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.