Kiss me? Kiss me not.

Any self-respecting shoujo manga fanatic should be aware about the common trope of the dashing, playful male lead stealing the first kiss from the heroine. But despite the author's best intentions, should we really be considering this romantic? Of course not- it's an invasion of privacy thinly veiled by passion.

The trope was particularly common in many East Asian works during the 1990s-2010s such as the heart warming Kodocha (Kodome no Omocha) in which the male lead (Akito) steals a kiss from not one.. but two girls! One of the girls called Fuka resents him for this and carries this revulsion into middle school where she instantly recognises again in comparison to his reaction where Akito initially has forgotten about the incident. 

This contrast in reactions mirrors deep-rooted gender expectations in society — women as passive recipients, and men as active agents of desire.

It's undeniable that shoujo manga - created by women, for women and girls- is supposed to act as a type of bible of liberation, but I simply believe it impossible to ignore the undertones of misogyny subconsciously slipping into the writing.

I came across a study the other day that was compiled in 2010 by Nathan S Winters. The research showed that 60% of Shoujo manga at the time included at least one scene of sexual violence. I couldn't believe it! 

I was so shocked that when I finished the article I just sat and stared at my phone for a couple minutes. It meant that over half of the books that I'd grown up reading included depictions of sexism that had been cleverly disguised as Romantism. And as you would've guessed it, this also included the famous 'stolen kiss' trope.

It made me even more appreciative of the respectable authors who'd not chosen to cover our eyes in this way- particularly AI Yazawa. While her notable works of Nana and Paradise kiss, definitely include these adult themes of sex, maturity and feminism she hasn't accessorised them with flippant humour and trivialised them but instead has expressed them in jarring, truthful ways that bring a new vibrant layer of realism to her writing. 

When discussing shoujo heroines that follow the modern feminist structure, we may be inclined to first think of strong, capable or perhaps tomboyish women and while your not wrong, I'd also like to encourage you to expand on that definition and think of other characters that may not fit into this 'stereotype' of feminism we've curated such as 'girly' female characters. 

Feminism in shoujo doesn't only kick ass- sometimes it wears pink.

Despite the negative connotations associated with 'girly', some of my favourite leads can be described in this way. For example, Kyoko (Skip Beat!) who puts her dreams and goals above her love life and overcomes her feelings of revenge and also Nana Komatsu(Nana) who embraces motherhood and places the stability of her child's future over her own true love and goals.

These 'girly' women challenge the assumption that femininity is a weakness and redefine strength.

This leaves me to end this post on the note, and hope that you'll think about the next book you pick up and contemplate whether the the romantic tension is exciting or inappropriate.  Loving a story doesn't mean you can't question it.