There are a lot of stupid little people out there who can't separate definition from connotation.* A word is not evil by nature, it is simply a tool of language, however, when it is used in context enough times, it begins to take on a flavor. A lot of sensitive otaku take it the wrong way when people evaluate their precious anime and tell them it's sexist. Same reason why otaku get pissed off when you refer to their passion as watching "cartoons". By literal definition, anime, cartoons and animation are all the same thing, but the connotation associated with each one is radically different, and only realistically is it in North America that these connotations between the three clearly exist.Yeah, yeah, you got your technical and cultural crap, but I'm not going back into that Hellhole again unless you want an extra five paragraphs tagged onto this document.

The reason why otaku should not be offended when anime is labeled as sexist is simple, just about everything on our planet can be classified as sexist by the most standard definition of the word, which is not sexually offensive, or sexually abusive, sexually stereotypical or sexually ignorant, but simply sexually defined, meaning that it portrays the generally unavoidable fact that there is a difference between social roles associated with genders. Sure, when you think of sexism, the first thing that comes to your mind are women's right protests, angry feminists, sexual harassment in the work place and having people treat you unfairly because of your gender. These are ideas that pop into your head when you first think of the word, because historically, they were the most directly associated with "sexism", which in turn, became a negative buzz word of sorts. By definition however, the accusation of sexism can be much softer and more natural than you might think, although a lot of people throw it around without knowing what it fully means as well. Of course, when otaku hear the whole accusations of sexism in their favorite form of entertainment, they resort back to their "Anime is not tentacle rape" argument that they had to use to defend themselves against mass ignorance for the longest time. Let's face it, the lot of us know that hentai has a very small share of the actual anime market, but it is a very loud and novel share as far as North American is concerned, and along with giant robots, sweat drops and speed lines, it's right up there in the top five cliches of doom that normal people associate with anime. People bringing up that petite little portion of hentai to symbolize the entire anime world has happened to such a repetitively nasty degree that many otaku developed a bit of an automated response to it when brought up, which is something along the lines of "Anime is not sexist, now watch more or shut up". Yeah, of course the obligatory exception to every rule follows like a goldfish turds as it always does, but you get my point. These questions and reactions are to be expected of both parties, so there really isn't anyone to blame and not much to do about it, except to try to be polite, tolerant and indiscriminate, however, it is never a good thing to be too indiscriminate.

On a hypothetical level, could you imagine what the world would be like if different genders were not acknowledged? It'd be that whole perfect world paradox crap all over again and I'd feel sorry for pregnant women (No ice chips... that would be sad**). Everything would be equal and there would not be specific products, services or privileges given to either gender to better suit them. This is not to mention an extremely inefficient social system. It's like you have a plant and a rock, and you water both of them just because you don't want to discriminate. The fact is, the world is based on descrimination in all it's forms. It is frequently horrible, and rarely fair, but the world is based upon difference. Ultimately, the best we can do is embrace difference and work synergistically. Still, the fact remains that sexism exists in anime, but then again, last time I checked, it existed everywhere else too. It's not exactly easy to find a place where men and women can't tell each other apart.

Between the sexual caricatures, the panty shots, the fan service, the power trip fantasies and the tentacle rape, there is no way you can tell me that anime does not play off of the female gender in a way that can be done only with males, that by definition is "sexist". Now, is anime sexually offensive? That is the real question.

Now, here's the answer:

Yes - because even a vegetable can be sexually offensive to someone.***

* Some dictionaries have the second definition of sexism with the abusive, demeaning, generally nasty connotation built in, but since the first definition is the vague one about discrimination as a whole, the points still apply that it can be an all or nothing term, along with prejudice in general. In many cases, just about any anime, even Hello Kitty can be interpreted as sexist by the most generalized standards of the word, however, very few anime take on a full blown, one sided, completely demeaning, utterly abusive and obscene prejudice towards one of the sexes that would piss off any of the gender being portrayed watching it. Remember, at least half of the things classified as sexism are there because one gender is attracted to the other and has preset expectations of what the other would idealistically be. It is one part society and one part individuality, these things will always change with time, for better or worst.

** Hahha, sorry. When I wrote that, I had to put a plug somewhere for my Xynthica series that I am working on. Xyni's mother, who's name is Gity, loves to eat ice chips, she intentially puts herself in the hospital just so that she can eat them and pick up a bag or two. Just thought I'd mention that because it seems pretty funny.

It is very small and very new, but I hope it grows with time and plumps when you cook it. Come see Xyni's hair ornament of the month too!

***Anime and manga are sexually empowering at least as often as demeaning. Many female artists like Rumiko Takahashi, CLAMP and Koge Donbo do popular, complex and controversial female characters, often with big glaring flaws that make them interesting. That is to say that they don't spare their characters from demeaning activity and behavior that portrays women in a sexist light, at least the ones that have gone through puberty. CLAMP in particular seems to be all over the map in exploiting feminine sexuality in their more mature works like Miyuki-Chan in Wonderland or Chobits, and they are only the tip of the iceberg. Shoujo has become popular in North America, but Josei Manga, or Women's Comics which portrays more realistic and complex characterization with older characters still has yet to catch on in North America, although a lot of people like to call it "Hentai with feelings" as a sort' of generalized running joke. I believe Moyoko Anno's manga "Happy Mania" deserves special attention for helping to pave the way there, I highly recommend it for some really interesting characterization and something very different from typical manga found in North America.

These days, it is quite rare to actually see a one-dimensional female character in anime (Sorry, I would say 2D, but that would be redundant). Even in hentai they seem to actually have a very human nature, granted, they are eventually gonna' end up being something along the lines of tentacle bait, but you get my point. For the most part though, anime and manga aren't noticeably any more sexist or sexually offensive than any other form of story telling entertainment. I would not go as far to say that they are any less though, but you can't deny that there are more famous female anime/manga/video game characters with a solid fanbase than every comic, cartoon, book, television show and movie of North American origin combined. That's a bold statement to say, and I doubt if it's really true, but hey, it's what it looks like from where I sit. Of course, I'm kind of cheating here, in North America, nobody really cares about the character featured in the work, we tend to focus on the celebrity who draws, writes or plays as the character, but the statement still holds true to me until I learn different