Gender Issues in Ghost in the Shell 


There are clear gender issues within the film Ghost in the Shell. The film does present a female lead, Motoko Kusinagi, in the future with the help of a male sidekick, but Kusinagi is very sexualized in the film. Both visually and metaphorically she's painted as a lesser being in the film, being in tight clothing and being a cyborg; an object itself. Even though most of the individuals in the film, Kusinagi is often seen nude. It should be noted that the puppet master is also, but it still seems that Kusinagi's lead role is overly tainted by the context. The female seems to be part of exploitation in the film. 


Aside from Kusinagi's image in the film, there are some events towards the end of the film that raise questions. Why is it that Kusingai, who's also highly sexualized, go from being a strong female role to having her body replaced by that of a child because it was the only one available on the black market. Not only is Kusinagi being turned into a lesser being the film also unintentionally takes a jab at child prostitution, in the context of a 'child body being sold on the market'. The film seems very conflicted when it comes to Kusinagi's character, not knowing whether to portray her as strong and in charge, or as an object floating through the film.


This movie has some traces of anti-feminism throughout, but Kusinagi's image is too questionable and it ends with a male figure saving her. It's odd how the filmmakers chose to reverse the already reversed gnder roles in the film, making the strong female lead turn into the typical damsel-in-distress, who needs  to be saved by her own sidekick. Maybe the film is actually showing that animated films have always had issues of gender roles in them. If that's the case then I credit the filmmakers for being risky enough to make the gender issues apparent by having them reversed only to once again change into the common Western animation scenario.