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Yuki is a man. And he's my wife.
"Otokonoko" (JP) is a term for a young male character who cross-dresses in girl's clothing and looks only like a cute young girl, with no trace of being a boy able to be seen. Because they also have a girly face, they are unrecognizable as a male from the surface.
It is an even more feminine version of josou danshi.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Otokonoko (男の娘) is a combination of "otoko" (男), meaning "male", and "ko" (娘), meaning "young girl" or "daughter".[5]
The name is also a pun on the word "otokonoko" (男の子), meaning "young boy" or "male child", but with the kanji for "child" (子) replaced with the kanji for "daughter" (娘). This gives a word that is pronounced the same as the word for a "male child" but with the meaning of a "male child daughter".
The term refers to a male character who cross-dresses in girl's clothing (jousou, 女装), and looks only like a young girl (shoujo, 少女) where the fact that they are a young boy (shounen, 少年) cannot be seen.[6]
Origin
The first use of the term "otokonoko" was at the doujinshi manga convention Otokonoko COS☆H (JP) ran by Monolis in 2006. Otokonoko COS☆H was a convention focusing exclusively on works featuring otokonoko characters, consisting of themes of males cross-dressing as women. At the convention, authors could sell works depicting cross-dressing boys, such as doujins and fanart. Live performances featuring cross-dressing entertainers were also present.[1]
Alternate Spelling
It is sometimes also written as "オトコの娘" replacing the kanji for "otoko" with katakana.[2] In manga or light novel series it is often written entirely in hiragana as "おとこのこ".[3]
It is also sometimes abbreviated as simply "oto" (おと).[4]
History
Conventions
The archetype of otokonoko became popular primarily through cross-dressing themed doujinshi conventions. The convention Otokonoko☆ (JP) (formerly known as Otokonoko COS☆H) has been running yearly since 2006.[1][7]
Magazines
Several manga magazines in Japan are dedicated exclusively to otokonoko characters.
The magazine Wow! (JP) was published by Ichijinsha to allow the archetype to reach a wider audience. Promoting itself with the tagline "boys in skirts", the manga featured works that combined cross-dressing with themes of gay male romance and societal rules of femininity.[2][6] In addition to manga on the theme of cross-dressing boys, Wow! also features cross-dressing how-to projects, as well as information about anime and games about cross-dressing boys.[8] The magazine ran from April 24, 2010, to February 25, 2014, for 16 issues, and during its time it was popular with both male and female audiences. A special edition focusing on manga titled Wow! Mahalo (JP) was also published from April 25, 2012, to December 25, 2013, for 6 issues.[9]
The primary competitor to Wow! was the magazine Oto☆Nyan (JP) published quarterly by Million Publishing from October 25, 2010 to May 25, 2013 for 11 issues.[10] A sister magazine called Otokonoko Comic Anthology (JP) was published from July 11, 2011 to April 15, 2013 for 12 issues, and featured cross-dressing manga on a given theme varying with each issue.[11]
Media
One of the earliest instances of the term being used in a title was the 2007 manga series Oto×Maho (JP), in which the male main character was forced to become a magical girl by his mother.[4][12]
The term has also been used in several other manga and light novel titles over the years, such as the 2016 romantic comedy Otokonoko Zuma (JP), the 2019 romance drama Senpai ha Otokonoko (JP), and the 2020 romantic comedy Josou o Yamerarenaku Naru Otokonoko no Hanashi (JP).[13][14][3][15]
Characteristics
Otokonoko are young male characters who look like cute young girls. They will cross-dress in girl's clothing, have long hair, and have a girly face. They are depicted as slender, with big, beautiful eyes, no body or facial hair, and they may even wear make-up.
It is common for manga artists to design otokonoko characters originally with the idea that they're just a normal female, only to change them to male later on while keeping the same design. They have the design of a "female character that just happens to be male". They are also typically voiced by female voice actors in the anime versions, adding even more feminine characteristics to them.
Personality
Otokonoko have typically feminine personality traits and can be considered very girly.
Derivatives
Onnanoko
Attempts to create a female counterpart of otokonoko for "female characters who look identical to males" have been proposed on Japanese social media since at least 2010, however, the terms have not caught on and therefore cannot be considered an official recognized archetype. The proposed terms are "雄んなの子", meaning "male child", and "女の息子", meaning "female son", but read as "onnanoko" which is the same as the normal word for a "female child" (女の子) with the kanji swapped for words meaning "male" and "son" respectively.[16][17]
Both of these terms are a "forced and contrived creation" to fit the naming format of otokonoko and create a direct counterpart that has the meaning of "female son". While the Japanese word for daughter "musume" is widely used to also mean "girl" it is not at all common for the Japanese word for son "musuko" to be used to mean "boy". Additionally, while the alternate reading of "musume" as "ko" when used in a compound word is very common, the reading of "musuko" as simply "ko" is not used in daily Japanese, so it is unlikely its usage will catch on.[17]
Not only that, but the amount of female characters who could honestly be labeled as "female son" is low since even the most "manly" female characters tend to also have a cute and girly feminine side to appeal to male viewers, whereas girly men rarely also have a highly masculine side and as such better fit into a "male daughter" archetype. Girls who look like boys are generally just grouped into either the otenba musume (tomboy) or ikemen joshi (handsome cool girl) label for boyish girls.
Differences From Other Archetypes
Unlike bishounen, or "pretty boy" characters, who are portrayed as beautifully masculine otokonoko are unrecognizable as a male.
Similar Japanese Archetypes
- Bishounen: A term for a male character with traditionally feminine physical beauty traits who is portrayed as beautifully masculine.
- Josou Danshi: A term for a male character who cross-dresses in women's clothing while still retaining some aspects of being a man. Unlike otokonoko, they do not look completely like women and still have traits of being "boyish".
- Monster Danshi: A term for a beautiful male character who shares traits with a monster.
- Orekko: A term for a female character who is very masculine and strong-willed.
List of Characters
Gallery
.gif "Midare Toushirou from Touken Ranbu (1).gif (353 KB)") Midare Toushirou from Touken Ranbu  Mare Bello Fiore from Overlord  Gasper Vladi from High School D×D  Ferris Argyle from Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu  Astolfo from Fate/Apocrypha .jpg "Yukio Kamiyoshi from Otokonoko Tsuma (1).jpg (287 KB)") Yukio Kamiyoshi with Kou from Otokonoko Tsuma |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Otokonoko ☆ ~Otokonoko ONLY Doujinshi Exhibition~. Monolis (2006).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wow! boys in skirts. Ichijinsha (2010/04/24).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Senpai ha Otokonoko. Aniplex (2024/05/05).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Oto×Maho. Monolis (2010/08/12).
- ↑ What is Otokonoko. Pixiv Encyclopedia (2023/12/04).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 A New Magazine of Cute Otokonoko "Wow!" Goes On Sale Today. natalie (2010/04/05).
- ↑ Otokonoko ☆. Nico Nico Pedia (2011/09/21).
- ↑ The Editor-in-Chief Talks About the Launch of the Otokonoko Magazine "Wow!". natalie (2010/04/05).
- ↑ A Magazine Specializing in Otokonoko, Wow! Closed Publication, Ending a History of About 4 Years (2014/02/25).
- ↑ Oto☆Nyan. K Manga (2010/10/25).
- ↑ Otokonoko Comic Anthology. CMOA (2011/07/11).
- ↑ Oto×Maho. Amazon (2007/05/12).
- ↑ Otokonoko Zuma. Shogakukan (2016/07/15).
- ↑ Senpai ha Otokonoko. Mecha Comic (2019/12/07).
- ↑ Josou o Yamerarenaku Naru Otokonoko no Hanashi. CMOA (2021/05/21).
- ↑ What is Onnanoko. Pixiv Encyclopedia (2010/10/17).
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 What is Onnanoko. Pixiv Encyclopedia (2012/06/27).
| v • eAndrogynous Archetypes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Female |
Bokukko ♡ Dansou no Reijin ♡ Ikemen Joshi ♡ Orekko ♡ Otenba Musume ♡ Otoko Masari | |
| Male |
Bishounen ♡ Josou Danshi ♡ Okama ♡ Otokonoko ♡ Nekama | |
| Both | ||