<![CDATA[Femininity is frequently perceived as an inherent characteristic of women; however, literary representations often reveal how feminine identity is shaped by social expectations attached to the body. This study examines the representation of femininity in Kanae Minato’s Shokuzai through the characters Akiko and Sae, employing Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity. Using a qualitative interpretive approach and close reading, the study analyzes selected narrative passages, dialogues, and character reflections concerning bodily appearance, clothing, menstruation, sexuality, reproduction, and marriage. The findings reveal two interconnected forms of femininity. In Akiko’s case, femininity is constructed through socially recognizable bodily and visual markers, including body shape, hairstyle, clothing, and objects culturally associated with girls. Her hesitation to wear feminine clothing and her concealment of her preference for “girlish” objects demonstrate how normative standards of femininity are internalized in the way she perceives her own body. In Sae’s case, femininity is constructed through reproductive expectations that connect menstruation, sexual maturity, childbirth, and marriage with the perceived legitimacy of adult womanhood. The study argues that Shokuzai represents femininity not as an intrinsic attribute of the female body, but as a socially produced and internalized identity shaped by cultural norms governing how women’s bodies are expected to appear and function.]]>
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