Is Ghost in the Shell Sexist?



So I decided to watch Ghost in the Shell on my free time to see if I could decide if their use of the female body was sexist. I've come to the decision that it is. There doesn't really seem to be a reason for the women to have to be naked. There are men that can also turn invisible with a special type of clothing, and there is a lot of focus on the breasts.

It's not even that showing a naked female body is objectively sexist because that's just not true. It is possible to show naked bodies without sexualizing them. There was so much focus on the breasts and these perfect human looking bodies, but not any of the same emphasis on the men. It's uncomfortable, and unnecessary? In my opinion, at least.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 10, 2018 at 3:35 PM

    Hi Renee,
    I half agree with your assessment. While it's impossible to ignore the fact that putting breasts on a robot in inherently sexual and unnecessary, I believe (in the scene we watched in class at least) the intent was more anatomical than sexual. From my experience with anime, films that tackle androids or the idea of "what makes us human" love to emphasize the physical body. I believe the intent of the scene we watched in class was less about sexuality, and more about the beauty and intricacy of the human body. Each muscle, the fair skin, the raw strength but limited potential (as she breaks apart), it's all in admiration towards humanity's design.

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  2. UnknownNovember 11, 2018 at 5:30 PM

    I also notice that in many films that commentate over what is human draw much focus to the body. But here I believe it to be serving the purpose of challenging our perceptions of whether or not this robotic humanoid is actually human. By drawing attention to the sexual aspect of her appearance, I see it as the film asking if by making her give a person a sexual feeling caused by her appearance does that feeling you exhibit make her a human? If you respond to robot's naked body the same way you would respond to a human's naked body, how can you be expected to differentiate the two? That's more the perspective I took away from it. But this is obviously a very interpretive scene so I can see either side of the argument. I have also not seen the entire movie so if there's anything in the movie that supports or opposes what I'm suggesting, feel free to let me know.

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