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Gold5tein and Phelanmale-female dichotomy. Welker observesthat the beautiful boy is "neither male norfemale" but a "third sex/gender," andfurther observes that "the reader maintainsthe freedom to renarrate and en-gender—orde-gender—the narrative to her ownliking" Thompson notes that "thecharacters in [boys' love] combine male andfemale traits according ro readers' desires,creating a sort of perfect hermaphroditiccreature." This third gender could be seenas a unique composite of each reader'sdesires. It is a gender that exists outside ofthe more fixed identity of an adult, oroutside the constriaing societal expectationsof conventional gender roles. This recallsthe female fans of the Takarazuka Revue, towhom the "key to liberation.. .involves nota change of sex but a new gender identity,and by extension, a transformation ingender ideology," and Oscar in The Rose ofVersailles, who proves that gender-bendingis often not much more than crossdressing.By offering readers opportunitiesto contemplate privately a break withsocietal expectations. Welker notes thatboys' love offers readers "a way through thelooking glass ro a world outside thepatriarchy. " It is to be hoped that fans ofboys' love will live their lives with the samefreedom. Welker continues: "[U]ltimately,the beautiful boy can be read as a symbol ofliberation," and a force to "posit possibilitiesbeyond the norm, or, indeed a differentfuture for the norm itself."Cross-PollinationBetween Manga andYoung Adult Fiction, or"Who Knew I WouldGender-Bend EveryoneOut of Shape?!"There is less of a need to convince publicand school librarians to add manga to theiryoung adult collections than there is a needto convince them to see it as a valid storytellingformat. Manga is more than analternative medium or style. It presentsthemes of gender, sexuality, and identity ina unique way, and this has value for youngadult readers. CriticJ. D. Ho calls boys'love manga "a safe place to try on differentidentities without consequence—where wecan resolve our problems and face ourfears," an accepted goal of young adultfiction since its inception.Will teens growing up on mangaabsorb more enlightened views of genderroles and sexuality? As one critic observes,"[YJoung Americans are seeing portrayalsof sex and gender that are quite differentfrom what their parents probably saw."^*^Our more "open universe" includes moreopportunities for dialogue, and in the lastfour years transgender characters andissues have begun to arrive in young adultfiction. Novels such as Julie AnnePeters's Luna and Ellen Witdinger'sParrotfish "are paving the way for an entirecanon of transgender-inclusive YAliterature." These are still serious 'issue'books, however, and are far from theplayful fantasies of boys' love and genderbendingmanga. A recent release, however,may be the Ranma [1/2] of young adultfiaion: Lauren McLaughlin's 2008 debutCycler, in which character Jill McTeaguetums into a boy every twenty-eight days.McLaughlin's work mixes the fantasticsituations and humor of manga with themore grounded contemplation of youngadult fiction, and this is an encouragingsign. The format and history of mangaallows for stories that go beyond theconventions of most western young adultliterature, and young adult literaturebenefits from its inclusion, VALSReferencesI. Reid, Calvin. "Manga is Here to Stay,"Publishers Weekly, OCT. 20, 2003.2. "Graphic Novels Hit 375 Million,"icv2.com, Apr. 18, 2008.3. R. Deahl. "Where the Girls Are,"Publishers Weekly (Apr. 23, 2007): 25.4. C. Memmott. 'Japanese Manga TakesHumungous Step," USA Today Quly 6,2005): 4D.5. B. Acconundo. "Librarians Harvest NewManga Titles at Comic-con," All ThingsConsidered, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.phpiscoryld=92998234 (accessedJuly 28, 2008).6. Ibid.7. "Manga Bonanza," Publisher's Wcctíy (Dec.6,2004): 38.8. A, Allison. Permitted and ProhibitedDesires: Mothers, Comics and Censorship inJapan. Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress, 2000: 56-58.9. Ibid.10. G. Gusdnes. "Girl Power Fuels MangaBoom in U.S." New York Times (Dec. 28,2004): El.11. Heidi MacDonald. "UnderstandingOtaku. The Beat: The News Blog ofComics Culture," Publisbers Weekly,http://pwbeat.piiblishersweekly.com/blog/2007/12/13/understanding-otaku/(accessedjune9, 2009).12. E. Rockefeller. "The Genre of Gender:The Emerging Canon of Transgender-Inclusive YA Literature." Horn Book 83,no. 5 (2007): 519.13. A. Partee. "The Secret Source: SexuallyExplicit Young Adult Literature as anInformadon Source. "Young Adult LibraryServices 4, no. 2 (2006): 30-8.14. M. Cart and C Jenkins, Tlje Heart Has UsReasons: Young Adult Literature With Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-2004.Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2006; 128.15. Rockefeller, 526.16. K L. Donelson and A P. Nilsen. Literaturefor Today's Young Adults. Glenvicw, III.:Scott, Foresman, 1980.17. P. Gravett. Manga: Sixty Years of JapaneseComics. New York: Harper DesignInternational, 2004.Summer 2009 | Young Adult Library Services I YALS 3 7
Are You There God? It's Me, Manga18. Ibid.34. Ogi, 178.19. Ibid.35. J. D. Ho. "Gender Alchemy: The20. Ibid.Transformative Power of Manga." Horn21. J. Robertson. Takarazuka: Sexual Politicsand Popular Culture in Modem Japan.Berkeley: University of California Press,1998: 146.Boofe83,no.5(2007):506.36. J. Welker. "Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent:'Boys' Love' as Girls Love in Shojo Manga."Signs: Journal oJ Women in Culture and22. Robertson, 142-3.Society 31, no. 3 (2006) 855.23. Ibid., 86.37. Ibid., 865.24. Allison, 57.38. Ibid.25. F. Ogi. "Gender Insubordination in39. Cart and Jenkins.Japanese Comics (Manga) for Girls," in 40. J. Thompson. Manga: The Complete Guide.Illustrating Asia: Comics, Humor Magazines, New York: Ballantine Books, 2007.and Picture Booh, ed. J A. Lent. Honolulu:University of Hawai'i Press, 2001:18426. Ibid., 173.27. Ibid.28. Ibid.29. Ibid., 17630. Ibid.31. Ibid., 180.32. Gravett.33. Ogi, 184.41. Welker, 842-3.42. K, Cha. "Yaoi Manga: What Girls Like?"Publishen Weekly (March 27, 2005): 45.43. Gravetr.44. R, Brenner. "Boy Meets Boy and Girl MeersGirl, Otaku Style." Voice of Youth Advocates(VOYA) 31, no. 3 (2008): 212-15.45. 22. R, Brenner. "Romance by Any OtherName." Library Journal 132, no. 15(September 15, 2007): 44.46. Ho.47. Brenner, "Romance by Any OtherName," 44.48. Brenner, "Boy Meets Boy and Girl MeetsGirl, Otaku Style," 213.49. Rockefeller, 523. "*50. Cart and Jenkins, 107.51. Welker, 848.52. Ho, 510.53. Ibid.54. Welker, 852; Welker, 849.55. Thompson, 416-41756. Robertson, 87.57. Welker, 865.58. Ibid., 866.59. Ho, 51260. M. Cornog and T. Perper. "Non-WesternSexuality Comes to the U.S.: A CrashCourse in Manga and Anime forSexologists." Contemporary Sexuality 39,no. 3 (2005): 3-6.61. Rockefeller, 519.62. Ibid.Young Adult LibraryServices AssociationStand up for teen serviceswith YALSA'sfree advocacy toois!In the current atmosphere of budget cuts andincreased use, it's more important than ever thatwe make sure every teen has access to the bestlibrary materials and services. Make your caseusing free tools from YALSA!Add It Up! Libraries Make the Difference. A newwebsite created by AASL, ALSC, and YALSA, AddIt Up! offers research and statistics to help advocatesmake the case for libraries at every stage of youthdevelopment and education. Learn more at www.ala.org/additup.Speaking Up for Library Services to Teens: A Guideto Advocacy. Ihis downloadable publication providesan overview on advocacy tor teens, from everydayactions you can take to case studies and samplematerials. Download it today at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/advocacy.finaLpdf.The YA Advocacy Action Plan Workbook. Ready toadvocate? Plan your approach using this downloadableworkbook, adapted from the 2008 YALSA AdvocacyInstitute, presented before the Midwinter Meeting inPhiladelphia, Pa. Download it today at bttp://yalsa.ala.org/presentations/AdvocacyWorkbook.pdf.Dipping Your Toe in the Advocacy PooL Thisdownloadable PowerPoint presentation, developed byYALSA, can be used as a presentation to colleaguesor coworkers at library workshops or conferences.Download it today at http://yalsa.ala.org/presentations/YAadvocacy.ppt.The YALSA Advocacy Wiki. Find more resources.otFer suggestions for further reading, or share your ownadvocacy experiences online at the YALSA AdvocacyWiki. Check it out at http://wikis.ala,org/yalsa/index.php/Advocating_for_Teen_Services_in_Libraries.I Young Adult Library Services I Summer 2oog
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