這是最近幾年我還蠻喜歡的一部漫畫
但沒想到，這部漫畫竟是宣揚男女不平等的讀物
而在美國的女權人士 勇敢地指出這一點，讓人醒悟
實在令人敬佩
以下原文
大意大概就是，女孩兒的角色，在這部漫畫中都弱於男性
並且出場次數過低，雖然女孩們表現出了顯著的天賦，
但是當比賽結束時，男孩們才能獲得所有頂級位置。
並且其中男性角色瘋狂對於女性角色性騷擾，而僅獲得少量的懲罰
更是近一步加強男性可以性騷擾女性的觀點
My Hero Academia is one of my favorite series in recent years. Thanks to its
compelling, lovable cast and exciting world-building, it’s some of the most
fun I’ve ever had with shounen and superheroes. Regrettably, though, it’s
not entirely free of some of the most frustrating (and typical) shounen
stereotypes that frequently undermine its strong female cast.
To some extent, My Hero Academia goes against conventions by giving the
female characters diverse Quirks (superpowers) that rarely conform to those
of supporting roles. Yet it doesn’t push too hard when it comes to putting
them into action. Most characters have limitations that prevent their Quirks
from getting too overpowered, but when there are exceptions, they’re all
remarkably male. Even without taking One For All—a special quirk that
accumulates power passed down through generations—into account, male
characters like Todoroki, Bakugo, or Endeavor are portrayed as being far
above everyone else.
The girls from the main cast receive far less recognition, mostly because they
’re often relegated to the background. While there are also boys who don’t
have much time in the spotlight, the series still finds endless opportunities
to highlight plenty of its male characters, which hardly ever happens with
the girls. As a side effect, this also means that MHA, perhaps
unintentionally, doesn’t always take the girls’ Quirks seriously, resulting
in limitations that sometimes don’t even make sense.
A Quirk as deadly as Ashida’s acid production should be regarded as a
serious threat, but it never seems to do much. Toru, the invisible girl, is
basically an ongoing joke. But even more glaring is how the series fails to
realize the true potential of Momo, who can create anything as long as she
knows its components. At the end of the day, no girl is portrayed as anywhere
close to the power levels or growth potential of many of their male peers.
Compared to them, the girls are hardly ever provided with opportunities to
distinguish themselves.
This is even more noticeable in the tournament arc, when plenty of characters
finally get a chance to shine, including the girls. Ochako’s fight against
Bakugo focuses on confronting the audience’s sexism while acknowledging
Ochako as an opponent worthy of respect. In the other matches, the boys that
underestimate their female opponents suffer quick, crushing defeats.
This implies a self-awareness of one of shounen’s most common tropes: boys
are stronger and more capable than girls. The first stage of the tournament
seems focused on challenging this particular trope, but while it succeeds in
highlighting this inequity, it ultimately does nothing to resolve it, and
instead perpetuates it with full awareness.
While Ochako emerges from her defeat motivated to expand on her skill set,
her match doesn’t leave any lasting effects. As the tournament advances
toward the finals, the rest of the girls are quickly eliminated, leaving the
serious, exciting fights to the boys. Even though the girls show notable
talent, when the tournament ends, it’s the boys who get all the top
spots.
My Hero Academia’s shortcomings with the girls from its main cast are also
present in the professional field. Midnight and Mt. Lady are the most
prominent pro heroines introduced to the audience thus far, and neither of
them shows competence comparable to the male pro heroes, nor do they inspire
the same level of admiration.
We have yet to see pro heroines get things done (in a way that’s also taken
seriously by the series) like we have with All Might, Endeavor, Eraserhead,
and so on. With Mt. Lady and Midnight, we mostly just get moments of
clumsiness or flirtation, all meant to serve as comedy or fanservice.
The internship arc introduced pro heroine Uwabami, yet it regrettably didn’t
give her anything to do on the field. She only serves to give us a little
look into the commercial side of heroism—an aspect of the hero profession
that’s later portrayed as fundamentally destructive and corrupt during the
Stain arc. This lack of pro heroine action in the field gives the impression
that they aren’t as capable and exciting as pro heroes. This is further
reinforced by the first-year students’ internships. Most of those who had it
under pro heroes got productive, exciting experiences. Meanwhile, those under
pro heroines ended up disappointed.
At its worst, My Hero Academia doesn’t just ignore its female cast: it
brings them forward solely for the purpose of reinforcing tired stereotypes.
One example is the talk show segment from one of Season 2’s cold opens,
which manages to commit several offenses despite its brevity. Featuring Mt.
Lady and Midnight as guests, we learn that the latter’s debut was seeing as
so scandalous it inspired a costume regulation bill. Then, Midnight starts
discussing the difficulties the censure imposes on heroes whose powers are
obstructed by clothes (which brings characters like Momo to mind).
The segment seemed like an interesting idea at first, especially considering
the series’ poor treatment of “sexy” female characters up to this point.
We can see that with Midnight herself, who doesn’t have much development
outside of being a BDSM-themed pro heroine. And, on the student side of
things, other characters often leer at Momo’s costume—while she’s either
unaware or embarrassed if she notices—and she’s targeted by Mineta more
than the rest of the girls, mostly because she shows more skin for the sake
of her Quirk.
Discouragingly, the TV show segment decides to keep ignoring those issues and
instead prioritizes tropes that further undermine the pro heroines. Mt. Lady
and Midnight end up in a cliche “cat fight” before actually having a
discussion, reinforcing the harmful idea that powerful women are unable to
get along. To add insult to injury, the scene ends with a “punchline” as we
cut to Mineta, of all people, watching with excitement.
It’s an especially frustrating conclusion given that Mineta’s very
existence is My Hero Academia’s worst crime. He is the personification of
one of the most troubling tropes in shounen storytelling: sexual harassment
and assault as a source of humor.
The series tries to utilize this archetype with some attempted
self-awareness. It acknowledges that Mineta’s disrespect of the girls’
boundaries is a bad thing, and he’s constantly called out by his classmates.
When he crosses the line with the girls, they usually punish him. However,
none of this means anything if the series shows no meaningful consequences
for his actions, especially from individuals of authority such as the school
faculty.
With Mineta’s final exam, the series takes an even more unsettling stand.
There, he’s portrayed as a surprisingly hard-working student, just like the
rest of his classmates. His motivation to “become popular” with women is
even treated with certain levels of sympathy. There’s nothing wrong with
wanting to impress the gender you’re attracted to, of course, but promoting
such motivation in a character who frequently sexually harasses (if not
outright assaults) his female peers perpetuates ideas that threaten women’s
comfort and safety. Instead of correcting his behavior, the series silently
approves of it by continuing to portray him in a humorous rather than
malicious light.
My Hero Academia certainly has issues with the way it treats its female
characters, which takes something away from my enjoyment of the series.
However, I must also acknowledge that, at times, it does seem to have its
heart in the right place. We can see that in Ochako’s motivation to become a
pro heroine and earn money to help her family, in her fight against Bakugo,
or in the very relatable character arc that Momo had after under-performing
in the tournament.
It’s also notable in the characterization of most of the girls; they feel
like well-rounded people that I would love to hang out with. Whether it’s
their cool personality and judgment, sense of humor, kindness, or the general
positivity some impart to others, the girls have qualities that make it easy
to connect and care for them.
I love My Hero Academia despite its flaws, in part because of how much I like
its girls, but also because it truly understands what makes the concept of “
heroes” so appealing. The heroes it promotes are hardworking people, moved
by their desire to be the best version of themselves and help those who need
them. MHA realizes that a hero can’t always save everyone, but it encourages
them to keep fighting for those they can. Those ideals can motivate everyone,
regardless of gender, to always give their very best. It’s a series with a
lot of heart, which is why so many of its characters resonate.
As much as I love it, I still believe the series would greatly improve if it
allowed its female characters to take on bigger roles in the action. However,
simply giving them more time in the spotlight wouldn’t fix the problems the
series has with them. For that, it would need to maintain the same level of
insight it had when Ochako stood in front of Bakugo during the tournament,
despite her fears and everyone’s doubts about her abilities. Very much like
it challenged the audience’s low expectations of her, the series needs to
more often challenge its own hesitance to let its female characters stand on
their own, outside of comedy and fanservice, when it matters most.
My Hero Academia is an ongoing series. I believe that it can do better, and I
’m glad it has the chance to do so.