Gayming Month- Kanji from Persona 4

Few subjects are as touchy as the subject of defining masculinity. Societies all over the world have somewhat different ideas of what it means to be masculine, and yet they all share the same conclusion: it's shameful for a man to either lack it, or deviate from it. In gaming, few characters embody the dilemma of masculinity as much as Kanji, from Persona 4.

A young man with questions against a society with no answers

Kanji's story is that he's a rough and tumble kind of dude, but he's also a total sweetheart who is into plushies, knitting, and is totally crushing on someone he thinks is a guy. Kanji is BADASS, being able to pick a fight (and WINNING) against a motorcycle gang, to the point that the mere MENTION of his name causes them to panic and flee. He is not to be messed with, yet he's also the nicest guy one could ever meet.

Kanji's character is first brought to the spotlight via his own dungeon, the game's second overall. In it, Kanji has to confront his Shadow, who acts like the most offensive gay stereotype this side of the Pacific. The Shadow taunts Kanji, all but outright calling him gay for liking traditionally feminine things like sewing or animal plushies. Kanji retorts by punching the hell out of the Shadow, and then admitting that he DOES enjoy those things.

Kanji's Shadow was born out of his own fear of being rejected for his hobbies. When he was younger, Kanji was taunted and bullied for liking crocheting, sewing, and making plushies. He was bullied by both boys AND girls, and this caused him to develop this insecurity.

To be bullied for liking something that goes against your gender role is devastating, and I know this from personal experience. It's tough being a guy who's not into sports while living in a society and culture that states that men should enjoy sports.

Kanji's reaction, to meet with hostility and violence anyone who so much as suggests he's "weird" for liking these girlish things, is a common reaction. People don't like being otherized for something they enjoy, much less if it's something objectively harmless.

For the rest of the game, Kanji has to deal with these mixed emotions: his desire to be free to enjoy what he enjoys, versus his desire to be accepted by his peers and society. Kanji's dilemma is further reinforced because of his reputation as someone who's mean (he's NOT, just quick to anger) and overtly violent (he's not violent for the sake of it, only for the sake of protecting his loved ones). Because of his reputation, he can't confidently join the crocheting club at his school, even though he really wants to.

Then there's the question of his sexuality. There are several hints throughout the game that Kanji has a sexual interest in the same sex, the biggest being his obvious crush on Naoto when he was under the impression she was a guy. That said, the revelation that Naoto was actually a girl didn't alleviate the crush at all.

The fact that Kanji's Shadow (the manifestation of all of Kanji's inner worries and insecurities) acted so campy gay is a demonstration that Kanji is very insecure about his own sexuality, and this might mean he refuses to accept his attraction towards men. Of course, one could well argue that, being fifteen, Kanji doesn't yet know himself well enough, and so he would not yet be confident enough in his sexuality to differentiate sexual interest with admiration.

Then again, this is a point I want to make: how society harms people by forcing rigid gender roles on them. Heteronormativity (the idea that male/female romance is the standard and everything else is a deviation) is strictly enforced in nearly every culture in the world, Japan's included. And because of this strict enforcement, most non-straight kids grow up thinking that their innate desires are not only wrong, they're shameful. This can then lead to emotional damage, which unfortunately can have dire and devastating consequences.

Although the game doesn't really delve much into it (as Kanji is shown to be a relatively well adjusted young man) there's no denying that the theme of how the enforcing of rigid gender roles harms people is presented in his story. If people would just be accepting of Kanji's love for cute things, he'd be a far happier, far more emotionally healthy young man. And of course, this is something WE have to learn, too.

We all have to learn to be more empathetic to others, more accepting of our differences. Rejecting someone just because they enjoy something, on the basis that what they like isn't something they're supposed to like because of their gender, does no one any favors. We all want to be free to be ourselves, after all.

In the end, I can only end this blog entry with a call for more compassion, understanding, and acceptance. Let's all try being better people.