By Sarah Daniels
Traditional gender roles or norms often play important roles in coming-of-age stories, creating expectations for characters that are either exemplified or defied. The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera follows a young Maori girl named Kahu who is a savior for her people. Her tribe fails to see this at first, however, because she is a girl; they expect their leaders to be men. She must overcome the prejudices against her to save her people and take her rightful place as their future leader and whale rider. The characters in the novel are nearly obsessed with gender as it relates to roles and norms. Their society is strict about the enforcement of the understood gender roles and expectations. These roles and expectations are not just explained early on in the story, but rather are so deeply woven into Maori society that their existence and enforcement seem unchangeable. The redefinition of gender roles in The Whale Rider is not just a triumph and coming of age event for the title character Kahu, but also for Maori society as a whole. Similarly, the film Ponyo by Hayao Miyazaki heavily relies on gender norms to set up an environment for Sosuke, a young, human boy, to grow up. The film follows the stories of two children: Sosuke and a fish named Ponyo, who longs to be human and is able to temporarily live as a human with Sosuke. The film contains two realms, the real and the supernatural, where the real realm exemplifies gender roles through tangible actions and the supernatural embodies gender norms through personality traits and appearances. Both The Whale Rider and Ponyo, rely on traditional gender roles and norms to set up the environment for each plot. However, it is the characters’ respective defiance and rejection of these gender norms that allows each plot to develop and each of the characters to grow and come to understand his and her places in society.
Traditional gender roles and norms are present throughout The Whale Rider. The novel follows the Maori people who live in a male dominated society. Men are expected to be leaders while the women are expected to be subservient. Women are treated as lesser members of society than men and are believed to have little importance outside of doing stereotypically female tasks like raising children, cooking, and cleaning. Kahu is the first born in the next generation of her tribe, meaning that it is her birthright to be their future leader. However, women have never led the tribe before and Koro, the current chief, does not want to break tradition. Instead, Koro believes that “She won’t be any good to me… No good. I won’t have anything to do with her.” (Ihimaera 16). This shows the accepted gender norm that women cannot be leaders and are not of use to Maori society. Koro’s words also subtly place the blame on Kahu’s mother for birthing a daughter, instead of blaming both parents for the first-born child being a girl. Women are not treated with respect or autonomy and are wrongfully blamed for events, regardless of actual fault. Koro claims that “That Porourangi better have a son next time,” which points to his belief that she is to blame for Kahu being a girl as well as his belief that women cannot be leaders in Maori society (Ihimaera 16). In Maori culture, men are venerated, while women are not. Women are subsequently not educated in Maori culture, language, and history. Koro states he “Wanted to begin a regular instruction period for the men so that we would be able to learn our history and our customs. Just the men, he added, because men were sacred” (Ihimaera 35). This quote shows the exclusion of women in learning, and also the distinction between men being sacred and women being the opposite. Here it is obvious that there are two ways in which women are considered less than, the first being in a literal, real world sense regarding education. Women are considered beneath men and therefore are not deserving of the same education men receive. Then there is the supernatural side where women are considered ‘other’ than sacred. These attitudes toward women are reflected in the roles laid out for each gender in Maori society where men are allowed to lead and learn, and women are expected to be subservient. Even in the definitionally female role of having children, women are only useful if they bear children deemed useful by the tribe leaders.
The rejection of gender norms and roles is apparent in The Whale Rider and is, in fact, the very action that causes the final resolution of the novel and Kahu finally being able to claim her destiny as the whale rider. At the end of the novel, Kahu is the member of the tribe who wades out into the waves and climbs aboard the whale to become the new whale rider. In that moment, “She was Kahutia Te Rangi. She was Paikea. She was the whale rider” (Ihimaera 133). This is the moment when Kahu is revealed to be the whale rider in spite of being a girl. Later, Koro is confused and asks “‘Which of the boys…which of the–’” trying to figure out which of the boys had swum out and ridden the whale and failing to consider the possibility it could have been a girl (Ihimaera 133). He finally realized then, however, that it was Kahu. Kahu completely defies gender norms here because not only did she cement her place as the tribe’s rightful leader, but she also became the whale rider, saving her people, and proving that it never mattered what gender the chief was all along. Before her, women were treated as less than, not even able to learn about their tribe and culture. By Kahu coming into her own as the whale rider, one of the most important figures in Maori culture and folklore, she validates the idea that women are not less important or capable than men and deserve to be considered as competent and crucial to survival as men. In completely reversing the traditional gender roles, she also fulfills her destiny of becoming the new whale rider.
Gender roles within Ponyo are shown differently than in The Whale Rider and can be separated between the human world and the supernatural world. Within the human realm, traditional gender roles can be seen in the jobs that Sosuke’s parents have and the way in which they take care of him. Sosuke’s mom is a caretaker at an elderly care facility and takes care of him by herself most of the time, because his dad is a fisherman who is often away at sea for long periods of time. Both the jobs each parent works are very traditional jobs for each gender. Sosuke’s mom being his primary caretaker is also a reflection of the traditional female role of raising children. His father similarly reflects the traditional male trope of the hardworking but absent father. In the supernatural realm, the roles of Fujimoto and Gran Mamare also represent traditionally male and female roles, respectively, except in the aspect of caretaking. Fujimoto is overprotective and harsh, wanting to protect his daughter Ponyo. He is the epitome of a concerned father, wanting to protect his daughters from the world and boys, in this case Sosuke. Ponyo’s mother, Gran Mamare, on the other hand, is an overtly feminine character. She is depicted as the embodiment of life in the ocean. She is kind, understanding, and life giving. She perfectly exemplifies traditional female characteristics and juxtaposed against Fujimoto, each character’s traditional masculine and feminine characteristics are highlighted. This being said, Fujimoto is Ponyo and Ponyo’s siblings’ primary caretaker and guardian. Gran Mamare is not introduced until later in the film and does not play a significant role in the day-to-day caretaking of her children. She embodies femininity, yet does not partake in the actual raising and caretaking of her children, going against the traditional role of a mother. Fujimoto and Gran Mamare embody traditional masculinity and femininity in aspects of their personalities and depictions, but they defy traditional gender norms in their actions and respective roles in raising their children. Looking at the film as a whole, there are two sets of man and woman pairs: Sosuke’s mother and father and Fujimoto and Gran Mamare. The first pair represents traditional gender roles in a literal sense, while the latter pair represents traditional gender norms more figuratively.
To contrast these gender norms in Ponyo are the two main characters, Sosuke and Ponyo who each defy these norms in personality or actions. Ponyo’s personality is very curious and adventurous, and she rebels against her father with her own headstrong desires. Throughout the film, she is seen longing for adventure and to be a human, despite it being against her father’s wishes. When she becomes human, it unravels the balance of nature and threatens life on land. This is a direct contrast to the other female characters in the film. It is her diversion from the traditional female norms presented in the rest of the film that pushes the action of the film forward. Instead of being a caretaker or life giver, Ponyo was the catalyst for the potential destruction of life. Additionally, her curiosity and hunger for adventure contrast her from the other females in the film as well as the stereotype that girls are not as curious or adventurous as boys. Her adventurous spirit and curiosity brings about great destruction, but also empowers her to live out her dream of living on land. This contrasts Sosuke who, unlike Fujimoto, takes Ponyo in and is very loving toward her. Sosuke is very caring, a characteristic that mirrors the female characters in the film, and also goes against the gender norm of men being less loving or caring than women. It is also important to note, however, that Sosuke is very caring towards Ponyo not just in personality, but in action as well. He steps in and is also her caretaker throughout the film. This practical role he serves aligns with the roles Fujimoto serves in Ponyo’s life. Sosuke is able to do what Fujimoto is not able to: care for Ponyo and her physical needs while also being attentive to her need for emotional care and support. In the end of the movie, the final action that helps return balance to the world is Sosuke vowing to love and care for Ponyo. It is Sosuke exhibiting these traditionally more female characteristics that saves his village as well as differentiate him from the other male characters in the film. Both Ponyo and Sosuke defying and changing the established gender norms exhibited by the parents move the plot of the film and allow each of them to fulfill their respective destinies.
Both The Whale Rider and Ponyo utilize gender as a medium to set up their respective plots and rely on the rejection or shifting of gender norms and expectations as a means to resolution. In The Whale Rider, women are considered beneath men, expected to be subservient and not able to lead. Kahu is able to reverse this gender role by rising up as her tribe’s leader and saving her people. On the other hand, in Ponyo, gender norms are shown through the adult characters in the film, allowing Sosuke and Ponyo to redefine them. Both Sosuke and Ponyo embracing their differences from the established gender norms allow balance to be restored between the village and nature. Gender is a social construct that fundamentally affects the experiences of Kahu, Ponyo, and Sosuke growing up. Defying and changing the gendered expectations of their respective societies not only contributes to their growth as characters, but also solidifies their unique roles and places in their societies at large. Each character finding their niche in society is a crucial aspect of the coming of age story arc, and in both works, redefining the set gender norms and roles in some way is crucial to each characters’ development. While gender is utilized differently between the two works, they both rely on gender expectations and the rejection of them to create and move the respective plots and allow for the characters to grow into who they are destined to be.
Works Cited
Ihimaera, Witi. The Whale Rider. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 1987.
Miyazaki, Hayao. Ponyo. Studio Ghibli, 2008.
