Are You There God? It's Me, Manga: Manga as an Extension of Young Adult Literature.

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    • Subject Terms:
      MANGA (Art); GENDER identity in literature; COMIC books, strips, etc.; JAPANESE fantasy fiction; GRAPHIC novels; GENDER expression; GENDER identity & society
    • Abstract:
      The article was given first as a talk at the 2008 Young Adult Literature Symposium of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It discusses the appeal of the manga genre, comic books of Japanese origin which provide a look at changing sexual and gender roles. It states that manga accounted for two-thirds of the U.S. graphic novel market and that girls comprise 75 percent of that. Librarian Eva Volin is quoted saying the appeal to girls is because of the focus on character development in manga comics. The article also notes that the fluidity of the characters' sexuality allows girls to experiment mentally with different sexual orientations. It notes that young adults are growing up exposed to more open portrayals of sex and gender than anything experienced by their parents.