Being non-binary on Japanese Disney Channel: An analysis of the gendered language used in The Owl House

The Owl House is an animated fantasy-horror series that aired on Disney Channel and has been a trail blazer for LGBTQ+ representation in children’s media. A significant factor contributing to this status is the inclusion of a non-binary character in a prominent role. In my research, using linguistic data I collected from the Japanese dubbed version of the show, I look at what kind of language is used by and towards this character in comparison with the language used by and towards other characters in the show. I pay special attention to those linguistic features that are stereotypically classed as gendered language in order to determine what the presence or lack of these features says about the linguistic characterization of the character, and if their non-binary identity is still evident in the Japanese dubbed version of the show.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

E Asian Languages & Cultures

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Herendeen, Sarah

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sadler, Misumi

• Disney
• Disney Channel
• The Owl House
• Role Language
• Character Language
• Japanese
• Sociolinguistics
• Lgbtq
• Non-binary
• Gendered Language
• Japanese Gendered Language

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Sarah M. Herendeen

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121486

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F121486