Cute, Sexy, Composite: Mazu as "Male-oriented" Manga Character

摘要

This paper looks at how representations and conceptualizations of the goddess Mazu have been transforming in Taiwan in the past two decades. The close relationship between Chinese folk religion and popular culture has been well noted over centuries. The introduction of new media, genres, and styles of popular culture is often linked to transformations in religious ideology. In Taiwan, since the 1980s, generations have grown up surrounded by Japanese popular culture, including manga, anime, and J-pop, and have participated in Japanese-style fan subcultures. In this paper, I want to look in particular at some recent representations of Mazu as a character in Taiwanese comics and illustrated books drawn mostly by and for young men. These characters fall along a continuum of styles, from a cute style which overlaps with that of many Mazu cartoons and figurines made to appeal to a wide range of worshippers and tourists, to the big-breasted, provocatively posed figures more associated with “male-oriented” comics and fan art. As the representations of Mazu become more sexualized, they also become more composite, bringing in elements that present Mazu as a figure of Taiwanese soft power. This continuum of styles tends to align with a range of reconceptualizations of the role of religion and gods within the lives of young Taiwanese.

※中文演講、英文為輔

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