>>>In the context of Japan, if you read classic works of 'shoujo manga' by
>>>Yamagishi Ryoko, Hagio Moto, Yoshida Akimi, etc., you'll see that the
>>>(homo)eroticization of adolescent male bodies is a point of departure for
>>>the (fantasy) work of girl culture.
>>Well I've mostly read/worked with Takeuchu Naoko's
[correction, that would be Takeuchi Naoko]
>>stuff, where the girl's
>>body is far more important than the boy's, although I'm interested in Ramna
>>1/2 as well, which is rather different. There are others as well, but I'm
>>trying to stay focused on something widely available in translation, which
>>is one of the reasons why Sailormoon & Co.
>
>Sadly I don't know any of the stuff you mention. If possible, brush up your
>Japanese and try and read Hagio Moto's _Thoma no Shinzo_ & _Poe no
>Ichizoku_, Yamagishi Ryoko's _Hiizuru Tokoro no Tenshi_, Yoshida Akimi's
>_Banana Fish_, _The California Story_, & _Kissho Ten-nyo_, Oshima Yumiko's
>_Bananabread Pudding_, Takemiya Keiko's _Kaze to Ki no Uta_, and Akisato
>Wakuni's _Nemureru Mori no Binan_.
Some of these I know, but thanks very much for the list -- I'll see what else I can locate.
>Also, check out Hashimoto Osamu's
>commentary on shoujo manga _Hanasaku Otometachi no Kimpira Gobo_. [In fact,
>Hashimoto is an interesting writer/critic apart from shoujo manga. He
>writes in girl-speak to disrupt grammar, sex/gender/sexuality regimes,
>etc.] Articles by Fujimoto Yukari as well.
These I don't know at all. I don't think my Japanese reading is up to commentary. I'll do author searches but any other suggestions as to where I might look for translations of Hashimoto?
>How about Yoshimoto Banana? Her novel _Kitchen_ has been translated in
English.
Yes I know her work and some commentary (in English) on it.
...
>OK, except that the term 'global girl culture' sounds strange, in that it
>doesn't seem to have an objective reference in reality.
Well you're right and yet it does have reality in effect -- not only descrbing but shaping products, distribution and consumption.
>>how Anglophone ideas of girlhood permeate global markets
>
>You mean white American ones, because when I was in Japan, I don't think I
>saw any Australian film about girls, except Peter Weir's _Picnic at Hanging
>Rock_ (1975), and I _am_ a movie buff! Can't remember seeing/reading
>anything about girl culture from the English-speaking Caribbean, Canada
>(except in Margaret Atwood novels & stories), India (except in Satyajit Ray
>films), etc. either. On the other hand, I saw lots of French girls, for
>instance, in Eric Rohmer films.
Yes in Japan it's most American girls, but not entirely. _Muriel's Wedding_ did fairly well there, for example, which is interesting considering the 'wedding tour' thing between Japan and Australia.
Catherine