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Using queer and feminist theoretical analysis, this thesis examines Aya Nakahara’s Lovely Complex, focusing on a tall high school girl’s difficulty performing femininity within social norms and how her romance with a shorter male peer exposes the heteronormative myth of dimorphism.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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reveal the constructed nature of sexual dimorphism.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What does the thesis mean by “queering” heterosexual bodies and spaces?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Heterosexual bodies that cannot inhabit heteronormative dimorphic spaces as intended are effectively “queered” by those spaces, highlighting how these spaces restrict comfort while still enabling creative negotiation and feeling of ease.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},156951,1787970245,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & 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NAKARA’S LOVELY COMPLEX  \nby  \nCASSANDRA SMITH  \nA THESIS  \nPresented to the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies and the Robert D. Clark Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts  \nAn Abstract of the Thesis of  \nCassandra Smith for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies to be taken June 2017  \nTitle: A Tall Tale: The Myth of Sexual Dimorphism and the Queering Heterosexual Bodies in Aya Nakahara’s Lovely Complex  \nApproved:    \nErnesto Javier Martinez  \nHuman sexual dimorphism has been employed in the creation and perpetuation of naturalized heteronormativity and essentialist gender roles on the basis of biological differences. The connection between size and gender is often made evident within expectations of what a heterosexual couple must look like, with the man taller and the woman smaller. The following is a queer and feminist theoretical analysis ofAya Nakahara’s Lovely Complex, a shojo anime that follows a taller than average highschool girl and her failure to properly perform femininity within the norms of her social context. Her romance with a shorter than average male peer provides a platform for this analysis, which aims to reveal the heteronormative myth of sexual dimorphism. Heterosexual bodies which cannot successfully and seamlessly inhabit the heteronormative dimorphic spaces around them are effectively queered by those spaces. This queering is important to understand by way of attending to the process of negotiating and deconstructing heterosexual dimorphism, as well as the ways in which heterosexuals creatively achieve feelings of “comfort” in spaces that are actually  \nrestrictive and that have never allowed them to feel comfortable before.  \nAcknowledgements  \nI would like to thank my primary advisory, Professor Ernesto Martinez, for sticking with me throughout this project and the many obstacles along the way. This paper would not have been the same without his mentorship and guidance in the thesis process, or his support and encouragement throughout my years at the University of Oregon as a Women’s and Gender Studies major. I would also like to thank Professors Kelly Sutherland and Alisa Freedman, who were not only the rest of my thesis committee, but also indispensible to my undergraduate experience at large. I extend my endless gratitude to every exceptional faculty member who believed in me along the way, helping me to grow as both a scholar and a human being. I would not be here today, or who I am today, without the love and support of my incredibly generous parents, whose hard work made this hard work possible. Last but far from least, I would like to thank my loving friends and my brilliant partner for their unwavering patience and encouragement throughout this difficult but rewarding journey.  \nTable of Contents  \nIntroduction 1  \nLovely Complex in the Context of Globalization, Gender Play, and Shojo Aesthetics 7  \nRepresentations of Successful Sexual Dimorphism and Aesthetic Performance in Lovely Complex 14  \nQueering of Space, Experimental Embodiments, and Creative Transgressions 24  \nConclusion 53  \nWorks Cited 56  \nIntroduction  \nSexual dimorphism—the difference in appearance between males and females of the same species—is often referenced in order to naturalize social differences between men and women, as well as maintain gender role expectations in the interest of heterosexual reproduction. Sexual dimorphism is relied upon as phenotypical “proof”for the belief in the “innate” and “obvious” differences between the sexes. Ironically, however, this correlation between phenotype and innate social role differentiation has led to a coercive understanding of sexual dimorphism, requiring certain forms of exaggerated phenotypical differentiation and impacting ideals for physical attractiveness.  \nHeight, for example,","cbCaihJfsYNkx9Ds","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihJfsYNkx9Ds","pdf",381048,64,"English","# Introduction\n## Lovely Complex in the Context of Globalization, Gender Play, and Shojo Aesthetics\n## Representations of Successful Sexual Dimorphism and Aesthetic Performance in Lovely Complex\n## Queering of Space, Experimental Embodiments, and Creative Transgressions\n## Conclusion","[{\"question\":\"How does sexual dimorphism relate to heteronormativity in this thesis?\",\"answer\":\"The thesis argues that sexual dimorphism is used as “proof” to naturalize essentialist gender roles and heterosexual expectations, especially by linking size with what bodies should look like in heterosexual relationships.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the central focus of the analysis of Aya Nakahara’s Lovely Complex?\",\"answer\":\"The analysis centers on a taller-than-average high school girl who struggles to perform femininity according to her social context, and how her romance with a shorter male peer helps reveal the constructed nature of sexual dimorphism.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the thesis mean by “queering” heterosexual bodies and spaces?\",\"answer\":\"Heterosexual bodies that cannot inhabit heteronormative dimorphic spaces as intended are effectively “queered” by those spaces, highlighting how these spaces restrict comfort while still enabling creative negotiation and feeling of ease.\"}]","A Tall Tale - The Myth of Sexual Dimorphism and the Queering of Heterosexual Bodies in Aya Nakahara’s Lovely Complex | PDF",161]