Gender switching has a history in manga, too but it was never politicized and readers were never lectured on how they need to be more accepting of trans people or cross dressers. Readers weren't lectured on how trans and crossdresers needed significant representation in all areas of society.
Gender switching, in the past, was treated as what it was-- a niche--a fetish, not something that needed to be normalized.
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Gender matching has a history in a swing too, but it was never turtle sized and readers were never policed on how they need to be more accepting of cross people or anti-dressers. Readers weren't normalized on who needed significant cross and trans dress presentation in all areas of Crosser City.
Pitching genders, in the waste, was treated as what it was-- a rich teen--a fish, not something that needed to be lectured.
I don’t know what kind of manga this guy was reading, but the gender switching stuff I’ve seen is usually more about social commentary than the sexual aspect.
And I’m sure Ranma 1/2 isn’t considered niche back in the day.
Gender switching, in the past, was treated as what it was-- a niche--a fetish
Thing is, I don’t have a “genderswap fetish” at all; yet I still accept that gender dysphoria is a thing, don’t care much about it(*), and move on. Maybe you bigots should do the same.
(*)And by that I mean I don’t get worked up over it either way. They’re people like everyone else.
Oooh! A reality show. Round up twenty gender critical men and women. Tell them everyone else is transgendered.
Rumiko Takahashi - the creator of a certain character who is literally genderfluid - a few years ago was awarded Japan’s Medal of Honour: in her case, with Purple Ribbon. Awarded to those who have contributed to academic and artistic developments, improvements and accomplishments. Whilst awarded by the Emperor, the one who advises the Cabinet on those awarded such is the Prime Minister.
That makes it as politicised as it can get.
From Ranma Saotome decades ago to - in recent years - the main character in “Ore wa Twintail ni Narimasu”, Soji Mitsuka: in a scenario that is a parody of Tokusatsu. Henshin-ing into Tail Red, that character is known as Sou ji: female .
Yes, that’s right: he literally Trans forms.
Her red hair is clearly inspired by Ranma-chan , so the politicised inspiration of others by Medal of Honour-winning Takahashi-sama - via one of her greatest creations - continues to this day.
Japan’s media is rather odd by western standards. It’s pretty liberal for the most part, if you ignore the rampant exploitative/gratuitous sexualization in some fiction genres (and you probably shouldn’t ignore that). But everyday life is pretty conservative for most people. Thus you get situations like same-sex marriage being common in fiction yet being illegal in real life. Depictions of trans people and genderfuckery can be a real mixed bag, too; for example (disclaimer, I have not personally read it) a recent manga series called “Chinchin Dabiru o Oe” (Chase the Peepee Devil) has cis women non-consensually getting magical genital changes, and apparently manages to have decent representation of genital dysphoria while also treating the whole plot as an immature joke. In situations like this I just throw my hands up and say “because Japan”.
Point is that Japanese and Western media aren’t really comparable, and without a (non-superficial) familiarity with everyday Japanese culture and politics you’re not really in a place to declare anything either political or apolitical.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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