Grace En-Yi Ting is a queer and feminist studies scholar specializing in Japanese literary and cultural studies. She is working on a book manuscript examining femininities and female homosociality within representations of daily life by women writers in post-1980’s Japan. She is an Assistant Professor of Gender Studies at the University of Hong Kong.
In Ogawa Yōko’s (b. 1962) writing from the late 1980’s and 1990’s, female narrators often revel i... more In Ogawa Yōko’s (b. 1962) writing from the late 1980’s and 1990’s, female narrators often revel in the fantastical beauty of youthful masculinities, while they themselves cannot escape the disgusting disorder of feminized domestic spaces. First, I read death and violence in kitchens depicted in the story collection Revenge (1998) to show how Ogawa rewrites this space associated with the housewife and her duties as one of horrific possibilities overturning idealized images of domesticity. Next, building on earlier readings of food, I argue that spectacles of sweetness—cakes, jam, and ice cream desserts—play a particularly crucial role in articulating female desire and violence, such as with the earlier works “Pregnancy Diary” (1991) and Sugar Time (1991). Returning to Revenge, I observe how “sweet” images appear in scenes of violence to outline how female homosocial gazes reflect a constant engagement with femininities seen in other women, particularly those marked by the transgression of anger and murderous desire. I end by considering ways in which Ogawa’s self-reflexive depiction of the woman writer in Revenge playfully problematizes the “mad” fantasies of women who write.
Japanese-language script for a June 2020 public lecture given at Waseda University:
今発表では、研究と個人経... more Japanese-language script for a June 2020 public lecture given at Waseda University:
This paper responds to Andrea Petö’s discussion of the gender studies ban in Hungary with reflect... more This paper responds to Andrea Petö’s discussion of the gender studies ban in Hungary with reflections upon gender and race in Anglo-American Japanese studies, seen in the context of the history of area studies in the United States. I touch upon tensions related to work on women and gender in Japanese studies before commenting upon problems of gender and race reflected in the current dynamics and origins of the field. Building on Shu-mei Shih’s (2019) recent writing on racializing area studies, I suggest solidarity between gender studies scholars built on a different sense of “there” and “here,” as well as the queer embrace of negativity in finding hope for feminist causes.
This is a revised, extended version of a short response given at a symposium on gender studies at International Christian University in June 2019. The proceedings are available in full in this open-access issue: http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/cgs/en/journal/cgs15.html
The Routledge Companion to Gender and Japanese Culture, 2020
This book chapter is an overview of approaches to gender and sexuality in anime and manga studies... more This book chapter is an overview of approaches to gender and sexuality in anime and manga studies. It touches upon early scholarship on the shōjo, or girl, appearing in the 1990's; work that argues against overly simplistic condemnation of otaku, or fans of manga and anime (particularly men); and major contributions made within the field of shōjo manga (girls’ comics) studies and its subfield of boys’ love or BL studies.
In this paper, I examine images of sweets—cakes, cookies, and parfaits—in texts by artists Hagio ... more In this paper, I examine images of sweets—cakes, cookies, and parfaits—in texts by artists Hagio Moto (b. 1949) and Yoshinaga Fumi (b. 1971) in order to trace an unremarkable history of shōjo manga. My analysis suggests that feminist scholars of Japanese girls’ culture have largely avoided emphasizing conventional femininities circulated through many shōjo manga; instead, they focus on a narrative concerning the subversive qualities of the genre due to its rejection of gender and sexual norms. Describing representations of sweetness in terms of desire and disgust, I reflect upon possibilities for feminist perspectives that simultaneously allow for both pleasure and critique with the everyday consumption of shōjo manga.
In Ogawa Yōko’s (b. 1962) writing from the late 1980’s and 1990’s, female narrators often revel i... more In Ogawa Yōko’s (b. 1962) writing from the late 1980’s and 1990’s, female narrators often revel in the fantastical beauty of youthful masculinities, while they themselves cannot escape the disgusting disorder of feminized domestic spaces. First, I read death and violence in kitchens depicted in the story collection Revenge (1998) to show how Ogawa rewrites this space associated with the housewife and her duties as one of horrific possibilities overturning idealized images of domesticity. Next, building on earlier readings of food, I argue that spectacles of sweetness—cakes, jam, and ice cream desserts—play a particularly crucial role in articulating female desire and violence, such as with the earlier works “Pregnancy Diary” (1991) and Sugar Time (1991). Returning to Revenge, I observe how “sweet” images appear in scenes of violence to outline how female homosocial gazes reflect a constant engagement with femininities seen in other women, particularly those marked by the transgression of anger and murderous desire. I end by considering ways in which Ogawa’s self-reflexive depiction of the woman writer in Revenge playfully problematizes the “mad” fantasies of women who write.
Japanese-language script for a June 2020 public lecture given at Waseda University:
今発表では、研究と個人経... more Japanese-language script for a June 2020 public lecture given at Waseda University:
This paper responds to Andrea Petö’s discussion of the gender studies ban in Hungary with reflect... more This paper responds to Andrea Petö’s discussion of the gender studies ban in Hungary with reflections upon gender and race in Anglo-American Japanese studies, seen in the context of the history of area studies in the United States. I touch upon tensions related to work on women and gender in Japanese studies before commenting upon problems of gender and race reflected in the current dynamics and origins of the field. Building on Shu-mei Shih’s (2019) recent writing on racializing area studies, I suggest solidarity between gender studies scholars built on a different sense of “there” and “here,” as well as the queer embrace of negativity in finding hope for feminist causes.
This is a revised, extended version of a short response given at a symposium on gender studies at International Christian University in June 2019. The proceedings are available in full in this open-access issue: http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/cgs/en/journal/cgs15.html
The Routledge Companion to Gender and Japanese Culture, 2020
This book chapter is an overview of approaches to gender and sexuality in anime and manga studies... more This book chapter is an overview of approaches to gender and sexuality in anime and manga studies. It touches upon early scholarship on the shōjo, or girl, appearing in the 1990's; work that argues against overly simplistic condemnation of otaku, or fans of manga and anime (particularly men); and major contributions made within the field of shōjo manga (girls’ comics) studies and its subfield of boys’ love or BL studies.
In this paper, I examine images of sweets—cakes, cookies, and parfaits—in texts by artists Hagio ... more In this paper, I examine images of sweets—cakes, cookies, and parfaits—in texts by artists Hagio Moto (b. 1949) and Yoshinaga Fumi (b. 1971) in order to trace an unremarkable history of shōjo manga. My analysis suggests that feminist scholars of Japanese girls’ culture have largely avoided emphasizing conventional femininities circulated through many shōjo manga; instead, they focus on a narrative concerning the subversive qualities of the genre due to its rejection of gender and sexual norms. Describing representations of sweetness in terms of desire and disgust, I reflect upon possibilities for feminist perspectives that simultaneously allow for both pleasure and critique with the everyday consumption of shōjo manga.
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Papers by Grace E Ting
今発表では、研究と個人経験の関係を紹介し、ポジショナリティ(立場性)の視点を通してクィア・フェミニスト研究の意義を示唆する。さらに、台湾系アメリカ人女性のクィア・フェミニスト研究者として、連帯感、学び、セルフケア、創造性、言葉の重要性、または多国籍・多言語の文脈を横断する経験を取り上げる。
(This PDF includes the unpublished English version.)
This is a revised, extended version of a short response given at a symposium on gender studies at International Christian University in June 2019. The proceedings are available in full in this open-access issue: http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/cgs/en/journal/cgs15.html
Other by Grace E Ting
今発表では、研究と個人経験の関係を紹介し、ポジショナリティ(立場性)の視点を通してクィア・フェミニスト研究の意義を示唆する。さらに、台湾系アメリカ人女性のクィア・フェミニスト研究者として、連帯感、学び、セルフケア、創造性、言葉の重要性、または多国籍・多言語の文脈を横断する経験を取り上げる。
(This PDF includes the unpublished English version.)
This is a revised, extended version of a short response given at a symposium on gender studies at International Christian University in June 2019. The proceedings are available in full in this open-access issue: http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/cgs/en/journal/cgs15.html