Otoko no ko Manga and New Wave Crossdressing in the 2000s: A Two-Dimensional to Three-Dimensional Male Subculture

In twenty-­first century Japan, male cross-­dressing (josō) has become a popu- lar element of culture at multiple levels, from the most convivial and grass- roots amateur and fan participation to mass media entertainment. The cute and moé animation style and diverse range of media involvement in new wave josō distinguish it from earlier and less mediated currents of gay, nyū hāfu (transgender), and cross-­ dress culture1 and community.2 Playful josō and male gender transformation in millennial Japan echo the growing presence of transgender and between gender modes throughout international culture in the 2000s, but are simultaneously rooted in the local cultural landscape and semiotic system. Contemporary josō in Japan is impacted by the long history of cultic interest in girls (shōjo) and the associated aesthetic of gamine cute- ness (kawairashisa), as well as the grassroots redigestions of these themes in male animation subculture (otaku-­ism), which has had a significant influence on the new generation of cute and girlish josō. As it is currently a key term in contemporary Japanese culture, josō will largely be used in the original Japanese in this article. When translated it will be translated as “cross-­dress,” since “female-­dress,” which is the more exact translation, does not exist in English and “cross-­dress” is the closer term in style of usage.