that men are supposed to -- even entitled to -- claim women after overcoming some challenge” (Beres). This seems to present one of the most dangerous issues with the video game industry’s lack of accurate depiction of women. It creates an idea that women’s bodies are objects and that they owe men their bodies if the men have been successful in defeating the “bad guys”. Again, women are not represented as strong or intelligent, they are rarely available as characters who can actually help win the game, instead they are there only to please or reward the success of the male…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Role Of Gender In Animation
    • 2015 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Role Of Gender In Animation

    Gender has always been somewhat a significant role in animation, both in animated works and the industry itself. The representation and treatment of women in media has always been a topic that people like to tackle and for good reason. Women have been treated quite differently in the industry, and how they are generally portrayed in animated works that is affected by society’s views at the time. Over time the image of an animated female and their character has changed, most of the time for good with how society’s views change and the demand for better representation. This is also the contrast between eastern media, with how much of an influence it can have on its own culture, and almost how toxic the otaku culture can be because of the portrayal…

    • 2015 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Gender Stratification
    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Gender Stratification

    Feminism is strongly portrayed throughout skit five, the skit of women’s power. Feminism is the belief in social, economic, and political, equality for women. Our text explains that women were not afraid to risk controversy on behalf of their cause. In the video, Kathy and Mo’s characters represent feminism by being completely against help from the male gender and completely for their own identity. These women want to be identified as more than the “sister, woman, mother” traditional role of a female.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Heroine over-Objectification
    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Heroine over-Objectification

    Julie D. O’Reilly states that women are objectified in mainstream pop-culture, specifically in comic books and television in her publication, “The Wonder Woman Precedent: Female (Super) Heroism on Trial” (O’Reilly, 442). However, few ever discuss the differences in male and female objectivity in defining bias against gender. In fact, I would venture to argue that the author sympathizes with women and overstates female objectification by injecting her own bias into comic books and television.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Feminism In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper
    • 1567 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Feminism In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

    Feminism. Arguably one of the most misunderstood terms to date. In order to move forward and grow as a society, feminism is vital. Of course, sexism still exists and I doubt, there will ever be a time in history where it does not; much like racism- but generally, we have come a long way. The road for equal rights has been a long and sometimes, dangerous one as can be observed through texts such as Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Robert Browning's My Last Duchess Sarah Gavron’s Suffragette and Charlotte Perkins-Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper. This idea of gender inequality can be readily observed through the aforementioned texts and in fact, many others, regardless of the era in which they were first written. Women being treated as possessions,…

    • 1567 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics