<![CDATA[This article explores the dual life of Yor Forger from the popular manga and anime series Spy x Family (2019–present), a character who embodies two very different versions of womanhood at once. In her everyday life, Yor tries to be a caring mother and a gentle presence at home. Yet behind this warm exterior, she secretly works as a highly skilled assassin known as the “Thorn Princess.” These two roles require Yor to “be a woman” in two contrasting ways: soft, nurturing, and compliant on one side; powerful, violent, and fearlessly independent on the other. To understand how Yor navigates these identities, this study employs Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity alongside R. W. Connell’s ideas of emphasized femininity and gender order. It asks: How does Yor perform a socially idealized femininity as a mother? In what ways does her assassin identity break or bend gender expectations? And what inner tensions emerge when one woman must constantly switch between these selves? The analysis reveals that Yor’s story highlights a quiet but meaningful truth: gender is something we learn to perform, repeat, and negotiate depending on the spaces we inhabit. Yor’s “two selves” reveal both the limits imposed on women and the creative ways they find to push back. By looking at Yor as more than just a fictional character, this article invites readers to reflect on how anime can offer fresh spaces to imagine, question, and reshape what it means to be a woman today.]]>
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