%0 Journal Article
%T ※Girls are dancin＊§: sh身jo culture and feminism in contemporary Japanese art
%A Emily Wakeling
%J New Voices : A Journal for Emerging Scholars of Japanese Studies in Australia and New Zealand
%D 2011
%I The Japan Foundation, Sydney
%X This article explores the gender-transgressive expressions found in sh身jo culture in order to highlight the potential for feminist analysis in the prevalence of the sh身jo motif in contemporary Japanese art. Sh身jo culture is a fascinating cultural space, within contemporary Japanese culture, which fosters creative expressions of gender that negate or make complex hegemonic categories. Departing from stereotypes of Japanese girls, this article will pay particular interest to an emerging wave of figurative contemporary art practices in which the figure of the sh身jo is utilised for a new generation of feminist critique. Aoshima Chiho, Kunikata Mahomi, Takano Aya, Sawada Tomoko and Yanagi Miwa are among the current artists who feature the sh身jo motif in contexts that foreground female subjectivities found paralleled in sh身jo culture. These works will then be contextualised in the greater picture of current trends and themes in global contemporary feminist art.
%K shojo
%K feminism
%K gender
%K contemporary art
%U http://pdf.jpf-sydney.org/newvoices/5/chapter6.pdf