Catgirl Explained

A is a young female kemonomimi character with feline traits, such as, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. They are not individuals who are literal cats but individuals who only look superficially feline.[1] Catgirls are found in various fiction genres, particularly in Japanese anime and manga.[2] Catboy is a term for the male equivalent of said character type.

History

The oldest mention of the term nekomusume comes from an 18th-century misemono (見世物) in which a cat/woman hybrid was displayed. Stories of shape-shifting bakeneko prostitutes were popular during the Edo period.[3] The popularity of the nekomusume continued throughout the Edo and Shōwa periods, with many tales of cat/woman hybrids appearing in works such as the and .

In Kenji Miyazawa's 1924 work, is the first modern day example of a beautiful, cat-eared woman.[4] In 1936, the nekomusume experienced a revival in kamishibai. The first anime involving catgirls, titled The King’s Tail (Ousama no Shippo), was made in 1949 by Mitsuyo Seo. In America, the DC Comics character Catwoman first appeared in 1940, and Cheetah first appeared in 1943.[5]

Catgirls were further made popular in 1978 manga series The Star of Cottonland, by Yumiko Ōshima.[6] By the 1990s, catgirls were common in Japanese anime and manga. Catgirls have since been featured in various media worldwide. Enough of a subculture has developed for various themed conventions and events to be held around the world, such as Nekocon.[7]

Catgirls are also popular among the furry fandom. In 2023, the furry hacker group SiegedSec attempted to blackmail the Idaho National Laboratory into "creating real-life catgirls".[8]

Reception

Japanese philosopher Hiroki Azuma has stated that catgirl characteristics such as cat ears and feline speech patterns are examples of moe-elements. Azuma argued that although some otaku sexual expression involves catgirl imagery, few otaku have the sexual awareness to understand how such imagery can be perceived as perverted.[9] [10] In a 2010 critique of the manga series Loveless, the feminist writer T. A. Noonan argued that, in Japanese culture, catgirl characteristics have a similar role to that of the Playboy Bunny in western culture, serving as a fetishization of youthful innocence.[11]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cat Girl . 2024-04-25 . TV Tropes.
  2. Book: Okum, David. Manga Madness. 72. 2004-03-24. 978-1-58180-534-5. Cat Girl. F+W Media .
  3. Book: Davisson, Zack . Zack Davisson . Kaibyō : the supernatural cats of Japan. 2017 . 978-1-63405-916-9. First . Chin Music Press. Seattle, WA. 1006517249.
  4. Web site: Suisenzuki no yokka . www.aozora.gr.jp . ja . March 15, 2015 . September 23, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923174506/http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000081/files/1930_9724.html . live .
  5. Book: Wallace, Daniel . Dolan . Hannah . 1940s . DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle . . 2010 . 978-0-7566-6742-9 . 31 . The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one. With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman..
  6. Book: Berndt, Jaqueline . Phänomen Manga : Comic-Kulture in Japan . de . Edition q . Berlin . 1995 . 111 . 978-3-86124-289-5 .
  7. News: . After Action Report . 2007-11-07 . 2013-02-03 . 2016-09-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160914090838/http://hamptonroads.com/2007/11/after-action-report . dead .
  8. Web site: Yeo . Amanda . 2023-11-24 . 'Gay furry hackers' breach nuclear lab, demand it create catgirls . 2024-08-03 . Mashable . en.
  9. Book: Azuma, Hiroki. Otaku: Japan's database animals. limited. Hiroki Azuma . Abel . Jonathan . Kono . Shion . 978-0-8166-6800-7. English . 527737445 . 47, 89. 2009. University of Minnesota Press . Minneapolis.
  10. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies. Moe and the Potential of Fantasy in Post-Millennial Japan. Galbraith. Patrick W.. 31 October 2009. 9. 3. en. 2018-05-23. 2019-10-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20191025065102/http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html. live.
  11. Noonan. T. A.. "I Can't Get Excited for a Child, Ritsuka": Intersections of Gender, Identity, and Audience Ambiguity in Yun Kôga's Loveless. MP: An Online Feminist Journal. 10 February 2013. Fall 2010. 2. 3. 1939-330X. 12 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160112002434/http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf. live.

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