
Gender Gymnastics
Performing and Consuming Japan's Takarazuka Revue
Leonie R. Stickland(Author)
Trans Pacific Press
Published on 30. September 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
281 pages
978-1-876843-51-9 (ISBN)
Description
The artifice of gender performance - sometimes playful, mostly conscientious - has enthralled and entertained audiences of Japan's all-female Takarazuka Revue for more than 90 years. The dashing male-role players in its musical theatre productions enjoy the adulation of a predominantly female audience for whom these handsome idols represent ideal masculinity, while, at the same time, these 'men' in turn are reflected and magnified by the overwrought femininity of their female-role counterparts. This volume resounds with the voices of those closest to Takarazuka, the girls and women who have danced, sung, and acted in its limelight. Using exclusive interviews, historical records, autobiographies, and years of close-hand observations, former Revue translator and voice actor Leonie Stickland extensively explores the aspirations, endeavors, and experiences of Takarazuka's creators, performers, and adoring fans. Stickland's book simultaneously elucidates gender issues which have impacted upon the life-stages of women in Japan throughout the past century.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Melbourne, VIC
Australia
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
371 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-876843-51-9 (9781876843519)
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E-Book
12/2021
Trans Pacific Press
€40.49
Available for download
Person
Leonie Stickland holds a PhD, a BA in Asian Studies (Hons), a GradDipEd (Secondary Teaching) and a Diploma of Interpreting. She is a lecturer in Japanese language and Japanese studies at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.