My friend f0calizer and I were discussing this topic the other day. We’re both interested in meeting other anime fans and finding social gatherings of fans in our area. However, we’re constantly puzzled by the same thing – the lack of female anime fans, not just at anime clubs and such, but within the anime blogsphere as well…
Just to make it clear, I mean specifically female anime fans. I actually feel that there’s just as many female fans of manga as there are male, possibly more. There’s also a large female presence in certain branches of the fandom such as cosplay and fan art/fan fiction. But when it comes to what I’d consider a female anime fan – someone who constantly watches different kinds of anime, buys anime merchandise like DVDs and character goods, and/or possibly blogs about anime or makes passionate, serious commentary on it in some other way – that’s what seems to be lacking.
But if you think about it, it’s not too hard to see why there’s less female presence in anime fandom in general (I mean anime in general, barring fandom of specific titles). First off, anime and similar otaku hobbies are, as a whole, more often targeted towards males than females. Anime genres that specifically target girls or women pretty much consist of shojo, josei, and shonen-ai/yaoi. Arguably just about all other titles are aimed at male viewers or general audiences. Some otherwise male-oriented shows like mecha and shonen anime do try to rope in female viewers by adding bishonen and romance to the series, but usually they’re still targeted towards guys first and foremost. Of course, there are plenty of girls whose tastes go beyond their target genres and who like shonen and moe, just as there are guys who like josei and yaoi. I’m just saying that as a whole, less anime is made with the female audience in mind. That’s a reason why, as I mentioned, I feel that manga has more female fans than anime. There’s a larger variety of manga genres out there than anime, and it’s less likely for a given shojo or yaoi title (of which there are much more of in manga) to get adapted into an anime than it is for an action, fantasy, seinen, shonen, moe, or mecha title. Because of all this, I feel that there are simply fewer female anime fans overall.
In addition to a general lack of passionate female anime fans, f0calizer and I were also pondering about the lack of female fans at anime clubs, as well as female anime bloggers. For the three different anime clubs I’ve attended, males always outnumbered females. I don’t even think there was a single girl besides me in my high school anime club, and the few girls at a local college club I went to looked like they were either just casually interested in anime or they were only there to accompany their guys friends and wanted to leave as soon as possible. The club at my university was a rare exception in that there were a decent number of very passionate female fans, though they weren’t into the same variety of anime that I was. And when it comes to anime bloggers, they’re certainly there – Yi, lostty, Myna, Canne, kluxorious, Neo-Shonen-Fujoshi, Janette, Marina, and others I don’t know. But again, the majority of anibloggers, as well as the ones with the most well-known blogs in the ‘sphere, are guys.
If I wanted to delve into my female psyche and try to figure out why girls are lacking in anime clubs and blogs, I don’t think it’s only due to the lack of female anime fans in general, though that is a big factor. Rather, I think most female fans express their fandom differently than guys. Many female fans I see tend to latch onto specific branches of the fandom, such as cosplay and fan fiction like I mentioned before. They’re also more likely to be fans of specific genres or specific series and not extremely passionate about anime as a whole or of a variety of different titles. Therefore, a lot of their social networking and expressive outlets come from sites specifically for whatever fandom branch or series they’re into, or just general social sites such as Facebook. You may not find many female fans at your college anime club or writing episodic blogs, but if you go to a Hetalia cosplay gathering or visit the forums of a Naruto fan fiction site, they’ll most likely outnumber the guys there.
If you wanted to delve even deeper, one could also say that being a “nerd” or a “geek” about anything is simply more plausible for males in society than females. Anime and even the things that comprise anime fandom such as blogging, going to a club/convention, and collecting products from a series can be considered “nerdy.” I’m no sociologist, so I don’t know if this is because females are “wired” differently than males or because societal molding makes it less likely for female otaku to come about than male ones. But whether it’s due to peer pressure, societal expectations, or any number of things, female nerds/geeks/otaku seem to be fewer in number and depth of hardcore passion for their hobby than males.
Is lack of female anime fans a problem? For me, not necessary, though more female fans add a diversity in the fandom that can’t always be found with a male-only outlook. On the bright side it makes discovering one a lot more interesting =) Every time I come across another female otaku, I feel grateful to be living in a society where it’s acceptable for women to pursue their hobbies rather than always have to be housewives and homemakers. Though I doubt we’ll ever see a day where the population of female anime fans is the same as males, but you never know.
I’m just going to throw this out there, though I’m not sure if it has any merit or not. Is it possible that some female fans may just not want to advertise their gender online? Because anime fandom indeed seems to be male-dominated, is there a disadvantage/bias/concern if someone advertises themselves as a female fan? Is there a risk that your opinion might be taken less seriously or that you’d be treated differently?
I think there’s an old bias that everyone on the Internet is male unless they say otherwise, but I guess I just wonder if it’s possible that some people just try to blend into the conversation without bringing up their gender, letting everyone else think what they want. Of course, if that is indeed the case (and people do it well), we’d have no way to know…
Hmm, interesting thought. I can’t speak for others but I personally don’t care if someone, at least in the anime online community, knows my gender. Actually, I usually want them to know I’m a girl because so many in the fandom expect guys to partake in passionate anime discussions and often assume I’m a guy because of the kinds of anime I like and the posts I write. I like surprising them ^^a
As someone who attends anime meet-ups and conventions I’d say there are plenty of passionate female anime fans (at least in the UK). Why these people might not be as visibly represented in the blogosphere is a different matter.
I’m not sure how representative this is of passionate female anime fans worldwide, but 47% of the people who paid for on-site accommodation at an Anime convention I attended recently in the UK were female.
That’s a good point that lack of female anime fans may be more of an American phenomena. I’ve noticed larger female turnouts at conventions than at local anime meet-ups and clubs. I think this has to do with the big female audience for cosplay, hence the high female attendance at conventions, while gathering in small groups to watch anime together at clubs is something guys like doing better.
I agree with everything you said, especially about the manga thing. At my last con I made it a point to interview some female anime fans to know what they like. I only met 2 that prefered anime to manga.
I have been mistaken for a female online more than once and I always find that amusing, ifs probably because I am outspoken for my love for Josei and most of the shows that are my favourites have pretty boys in them (which I always say is a good thing lol)
Even back in high school when I mostly hung out with female anime fans, I remember that just about all of them read more manga than watched anime. On the one hand it could be because manga is cheaper to buy than anime. But I think the better variety of female-aimed genres in manga is the main reason.
I’ve been mistaken for a guy many times online because of how I write about anime and because the series that are my favorites tend to have a larger male following.
This is kind of contradictory as shown with my reader survey, there were a high number of female readers. I think that they probably don’t show off their enthusiasm too much compared to male fans or share it through different channels. Even so, there are many factors and I don’t feel that the male dominance would discourage them. It’s kind of sad there is a lack of female anime bloggers and I kind I wish there is more… but setting up a blog takes some skills to set up, so…
Of course, this is the same way with video games since most of them are geared to males. My sister besides anime has a strong interest in video gaming as I do and is a hardcore gamer… Of course, this doesn’t make her at a disadvantage since there are other female hardcore gamers out there…
That’s interesting about your survey, but it could simply indicate that your blog has more female visitors and not anything about the number of female anime fans in general. You’re right that female fans may be sharing their fandom through different means than the average (male) anime fan and that’s why it’s harder to find them. I too wish they’d be around more just to create a better variety of tastes and opinions in the fandom =)
Coincidentally, a lot of the girls I know that like anime are actually like your sister and are very much into video games.
“It’s kind of sad there is a lack of female anime bloggers and I kind I wish there is more… but setting up a blog takes some skills to set up, so…”
what in the world
I think that they are just hidden or something; you can go to an anime convention and boom! suddenly you discover that there are more female anime fans than you thought.
I agree, the ratio of male and female is pretty balanced at anime conventions. But as for blogs, online communities, and even local gatherings of fans, females are a lot harder to find. I think the cosplay, fan art, and shopping elements of conventions are what attracts them there ;)
Maybe it just depends where you’re looking? I actually have more female friends who are fans of anime than male. (This could also be because I went to a women’s college; there were a ton of anime fans, as well as sci-fi/fantasy fans who were loud and proud.) I do agree that we might latch on to parts of fandom that aren’t as visible to average fans. For example, just check out any of the text rps on livejournal; most are female anime fans who play there. Even at conventions, I’ve never really noticed more male to female fans (again, might be just where I am?) I guess the only real male dominance I’ve seen in fandom was when I spent a year in Japan. (And even then, a trip to Otome Road in Ikebukuro or the first day of Comiket tell you a very different story.)
Sorry, kind of rambly, just generally surprised since this isn’t how I’ve seen anime fandom at all. ^^;
Going to a women’s college could definitely help you find female fans that you wouldn’t be able to find online. Also, you live in Canada right? Maybe things are different there as far as the ratio of male/female fans and how outgoing females are about their hobby.
Like I said in the comment above this one, I feel that there are certain things at conventions that attract a larger number of female fans that blogs and anime clubs don’t.
Ooh, you went to Comiket…lucky! But I was lucky enough to go to Akihabara a couple of times when I was in Japan in ’09. Again, much larger male population at the anime/otaku stores there =)
I only just moved to Canada actually. ^^; I’m originally from Philadelphia, and that’s where most of my anime fan friends live.
Haha, yep! I lived in Yokohama for seven months last year, so a friend and I went to winter Comiket. Akiba’s fun, but I actually like Ikebukuro better.
Now that you mention it, yeah, most anime seem to be aimed at the male population more than the female population. I guess they do so because it sells more and there are more male viewers, which in turn creates more male viewers, and caters less to female fans, and becomes a never ending vicious circle. So that does not help I guess…
I think society still does not fully accept women having all the same rights/advantages as men. Superficially yes, but still deep down, it’s more acceptable for men to have these “weird” hobbies. So girl anime fans are probably out there in numbers, but still a bit hidden. Society is going in the right direction, but we can’t expect hundreds of years of a male dominated society to change in a few years. So given time, it will probably become better and better.
I guess many things are still affecting this, but there will be a day when society will look at girl anime-fans, gamers, geeks, nerds, in the same way as males.
You’re right, even now it’s still much less socially acceptable for a girl to be a “nerd” than a guy. This in turn creates more peer pressure for girls to have feminine hobbies and thus there are fewer who are likely to be into something like anime. But yes, times are changing and there’s still a chance that one day the female geek will be equal to the male geek XD
I never knew how heavily dominated by males the anime fandom was until I went to my Uni’s anime club meeting. I mostly participate in fandom via fanfiction, so it was a surprise to see five girls and twenty-some odd guys. Then the club president said he was happy to see so many girls there and I was really confused.It’s just really weird to go outside of my own net-niche and see how things are different than I thought they were.
I knew that a lot of anime was targeted towards guys, I guess I just never really thought that there was much of a male fanbase before.
Yeah, it can be shocking. I was actually lucky in that I knew a lot of girls who liked anime in high school (more than guys actually) and as I said in the post, there were quite a few female anime fans at my university’s anime club. But when it comes to online discussions (and most RL anime meet-ups) that’s when females become rare. I’d even venture to say that staying power for being a fan is less with females than males as just about all of the female fans I knew in high school no longer care for anime.
The bit about staying power is certainly true for me. For some reason, I’ve been deviating towards American shows for the past year (I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I’m busier, and I can listen to American shows while doing something else). But most of the guys I know that like anime haven’t changed.
You’re right, a busy schedule can definitely lead people away from anime simply because anime takes up much more time – you have to actively seek the episodes online rather than just turning on the TV (unless you live in Japan of course) and you have to read subtitles.
I started out decades ago as a science fiction/fantasy fan, so I’m a female geek/nerd from way back. SF/F was also traditionally male-centric, but females have made huge inroads into SF/F fandom. The acceptance of SF/F as almost mainstream these days in Hollywood has contributed to that opening up and being less of a guy-geek kind of thing.
I think males are more prevalent in the anime blogosphere, but I would say the breakdown at anime cons is more 50-50 in terms of male/female attendance. So possibly, it’s that females are out there but just not as much into anime blogging as the guys are, so they are less visible in that respect.
I came into anime fandom too late for college anime clubs so I can’t say anything about that… except that, if I had discovered anime back when I was in college, I wouldn’t have hesitated to join those clubs. =D
Ah, that’s very interesting about sci-fi/fantasy fandom and how it’s opened up over the years. It must have been cool to be a fan when that was happening =D
Yes, as I mentioned in a couple of previous comments, conventions tend to attract more female fans because of things like cosplay, affordable shops, concerts, etc., than blogging and clubs. So if you spend a lot of time online among general anime sites (like most of us do) they’re harder to find.
You went to UC Berkeley right? Their anime club is still alive and kicking – they’re actually part of the same branch as UCI’s club. UCI’s club is Cal Animage Epsilon while Berkeley’s is Cal Animage Alpha. If UCI was closer to where I live you can bet I’d be joining the other alumni there and keep attending indefinitely XD
It is a definite mystery–there are just more men in anime clubs than woman. Guess it’s just a mentality.. probably?
But as for the female anime bloggers, I’ve stumbled onto quite a few as I continue my journey looking for new blogs. You also have to remember that some keep their gender anonymous, so it’s one of those inexact sciences I guess.
Yeah, the “nerd” mentality is simply more open to guys in society than girls, and anime, blogging, games, etc., all fall into that category.
Whenever I discover an anime blog that catches my fancy, I always look at the About page because I’m interested in knowing the person behind the posts – gender, location, favorite anime, etc,. Even if gender isn’t mentioned there, I can sometimes determine it through the words of their posts…but you gotta be careful not to assume their gender unless you know for sure of course =P
I think that’s especially true about the manga thing. Perhaps it’s different elsewhere online, but on LiveJournal (the only online place in which I ‘hang out’ as such), there seems to be plenty of female manga fans, but competitively far fewer female anime fans. I’m an anime fan myself but, with one or two exceptions, don’t really read or collect manga, so it seems all the more noticeable to me.
I’ve never attended an official anime club, just because New Zealand doesn’t have any that I’m aware of, so I can’t comment on the male-to-female ratio there. But two of my best friends who are also anime fans are indeed males. We meet up once a week to watch anime for most of the night, and I just seem to become ‘one of the guys’ when I’m with them. I think that’s because even though I do tend to enjoy genres like boys love, I’m also happy watching most other genres of anime, from fantasy and sci-fi to action and comedy.
I’ve never been into LiveJournal, but from what I gather, it’s another place where female anime/manga fans are more prominent than with blogs. Perhaps the tighter community feeling and ease of use with LJ is more attracting to them?
Since my first year at college I too have had more male anime friends than female. Especially at my university when I hung out with the guys and felt like one of them ^_^ I had more female friends in high school but they all lost interest in anime. The ones I had at uni were great but we simply weren’t interested in the same genres of anime.
Yo, Yumeka. Lets do the brofist ^__^
I only know 2 females in Malaysia that is into anime as much as I do and one of them is myself lol. So yeah most females in Malaysia think anime isn’t really something that’s ‘in’ and as long as they see it just as another form of ‘cartoon’, they will never get it.
Hmm, I didn’t think it would be that hard to find anime fans in Malaysia. But it always depends on where you go. Have you been to any clubs, conventions, or taken any Japanese courses at college? Those are always the best places to find anime fans no matter what country you’re in =)
I have no analysis or insight to add, but I just wanted to mention that I immediately thought of Genshiken when I read your post. Mostly male, with 2 1/2 female members. Of those, one is a cosplayer, one is a doujinshi artist, and the “half” enjoys an occasional manga. None participate actively in the group’s Kujibiki Unbalance discussions. The show very much fits into your discussion.
Wow, that’s interesting since I’ve never even seen/read Genshiken ^^ It sounds like a spot-on representation of female anime fans in real life. I’ll have to check it out sometime.
Most of the anime fans I know are female, myself included. To me, I would expect more females to be avid collectors and it makes the most sense, sociologically speaking. Females were the gatherers in primitive societies. We have a natural tendency to collect, buy more than intended (although for most females this extends primarily to fashion), and have a nice nest of a collection built up.
As for it being more socially acceptable for males to pursue “nerdy” interests than females, I do agree that it seems more people expect males to pursue nerdy activities; however, in my experience it has been more acceptable for females to pursue than males. For instance, my friend’s younger brother is an avid anime fan but he was continuously mocked during school about his hobby. I had the opposite experience, with people showing interest and asking me for more information.
I think there are many more female anime fans than people suspect, but they don’t look or behave like a typical fan and are overlooked as one. This is my case most of the time, and people often refuse to believe I like anime until I bring them to my apartment and prove otherwise.
Personally, I’m not active in most areas of anime fandom. Watching anime, purchasing them when licensed, listening to anime music, and buying the occasional poster are the extents of my displays of fandom. These activities can all be done alone (and I prefer to do them as such, unless I’m with my sister). My other friends and I will often discuss different series we’ve been keeping up with, but other than we keep our passion for anime to ourselves. Another reason I’m not as active in the fandom as I otherwise would be, is I simply don’t have the time. Perhaps because women often carry more social obligations than men they simply lack the time to participate in as many anime-centric activities.
Very good points.
What I meant by “collecting” is buying a lot of media-based goods for franchises you like, such as the DVDs and accompanying games for an anime or cartoon you like, or different figures of your favorite character. Shopping and collecting for females is mostly about clothes, fashion, or other means of beautifying oneself. That’s what I meant by females being less likely to buy stuff for their favorite anime compared to males.
I was also made fun of for being into Pokemon in middle school. So I think having a nerdy hobby could bring about bullying irrespective of gender. It just depends on the kind of people you’re around.
Depending on where I go, I sometimes “advertise” my fandom by wearing an anime shirt and/or bag. I’ve met so many of my fellow fans by having something anime-related on my person =)
My female friends who likes anime and manga mostly seem to prefer manga over anime. One of them has “advanced” and is currently crazy into JDrama and Fan-Fiction. Not sure if that is relevant though.
I don’t know if this is just me having the wrong picture, but at least in Sweden I have always thought that there are more female than male fans, whether it’s anime or manga, but I might be wrong. There once was a big forum which was crowded with almost only females and at conventions (judging by pictures) they are also superior in numbers. On gaming forums on the other hand, I mostly come across males…
Not sure what I can make out of this though.
I mentioned in a couple of comments that the lack of female anime fans may also be an American thing and it may be different where you are in Sweden. What kind of forum are you talking about? If it’s something related to cosplay, yaoi, fan fiction, or another branch of the fandom popular with girls, then it would probably have a larger female turnout. Then of course, a gaming forum would have more guys. My main point is just that when it comes to general anime fandom, females seem to be fewer.
Oh, I must’ve forgot to mention what it was. It was basically a forum for manga/anime/japan/stuff like that-interested persons. It was created by our biggest manga publisher and was a bit community-like too, with profiles, diaries, comments and such. So I guess it would appear more appealing to females.
But I understand what you mean about anime. I would love to see more and more women get out and shout “here I am” if you get what I mean. I’m always a bit happy whenever it turns out to be a girl I’m playing with, because it shows change. Makes me angry when a lot of us men go all like “omg girl lol noob”.
Anyhow. I wonder why exactly anime seems to have a smaller fanbase.
Oh, this made me do some thinking. We all know that there most certainly are female anime fans. But I don’t think that being a fan of a specific series or genre of anime makes those ladies any less of an *anime* fan than those of us who enjoy anime on a broader scale.
My experiences as a female fan (although I admittedly fall into the category of those who read more manga than they watch anime) have mostly led to interactions with almost exclusively female fans. It wasn’t until I went to university and joined anime club that I was really exposed to male fans, and even then the ratio of males to females there was fair, if not roughly even a lot of the time.
But digging into the bloggosphere does reveal a certain lack in the presence of female anime fans. Lots of them are online, sure; but you are right to point out that a lot of female fans choose to participate in other areas of online fandom expression like fanfiction and text/forum-based RPGs. So we know they’re out there; they’re just not blogging about their fandom.
I would *love* to see more female anime bloggers. As much as I enjoy talking to other girls about their fandoms, I can’t do that so much outside of my own living area, so being able to read blogs written by female anime fans would be the next best thing. Even if they are fans of traditionally male-oriented genres, I’m sure that the opinions and reactions of female fans to series in those genres would add some very welcome variety to the rounds of the anime bloggosphere.
And as a female fan myself, I can at least say that I’ll try do my part as I get back to my anime roots and not only watch more anime, but try new series that I wouldn’t have considered in the past.
Given that, then perhaps I can reach my goal of my LJ being a (hopefully welcome) addition to the seemingly precious few blogs written by female anime fans out there in the ‘Net. ^ ^
… And I dearly hope that made some kind of sense. >_<;;
Thanks for commenting ^_^
I too didn’t know many male fans until I joined the university’s anime club. That and becoming part of the blogsphere is when I really started to see how many more male fans there seemed to be than female. You’re right that girls tend to prefer different outlets to express their fandom that make them more elusive to everyone except those involved in that outlet.
I’ve noticed that LJ is more popular with females than regular blogging. Good luck with your journal there. I’ll keep checking up on you ;)
I think you’re right that a lot of female fans aren’t that hardcore fans or only like specific genres. Myself, I love a great variety of anime and I watch a great deal of it but the friends I have (all female for some reason) who are also into anime are all only minorly interested or only watch a handful of shows that fit their type. I sometimes feel like it’s kinda sad that they’re not open to more variety but I guess that’s just not for everyone.
And you know, every time you mention anime clubs I get slightly jealous, we don’t have anything like that around here. If we did, I’d definitely join and jump with joy just from the thought of it XP
And you know, every time you mention anime clubs I get slightly jealous, we don’t have anything like that around here. If we did, I’d definitely join and jump with joy just from the thought of it XP
Same thing here! If (anime) clubs existed, I would join immediately! :D
That’s too bad there are no anime clubs where you are (where are you again?) I’m sure you’d meet more guy fans there.
I’ve known a lot of anime fans (male and female) who are only casually interested in it or who only like certain genres. But if you share just a few anime you like with them, doesn’t really matter ;)
I’m from Iceland =)
Yeah, I guess it really doesn’t matter so long as you can chat with them about something anime related. I’d love to know more people irl who are into anime though, maybe my parents would stop bugging me about my social life then XP
Nordic countries-pals we are then!
Another thing in common then, heh.
Nordic countries-pals we are then!
haha which country are you from? OwO
Sweden!
I think I can be called an anime fan (though my interests are more varied than just anime :p). I find anime fandom to be much more gender segregated than other fandoms I enjoy (despite the fact a lot of fandoms/geekdoms have a majority of males to them) to a point that I often find annoying. You could say this is foddered by how Japanese media itself is structured, with shows targeting demographics divided by gender.
And as you say a lot of anime (more than manga) have a male audience in mind. I think to some amount, especially in the blogosphere, it fostered an atmosphere which can feel a bit… hostile, or at least disheartening to female anime fans, due to sexism and sexual objectification, sometimes outright harassment and demeaning comments. So female fans gather on their own corners, where they can be free of that sexism, and you’ll only end us seeing them in big cons where everyone gathers.
Good points. Otaku culture, especially in Japan, with all its moe and ecchi can certainly turn off potential female fans. And on the other side of it, is all the shonen violence and action. Unfortunately these represent only a small portion of the various anime titles in existence, but they’re the ones that get the most attention. So if a female fan can get past this they’re most likely to just find a niche in the medium they like and not be as noticeable among the general fandom.
“and others I don’t know.”
There’s me! I was a girl last time I checked :D
Strangely enough, I’ve found the opposite. Most of the people I see at cons, most of the people I talk to, etc., are all female. I’ll agree that a lot of anime is geared toward more of a male audience, but maybe it depends where you are? Around the midwest, where I am, it seems like a very strong female presence in the anime fandom.
Ack, I can’t believe I forgot you! Sorry…I’m sure I’ll remember others later on too 0_o
You mean the midwest US? I wonder if it could be different even within different parts of the US. From where I’ve been in southern CA at least, I haven’t meet too many truly dedicated female fans.
Yup, midwest US. I live in Ohio, so I tend to attend conventions here, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.
So based on your experiences and mine, I’d say it definitely depends a lot on where you live. I didn’t think location could have much of an affect on how many people of each gender are anime-devotees, but I seem to stand corrected.
I guess it depends on how you define “fan”. Definitely, when it comes to full-blown otaku, I’ve known more guys than girls. But when it comes to casual fans, I’ve seen many more girls that are interested in anime than guys. I do a lot of substitute teaching, and in Colorado Springs, at least, every school I go to from elementary through high school has a decent amount of female anime fans.
Then again, maybe they’re just less afraid to show it – if a girl displays her enthusiasm for anime by covering her folders in decals, dying her hair, or drawing in manga-style, it’s artsy and cool. If a boy were to do those same things, he’d probably be teased for seeming girly or childish.
Not true!! Have you ever been on LiveJournal? The anime fandom there is HUGE and mostly female.
Have you ever considered that there may be large swaths of female anime fans, and you just don’t see them? Or that perhaps there just aren’t as many in your particular area of the world? Just because you don’t see female fans doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
The blogosphere that I’ve come across seems to be mostly male. But then again, there are so many anime blogs out there that I’m only reading a tiny fraction of them. Many anime bloggers may be female but I’ve never found their blogs/websites. There also is the question of gender anonymity. Women tend to be harassed online, it sucks but it’s true. So many bloggers may choose to keep their gender a secret or ambiguous. It’s the same with women gamers – go for two seconds on XBOXLive as a female and you’ll find no shortage of unflattering commentary on women and gaming.
You may be entirely right that female fans gravitate toward certain areas, like cosplay or fanfiction. But does that negate their “fandom?” I’d hope not. I also think that there are communities of women who love anime and love to discuss it – but because they are closely-knit communities who don’t advertise, others (men) aren’t aware of them. And that’s okay!
My personal opinion is that people have internalized an idea of what it means to be “nerdy” or a “geek” – a white male, probably overweight or otherwise socially awkward. And so it makes it hard for people to change their perceptions and realize that women are fans too! Women are nerds too! We always have been! And I think that men who have been marginalized as geeks or nerds have an equally hard time accepting women into what they perceive as “their” club. But all this doesn’t mean that we aren’t out there!
My personal experience is that the women I know are much more into anime/manga than the men. Both my male and female friends are gamers of varying levels of interest, play RPGs, and watch “nerdy” sci-fi television. And whenever I attended anime events at my University, the crowd was either equally split, or predominantly female. So, I don’t think it’s really fair to say that there are less of us out there just based on personal experience or the blogosphere.
If you’ve read some of the above comments, I now realize that perhaps things are different depending on what part of the world you live in. Some of the commenters agreed that female fans are hard to find, some disagree. So it does depend on where you are. I also didn’t mean that people who are into mostly cosplay, fan fics, etc., are any lesser fans. I’m just saying that sometimes they’re pretty much just fans of that and not anime in general.
I wrote this post with the intention of letting people know that, due to personal experience, I’ve felt a lack of female anime fans, provided reasons for why I think this may be, and to see if others feel the same way. I didn’t mean for it to sound like I’m absolutely firm in the belief that male anime fans outnumber females in all cases, so I apologize if it came out that way.
Uh, way to bury your qualifications down here in the comments. Perhaps a top-level edit to the post itself is in order?
The realm of pretty must most, if not any, forms of geekdom is primarily male-dominated. This is, unfortunately, due to the high amount of shows that appeal easily to the males, like Bleach or Naruto, which they have been exposed to easier than it was to expose a female to something like Fruits Basket. There is simply a wider market for male-dominated anime and manga. By appealing to the males profits go up.
Or perhaps it’s a social stigma that girls cannot be anime fans. I don’t know, but this seems true for the people I know. It’s already a bit of a stigma to be a male anime fan, so pray tell what the girls go through.
I think that the lack of avid female anime fans has to do with social prejudice. I teach high school, and I see both male and female anime and manga fans. Even though both boys and girls can be subjuct to ridicule by their peers for their hobby, the females who are out spoken about their love of anime and manga are more often teased and looked upon as weird and socialy unacceptable than their male counterparts. I don’t really know why this is, but I do think that it contributes to the lack of out spoken female fans in many types of forums where their hobby could be found out and mocked. I have been a fan since high school. I started as an anime fan and have just recently found myself reading more manga than watching anime. I have not told anyone around me in my real life about my love of Japanese animation and manga. I do not want this to be what socially difines me, as is often the case for girls who are open about their fandom. I do not think that it is wrong for female fans to be open about it though. They are far braver people than me. I do think that social stigma keeps more than a few female fans silent.
Well one place we are is on LJ. Maybe you’re right about the blogosphere; I wouldn’t know, because I don’t come here much. But please don’t talk like that’s all of anime fandom online, because it surely isn’t, any more than anime clubs are all of fandom in 3d. I’d say anime conventions are just as good an indicator, and those are pretty significantly weighted toward women.
I also disagree strongly with your assertion that fans who focus on some particular form of fan-production, like cosplay or fic or vids, instead of meta (those analyses you mention) or commercial participation is a fan of that production format rather than of the shows. That’s an extremely judgmental and exclusionary way of viewing fandom, and goodness knows we already have more than enough of that without adding more. The implication that you have some right to define what a *real* anime fan is is a pretty offensive one. I’d appreciate it if you phrased yourself more carefully, and I imagine a lot of other anime fans who don’t match your personal model would too.
Sorry, you’re right that I probably should have phrased myself better. I didn’t mean that people who are into mostly cosplay, fan fics, etc., are any less of a fan. I just meant that usually they’re fans of that medium or that show and not of anime in general, at least from the many experiences I’ve had, and you’re right that I shouldn’t have generalized so much. Of course that doesn’t mean they’re always into just that medium and not anime, nor does it mean they’re not a *real* fan of either one. I was just making an observation based on experiences, not meant to be a concrete assertion. I’m sorry if it came off like that.
This post has actually been a learning experience since I honestly didn’t know that there really are more female fans that I originally thought. So I’m glad people are bringing it to my attention and I’ll try to make my exact claims more clear in future posts so as not to offend anyone.
It’s not that there’s a lack of female anime fans. It’s that there might be a lack of (visible) female fans who do fandom the way you understand fandom and fannish activities. There are an abundance of female anime fans who are absolutely passionate about anime… but you discount them because they do their fannish thing by way of fanfic or fanart, and they don’t necessarily participate in the anime blogosphere. Basically, you’re implying that “real” anime fans do fandom the way you do it, which of course skews your perception of how many female fans there are out there.
You’re right that my definition of an anime fan is my own and not an absolute one. I thought I had made it clear that it was just the typical definition I thought of for “anime fan” and not what everyone thinks, but apparently I didn’t, so I apologize. I don’t mean that anyone who does their fandom by way of fanfics, fan art, etc., loves the objects of their fandom any less than someone in the blogsphere or wherever. What I meant to imply is that I simply have trouble finding female fans in the many ways I personally participate in the fandom and I was trying to think of reasons why. I didn’t mean that anyone who doesn’t express their fandom the way I do is not a “real” fan. My apologizes again and I will try to express myself better in future posts.
Very interesting observations! My experience in my high school anime club (~1998, or thereabouts) was that there were plenty of girls around. Ditto college. Of course, it was a lot harder to be a manga fan back then, and if you’d seen ten mainstream series, that was a decent chunk of what everybody else was watching. We watched the occasional title like Escaflowne, but most of what was available were the blatantly guy-oriented series like Bastard!! I don’t personally think it’s the style of anime that leads to a “lack” of female fans (though I do think the manga boom has had a huge effect).
I don’t particularly watch anime these days, but now, like then, fanfic is a standard part of my fandom experience. Mainstream blogs tend to be hostile to fanfic and to set the blogger up as an authority, both of which are highly unattractive to me. If I were to start watching anime actively again and seek online fame, it would be in the fanfic-writing part of fandom, even if I were trying to get known for canon reviews, and it would be on Dreamwidth or Livejournal. If I like something at all, fanfic is involved somewhere (or fan art or video or costuming, etc. etc.), whether I’m writing it personally or not. Anything canon-only is “news” to me and not “fandom”.
Blogging is unattractive to me, regardless of the topic. When I share reviews, I do it with friends (journal platforms) or as a member of the public sharing with members of the public looking for reviews (LibraryThing and so on), not as an expert with a brand and a centralized internet presence. I’ll comment on a blog post if someone links me to an interesting, well written one like this, but I spend enough time keeping up with DW and LJ that I don’t bother with RSS feeds for blogs elsewhere. I don’t tend to keep up with conversations or individual bloggers for more than a day or two. I have no idea if this is a factor for other female nerds, but it would be interesting to see the overall stats on bloggers, particularly on any topic that isn’t babies or women’s issues.
Personally, I don’t have any hesitation about being a loud, proud nerd and geek. That might be a factor for some women, but I think there may be other reasons for the disparity you’re noticing.
Oh, and I think it’s interesting that you view an interest in fanfiction as part of an interest in a media property instead of anime in general. I do know the occasional fan who is passionately devoted to only one series or only a few (whether we’re talking anime or dramas or American tv or books or anything else). More typically, fans who like fic like fic of everything. If they watched it, they write about it or read about it or roleplay about it or discuss the idea of there being that kind of fan activity about it. And those communities like egalitarian, social platforms suited to multiple kinds of fan behavior. So, yes, if you remove everyone who ever posts about fanfic and the sites they post to, you’re left with a lopsided view of who’s watching anime.
Your argument is a fair bit of strawman, that the marketing forces that be (tMFtb) push for male-dominated stories that therefore there must not be as many female fans. I’ve spent my entire life, as a woman, watching boy’s stories and men’s stories. I’m surrounded by them. Perhaps on your end, you’d be uncomfortable if the majority of new anime was josei/shoujo with female protagonists and stories, but that’s because you’ve never had to deal with the majority of stories not being written for you. On my end, I’m used to it. I had to get used to it. I had no choice. The MFtb just don’t write all that much anime or manga with women in mind.
…and what they do write is, IMO, tripe, a lot of the time. If shonen could be summed up as “a boy has to save the world”, shoujo is frequently “a girl has to find a boyfriend,” and I got over that when I was thirteen. What I want is a female Macross or Gundam pilot-protagonist — who doesn’t fall apart in the cockpit, but takes ‘em all out and doesn’t bother taking names, and gets to be the one who saves the world. But it won’t happen so long as tMFtb believe that boys won’t watch stories about girls, and your belief — based on your own comfort zone — that girls must not watch boy-stories because you don’t like girl-stories — just reinforces the tMFtb argument that’s keeping me from finally getting a competent woman-protagonist in the cockpit of a big honking mecha.
Could you please insert the qualifications you make in the comments about who you would consider anime “fans” into the main post? I felt that a lot of things in the post were pretty problematic, but since you said some different things in the comments, I’m holding off on commenting myself until I’m sure I understand your meaning correctly.
To me, an anime fan is someone who watches a lot of anime and is very interested in the anime medium as a whole, someone who considers anime an important part of their life and a major hobby to them. But again, this is just my personal idea of what an anime fan is and what I’ve based the thoughts in my post around and not meant as the sole definition for everyone to accept.
If this is the typical male anime blogger attitude toward female fans, it’s not surprising that we stay far away from your areas of congregation.
How insultingly dismissive of you to discount other modes of fannishness as less than your own preferred mode. So, blogging is THE way to be an anime fan. Gee, thanks. Fanfiction, cosplay, attending conventions, using journaling sites are less valid? You acknowledge that conventions have high female turnout. Ready for a reality check?: attendees of conventions = fans.
If you had framed this as “I’m surprised that–with the high female presence in fannish activities such as cons–there doesn’t seem to be a very large female presence in my favored mode of fandom, blogging” then I’d have no problem with your line of reasoning.
As my last few reply comments before yours have said, I admit that I did not phrase myself properly in the post and I apologize for that. I did not mean that people who are into fanfiction, cosplaying, etc., cannot be anime fans or any less of a fan than a blogger. All I’m saying is that from my own personal experience at conventions, forums, clubs, etc., female fans tend to be more into those things than overall interest in the anime medium and watching lots of titles. Of course not all of them are like that, it was just a generalization I made from the experiences I’ve had in my eleven years as a fan and it seems to have been a bad one. So again, I apologize and will try to make myself more clear in future posts.
Incidentally, I suspect from your first sentence that you think I’m a male fan? I’m female…just wanted to make sure.
I was president of my universities anime club, i helped run smash (sydney manga anime show) for several years, I have documented evidence of seeing at least one episode of over 200 anime series and I’m really not unique.
Location and
Eople involved make a big difference. I’ve found that some girls are interested in watching all the series, but they need additional pay off such as finding people that they can comfortably talk about/watch with. Live journal does well because it’s easier for a lot of female fans to find a comfortable community.
Even some of the places that seem more genre specific can surprise you with a closer look. A lot yaoi places actually discuss and watch a great variety, just slanted more towards boy heavy series than boob a licious fan service.
I’m a female anime fan.
I was one of the main “suppliers” of anime in my all-female high school. I was in an anime club in college. I have attended anime conventions since I was 15. I have been staff at a couple since I was 18. I’ve also been involved with the Geek Partnership Society in my area.
(I don’t really see a formal split between anime and manga fans, but I’ve generally been heavier on the anime then the manga.)
I agree, though, with your up-thread comment about gatherings being more male dominate then cons. It’d be nice to get some of your clarifications/further comments in a top-level post, then in just the comments.
While I do know more female fans who latch onto specific branches, several of my best friends, both male and female, take an interest in anime as a whole. Granted, I often have to prod them into stretching their legs a bit more and checking out other series, but they do tend to willingly vary their fandoms.
And I’ve noticed the anime fans tending to be gamers as well. Well, mostly in the girlfriend and her best friend, but still, it’s there.
So… I’m confused. Why don’t anime fans who write fanfiction or do cosplay count as anime fans? Those activities are not mutually exclusive with watching anime semi-regularly or buying merch (the activities that you indicate characterize a ‘real’ anime fan). I actually watched _more_ anime when I was also cosplaying; I watch less now and don’t cosplay because of a lack of time and funds, not because cosplay (which was an expression of my love for certain anime series) somehow made me less of a fan of anime.
As for blogging… Women may be underrepresented in the anime blogging branch of fandom (at least, that’s been my experience), but frankly that’s not a problem unique to anime fandom, and very well may not be due to a lack of women who like anime, but instead to social biases (it’s pretty well established that on average, people are more likely to listen to the _exact same_ statements or arguments made by a man than by a woman). Furthermore, because fanfiction branches of fandom are majority female, more women may choose to socialize in those online communities, rather than the blogs, because they’re less likely to run into the stereotypical creepy sexist male otaku*.
*While I seriously doubt that even a plurality of male anime fans are hugely creepy and sexist, there are enough of them out there making noise that I will occasionally avoid certain types of anime fandom gatherings because I don’t want to have to deal with that crap.
At my school there are WAY more female otakus than male
I know what you mean by there not being many girls that watch amine. I got into manga through anime, but I watch anime more. I used to always try and get my friend to watch it but she said it was stupid and then one day got really into manga, but still wouldn’t watch anime! I think one of the problems is, is when you’re having a conversation with a girls anime fan online or something they aren’t going to just randomly say they’re a girl because that fact is so obvious to themselves. One day I was talking with people in a chat room on an anime site and I told someone “Dude chill out” and I got this long rant about how boys should not just assume because girls can watch anime too not just guys, but it was funny because she assumed I was a guy too. I think more girls express their love through fanfiction because they choose pairings in an anime or a favorite character whether than watching several different animes and blogging about it. In America it seems like liking anime is looked down upon for being childish or stupid. In my school the few people who do watch anime are girls and I only know of one boy which I guess must be unusual, but most of those girls are the kind that say “why should I care what you think?” and sit in a corner alone sulking so what’s been said about it not being socially acceptable for girls do be nerdy but it is for guys still applies. I think the difference starts because girls are encouraged to go shoppig and read magazines while boys play sports and watch tv. The boys will find anime while watching tv and girls will see manga out of the corner of they’re eye while reading a magazine or something at a book store or learn about drawing manga and then start to read it.