Love for a handsome man requires a lot of friends

Sociability practices related to romance games (Otome Games) in Japan

Bibliographic Data

ID3895550
AuthorsAgnès Giard (0000-0001-9031-0237, Université Paris Cité, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume65
Issue1
Pages14-30
Publication date2024-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiogenes (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0392-1921 • E-ISSN: 1467-7695
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0392192123000147
OpenAlexW4390582723
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited14

Japan is the world's largest producer of love simulation games, revealing a curious feature: these games, in theory, assign female players to the unique task of seducing a male character, but, in reality, they promote the establishment of a network of friendship between women. Love cannot be achieved if this network is not carefully woven both in play and in real life. Based on the analysis of this double dynamics, outwardly contradictory, I would like to advance the following hypothesis: that such games enable their users to 'outsmart' gender expectations. These games, called otome games, became popular in the context of a national panic related to the declining birthrate: they target the market of women who - living alone or with their parents - are held responsible for the future shortfall of the system. These new generations of women don't start a family. They have no children. How do they manage to ward off exclusion and stigma? The study will focus on the strategies collectively devised to turn otome games into an identity-building tool, promoting friendship between players as a means of resistance against social norms

Advertising · Context (archaeology · Friendship · Psychoanalysis · Romance · Sociology · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Marriage and Sexual Relationships · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access