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According to Associations (2013, p.121), stigma refers to a mark of dishonor connected to a specified person, circumstance, or quality. By extension, Brooks (2011, p.34) delineates stigma as a reputation, behavior, or attribute, which socially brings an individual into disrepute in a specified manner and results in mental classification of the person by others in a

The Japanese are a very creative culture which have produced several fantastic science fiction movies such as Gojira, which was an allegory for the use of atomic bombs in war to the animated cartoons, known as anime in America, like Space Battleship Yamato which portrayed the story of all the nations of the planet Earth joining forces to defeat an alien invasion. Yamato and other anime like Mach-A-Go-Go had female characters in the shows that were both allies and sometimes love interest to the main characters, but still were depicted as strong female role models and were drawn with normal features and body types. However, as time has passed, women in anime have been more and more sexualized and this has had an effect on how young people look at Japanese culture and women in particular. In this paper, the effects of this practice will be observed.

The main point Erving Goffman made in his article “Stigma and Social Identity” how different types of stigma effect people in their daily life. You could be stigmatized in many different ways such as how you look, if you are handicapped or not, or even if you are from a different ethnicity. Goffman defines three different primary typologies of stigma and they are: (1) abomination of the body, which means someone has physical disabilities, (2) Blemishes of individual character, meaning moral failing such as rapist, sex offender, and (3) tribal stigma, meaning your ethnical background and religion (Pontell, 2016, p. 96-97). Goffman also talks about how the individuals, who are stigmatized by the society, feel when they are around normal individuals.

“Stigma and Social Identity,” is one of the chapters from a book called “Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity” written by Erving Goffman that discuss in depth about stigma. Firstly, in this chapter, Goffman discuss about the origins of the word ‘stigma’ from the Greeks and Christian perspective that tend to define stigma as bodily evidence of unusualness. Nowadays, the word stigma is use to label disgrace rather than the bodily evidence of it. There are three types of stigmas; physical defects, blemishes of individual character and tribal stigmata of race, color and religion. All of these stigmas can deteriorate the claims of ‘normality’.

(Byrne). Stigma is best defined by PhD, Kristalyn Salters Pedneault, a psychologist who focuses on psychological trauma, who states, “Stigma is a perceived negative attribute that causes someone to devalue or think less of the whole person,” (Gluck). In other words, stigma is being conscious of a quality which makes someone feel flawed and disgraced. Sigma can also be viewed as prejudice, hate, and discrimination against oneself, or how others may perceive them. Stigma is everywhere, regardless if someone has a mental disorder.

The Japanese are a very creative culture which have produced several fantastic science fiction movies such as Gojira, which was an allegory for the use of atomic bombs in war to the animated cartoons, known as anime in America, like Space Battleship Yamato which portrayed the story of all the nations of the planet Earth joining forces to defeat an alien invasion. Yamato and other anime like Mach-A-Go-Go had female characters in the shows that were both allies and sometimes love interest to the main characters, but still were depicted as strong female role models and were drawn with normal features and body types. However, as time has passed, women in anime have been more and more sexualized and this has had an effect on how young people look at Japanese culture and women in particular. In this paper, the effects of this practice will be observed.

Stigma is a term of Greek origin that refers to something bad or unusual about a person with regards to social norms. It is so profound that it overpowers any positive social feedback regarding the way in which the individual adheres to other social norms, essentially spoiling an individuals identity (Goffman 1963).

Erving Goffman defined stigma as “the situation of the individual who is disqualified from full social acceptance” and “an undesired differentness from what we had anticipated” (Goffman, 1963). According to Thornicroft, Rose, Kassam, and Sartorius (2007), stigma comprises ignorance (lack of knowledge), prejudice (stigmatizing attitudes), and discrimination (being treated unfairly, a behavior concept). The Haghighat (2001) model of public stigma represents people’s social and psychological reactions to someone perceived to have a stigmatized condition. According to this model, stigmatization has three components: cognitive (based on stereotypes such as “schizophrenics are violent”), affective (fear and anxiety), and behavioral (avoidance and discrimination). (p. 251)

The word stigma has been re-defined all throughout history. The Greeks first originated the term stigma, they referred to it as “bodily signs designed to expose something unusual and bad about the moral status of the signifier.” Such bodily signs include a cuts or burns, such things insinuated said person was a slave, a criminal, or a traitor, and if you had a pimple you were unclean. Later on the term took up yet another meaning. Christians used stigma to define both bodily signs of “holy grace” and physical abnormalities. In modern times, this term can be less physical and more social related. As Goffman explained in his essay, first impressions are everything in today’s society. One issue regarding stigma in the media deals with controlling

The idea of stigma and what it is like to be a stigmatized person was conducted by sociologist Erving Goffman. He analyzed how stigmatized individuals feel about themselves and their relationships with people that are considered “normal”. Stigmatized individuals are people who are not socially accepted and are constantly eager to alter their social identifies: physically deformed people, mentally ill patients, drug addicts, homosexuals, etc.

There are three main categories of stigma: physical disfigurements, individual character flaw, and membership in a “tainted” group. A tainted group includes a particular race, ethnicity or religion. In the modern times, people with STDs, pregnant teenagers and people with disabilities are also tainted groups. People who belong in a stigmatized group and has a stigmatized identity falls either into two groups: “the discreditable” or the “discredited”. Discreditable individuals include people who have deviant characteristics that they are able to hide such as sexual fetishes.

Throughout the world women are depicted to be oversexualized among forms of media such as video games and comic books. The idea of oversexualization towards female characters is that they have been often drawn and animated in hypersexual ways. Even going as far as viewing them as a sex object, their revealing body images are eye candy through the eyes of men. Hence women found in comic books and video games are frequently emphasized by their excessive physical appearances, objectification, portrayal, and character role.

Throughout the years, anime has seen a tremendous growth in it's reputation. Particularly popular in the United States, anime has been a great part of the Japanese culture and a large influence in the way adolescents see certain gender roles. The animation industry has quite a lot of control due to the fact that what is animated can be seen and taken to heart by young viewers who have yet to learn about gender roles and the affects they might have on individuals in the future. Japan is a country where the hierarchy still stands, because of this many individuals have a very concrete mindset of men being the head of the house and the women being shy and submissive. In certain shoujo and shonen anime you have the stereotypes that come from the

Why cannot female characters be stronger? The role of media is representing the social status that reflects the actual situation of the female in society’s different aspects. However, female characters do not have enough representation because males take most of the important roles in different kinds of media. Female characters are always represented as one-sided and more reliant on male characters. Even though there is a trend of misrepresentation of females characters, but there is more and more shows have a better portrayal of feminism over time. The portrait of females in TV shows is changing. Because women’ dreams are no longer just being taken care of the family in the real lives, but also

The Nihon Shoki, one of Japan’s oldest works, has the most extant historical record of Japan. It begins with the creation myth of how Izanami and Izanagi created modern day Japan. However, this myth explicitly mentions sex, allowing for a clear distinction of gender: “the glaring excessive form in Izanagi’s body and perceived insufficiency in Izanami’s body.” Izanami’s description led to the subordination of women, as the myth describes her gender as insufficient, thus reducing a woman’s power and influence. Over time, we have developed a tacit definition of gender, as we constantly see gender depicted through the use of stereotypes in several media outlets, such as anime. Notwithstanding, media outlets, including anime, exist that challenge traditional gender definitions. In Taro the Dragon Boy and Princess Mononoke, differences exist in the portrayal of female characters; each director defines the female gender, which influences how his audience perceives and constructs gender identity, thus impacting Japan’s progress towards gender equality.