ABSTRACT
This chapter explores theories of feminism, masculinity and cross-dressing in order for us to understand how gendered and non-gendered identities are formed within animated characters. In the 1970s, the second wave of feminism called for making women 'part of the social landscape'. Modernist and postmodernist approaches to feminism continue to centre on the problem of identity. Modern feminism focuses more on women's difference from men, whilst postmodern feminism establishes differences from the norm; of women symbolizing 'otherness'. Masculinity is viewed as a dominating force of culture and society: men advance, women struggle. Women have been viewed as 'other' to men; patriarchal codes ensuring that 'identity' was male, thus enforcing the idea of femininity being associated with weakness. Gender representation can perhaps be more readily understood in terms of where the body is placed. The body has been extended beyond the merely physical, to become a component 'of social relations'.
