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Phenomenology of Catgirl Pornography: A Postmodern Approach to the Fetishization of Animality ©


Nosebleed

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Catgirls (and anthropomorphic humans in general) are a big fetish in the otaku media. The cat ears have become a staple of moe culture, a status symbol of what defines cuteness. Yet, whenever I play an eroge featuring such creatures, I often times find myself not enjoying a lot of the cutesy physical attributes of these specimen. Why is that?

As I delved into my thoughts, I finally pieced together the reason for these feelings: catgirl discrimination

What do I mean by this? It's simple. Catgirl discrimination is a common phenomenom in eroge (and even non-erotic titles) whereby catgirls are introduced as being an important part of a fictional setting, yet they are treated as less than humans throughout the story. Through my hours of research, I  found that often times, animal girls in eroge are introduced as mere plot devices for sexual activity rather than fleshed out characters you can emphasize and form bonds with.

Now this by itself isn't too surprising. After all, even when there's no catgirls involved, a lot of these games tend to focus on achieving a relationship status with another female human character. However, the difference between the latter and the former is that when humans are involved, they are treated as beings with intelligence. They are equal to the protagonist who wants to romance them. Yes, one can argue about the inherent misogyny in a lot of these titles, but that's beyond the point I'm making. The fact is, human girls are treated, well, like humans (as they should). But when it comes to catgirls, they are typically treated as less than human. They are dehumanized and turned into a creature akin to a pet.

"What's the problem with that? They aren't humans, so of course they're not treated as such" you say.

Ah yes, a fair point my dear reader, but let me ask you this then: Would you have sexsual intercourse with your cat or your dog?

The answer is most likely "no" (if it is yes, please seek counceling. I heard PETA fines aren't anything to scoff at.)

Therein lies the issue I have. Catgirls have primary human features, and yet they're often times treated as pets in most games. Why would you date someone who you treat like a pet? It makes little sense to me.

Now you might say "it's just a porn game, it's for fetishistic purposes". And of course I can 100% concede to that. In fact, I myself find it to be a nice fetish to have somebody submissive to you act like a pet. There's nothing wrong with that. However, humans are more than their genitals, and their personalities go beyond the confines of the bedroom. In real life, even when we're talking about people who are into things like BDSM, there is still a human connection beyond their sexual life. No human *literally* becomes slave to another human, they mutually agree to have this type of relationship, and they ultimately see each other as equal in the relationship. Yet with catgirls, they are introduced as nothing more than instruments for sex 90% of the time, and even beyond the bedroom they're still just a pet that will obey anything and everything their owner tells them to. I can not concede that this is a healthy form for a relationship at all.

Think about it. What is the point of dating somebody that always sees themselves and acts as inferior to you? Where is the happiness in dating someone with no consciousness, who's joy comes from eating food and sexually pleasing you? That is why I can not get behind most games featuring catgirls.

To me, a relationship partner must be equal to me in status. I don't want to treat my significant other as a pet, but as a human being. I don't want to take them out on walks with a leash, I want to go on dates holding hands with them and eat a giant parfait together, and then pass out on a bench because the parfait was too big and we now feel like throwing up.

I want script writers to write visual novels about worlds where catgirls are just like other humans. They just so happen to have cat ears and a tail and sometimes say "nya". I want them to be more than things you own that can't live by themselves without you taking care of them. That's what babies and dogs are for, not girlfriends.

This is not to say I want the end of all games featuring submissive cat girls, that's still a very valid fetish, but I believe it's unfair to treat them like that in almost every single game, especially games where the focus is supposed to be the story and the characters. How can you say you have a game with great characters when those characters are seen as less than human?

Games like nekopara thrive even though every single catgirl in it is portrayed as a brainless creature that goes into heat at random times and can only survive if the protagonist "relieves" them. Why must they act like animals this much? Why can't they just be regular human beings who you form a real bond with instead of an "owner x pet" relationship?

In conclusion, I believe catgirls are heavily discriminated against when it comes to visual novels. They are beings that need to be given a conscioussness and a will to act on their own, not to become mere cheap tools for one's sexual pleasure. They have a lot of love to offer to the world, and we should start appreciating them for that, because who knows when they'll go extinct.

Let's make the world a better place and stop catgirl discrimination. Every catgirl deserves to be portrayed as a being with a brain and a heart. :Chocola:

tumblr_mwdaweXl7k1sq9yswo2_500.gif

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I had pretty much the same impression when I played NekoPara. The fact that catgirls in that universe are genetically engineered (and not some youkai or other type of magical being) puts a shit cherry on that cake of awful.

Also, what the heck is with catgirl reproduction in that series? Catgirls can get pregnant, but cannot be impregnated by humans. Therefore, catboys should exist but there's no mention of them at all. The only other explanation is that each and every catgirl pregnancy is artificial as well. That's some 1984 shit right there.

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I know some girls irl that have the brain of a catgirl, but unfortunately don't have cat ears or a tail and don't have a submissive personality:rubycry:

Weebs have weird fetiches and writers use the easy way creating stupid characters to economize words cause they are too bad to make a proper characterization and the majority player base only care about bouncing boobs. 

tl;dr: weebs are racist, fascist and misogynist. Empower catgirls and deconstruct yourself!!! Destruct the patriarchy!!!

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1 hour ago, Nosebleed said:

Catgirls (and anthropomorphic humans in general) are a big fetish in the otaku media. The cat ears have become a staple of moe culture, a status symbol of what defines cuteness. Yet, whenever I play an eroge featuring such creatures, I often times find myself not enjoying a lot of the cutesy physical attributes of these specimen. Why is that?

As I delved into my thoughts, I finally pieced together the reason for these feelings: catgirl discrimination

What do I mean by this? It's simple. Catgirl discrimination is a common phenomenom in eroge (and even non-erotic titles) whereby catgirls are introduced as being an important part of a fictional setting, yet they are treated as less than humans throughout the story. Through my hours of research, I  found that often times, animal girls in eroge are introduced as mere plot devices for sexual activity rather than fleshed out characters you can emphasize and form bonds with.

Now this by itself isn't too surprising. After all, even when there's no catgirls involved, a lot of these games tend to focus on achieving a relationship status with another female human character. However, the difference between the latter and the former is that when humans are involved, they are treated as beings with intelligence. They are equal to the protagonist who wants to romance them. Yes, one can argue about the inherent misogyny in a lot of these titles, but that's beyond the point I'm making. The fact is, human girls are treated, well, like humans (as they should). But when it comes to catgirls, they are typically treated as less than human. They are dehumanized and turned into a creature akin to a pet.

"What's the problem with that? They aren't humans, so of course they're not treated as such" you say.

Ah yes, a fair point my dear reader, but let me ask you this then: Would you have sexsual intercourse with your cat or your dog?

The answer is most likely "no" (if it is yes, please seek counceling. I heard PETA fines aren't anything to scoff at.)

Therein lies the issue I have. Catgirls have primary human features, and yet they're often times treated as pets in most games. Why would you date someone who you treat like a pet? It makes little sense to me.

Now you might say "it's just a porn game, it's for fetishistic purposes". And of course I can 100% concede to that. In fact, I myself find it to be a nice fetish to have somebody submissive to you act like a pet. There's nothing wrong with that. However, humans are more than their genitals, and their personalities go beyond the confines of the bedroom. In real life, even when we're talking about people who are into things like BDSM, there is still a human connection beyond their sexual life. No human *literally* becomes slave to another human, they mutually agree to have this type of relationship, and they ultimately see each other as equal in the relationship. Yet with catgirls, they are introduced as nothing more than instruments for sex 90% of the time, and even beyond the bedroom they're still just a pet that will obey anything and everything their owner tells them to. I can not concede that this is a healthy form for a relationship at all.

Think about it. What is the point of dating somebody that always sees themselves and acts as inferior to you? Where is the happiness in dating someone with no consciousness, who's joy comes from eating food and sexually pleasing you? That is why I can not get behind most games featuring catgirls.

To me, a relationship partner must be equal to me in status. I don't want to treat my significant other as a pet, but as a human being. I don't want to take them out on walks with a leash, I want to go on dates holding hands with them and eat a giant parfait together, and then pass out on a bench because the parfait was too big and we now feel like throwing up.

I want script writers to write visual novels about worlds where catgirls are just like other humans. They just so happen to have cat ears and a tail and sometimes say "nya". I want them to be more than things you own that can't live by themselves without you taking care of them. That's what babies and dogs are for, not girlfriends.

This is not to say I want the end of all games featuring submissive cat girls, that's still a very valid fetish, but I believe it's unfair to treat them like that in almost every single game, especially games where the focus is supposed to be the story and the characters. How can you say you have a game with great characters when those characters are seen as less than human?

Games like nekopara thrive even though every single catgirl in it is portrayed as a brainless creature that goes into heat at random times and can only survive if the protagonist "relives" them. Why must they act like animals this much? Why can't they just be regular human beings instead who you form a real bond with instead of an "owner x pet" relationship?

In conclusion, I believe catgirls are heavily discriminated against when it comes to visual novels. They are beings that need to be given a conscioussness and a will to act on their own, not to become mere cheap tools for one's sexual pleasure. They have a lot of love to offer to the world, and we should start appreciating them for that, because who knows when they'll go extinct.

Let's make the world a better place and stop catgirl discrimination. Every catgirl deserves to be portrayed as a being with a brain and a heart. :Chocola:

tumblr_mwdaweXl7k1sq9yswo2_500.gif

The protagonist of Sakura Iro Quartet has a very similar thought on the matter, since in his world the mimikko are companions designed to instinctively devote themselves absolutely to a single master.  One of the central themes of the game is how each of the three mimikko overcomes the limitations of being an artificially-generated lifeform and forms a real bond as an equal to the protagonist. 

In Otomimi Infinity (my second favorite VN of this type) I ran into a similar phenomenon, though the protagonist was basically just a fetish-freak.  The heroines in that one had to struggle to overcome the prejudices built up over several generations since their kind were first created, and even though they'd achieved equality under the law, actual social equality was difficult due to the built-in tendencies used to discriminate against them.  The protagonist himself views the heroines as his equal and treats them as such, but it is indicated that in a similar situation the average person wouldn't.

One problem is that the 'nympho catgirl' stereotype has transferred upward from nukige and become a standard in most moege/charage with a catgirl heroine (and many other types of mimikko).  Another is the simple fact that Japanese instinct is to relegate anyone different to a lower tier of society. 

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To stay on topic with the thread, I guess, I agree with Nosebleed's assessment of catgirls being a really undeveloped archetype. There's potential for some actually interesting characters who just happen to also be catgirls, so it is a shame that they're so often just an eroge fetish and nothing more. Nekopara's depiction of them is pretty off-putting in a lot of ways. They're clearly intelligent enough to have conversation with humans, perhaps equivalent in brain function to a human child. Yet they have "owners" and, most interestingly, can be put to work without pay. But hey, it's Nekopara. You're not supposed to think about it. That's not to say it wouldn't be interesting if there were a VN that was supposed to make you think about it.

Edited by Zenophilious
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26 minutes ago, Yeah Way said:

 But hey, it's Nekopara. You're not supposed to think about it. That's not to say it wouldn't be interesting if there were a VN that was supposed to make you think about it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/visualnovels/comments/5gjm8l/himawari_contest_voting_thread/dasrsnk/

Clephas is... I think he mentioned that before, although I'm not sure how serious he was.

Edited by Chronopolis
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kj

3 hours ago, Nosebleed said:

...as a human being...

... worlds where catgirls are just like other humans...

... less than human?

...Why can't they just be regular human beings...

...They are beings that need to be given a conscioussness and a will to act on their own...

Next you're telling me that robot girls are real people too. Fucking Synth-sympathizers... Izt5MVL.png

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@Nosebleed I'm just curious... but would it happen to be Wanko to Kurasou and the Nekopara series that formed your impressions?  Because both of those definitely portrayed the mimikko as... subhuman in most ways while making light of that fact.  While I liked the characters in both, I can honestly say that, looking at the setting and attitudes in both, I couldn't really approve of the attitudes involved.  Wanko's protagonist is non-discriminatory, but that is because he sees everything in a flat, non-emotional manner.  There is definitely a sense that the human characters in Nekopara, beyond any doubt, don't see the nekomimi girls as equals in any way.  They are 'pets'.  Even the protagonist's worries in the first game kind of sound like a guy with bestiality struggling with his lusts rather than a protagonist struggling with the idea of an interracial relationship (the difference is pretty easy to pick up if you've read certain books written in the seventies and eighties about America's racial issues). 

Edit: Oh, and I honestly can't remember those books' names... they were in my Dad's dad's collection and were sold when he died...

Edited by Clephas
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It's obvious that catgirls will be treated in a different way than humans, remember that some time ago humans treat like mere stupid objects other humans only because they have a different skin color or belief, remember that nowadays in some countries womans are considered objects. Now imagine the history with people with different body structure.

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