Why I stopped watching anime. And how it hurts women.

I wanted to post this in r/anime, but you need to “participate actively in the community before posting” so here I am. (I might try posting there someway, there's a lot of people that need to hear this)

I still enjoy watching shows like Spy x Family or Studio Ghibli movies because I like anime. But honestly, I just can’t keep brushing off the extreme sexualization and disturbing content as something “cultural” or something you eventually “get used to.” It’s not okay.

A few weeks ago, I was at the hospital with my girlfriend for one of her therapy sessions. The therapy area was in the same section as pediatrics, and there was a TV showing Dragon Ball. I remember casually glancing at it, only to see this completely ridiculous scene where an adolescent girl (or at least that’s how she looked) flashed her chest at an old man. I was just sitting there, flabbergasted, looking at my girlfriend in disbelief.

Then I start thinking of all the completely unethical scenes portraying women — a sexualized manner (unrealistic body, literally just two balls of meat bouncing at every little thing for the sake of fan service), most of them are minors (and no, saying they are 93291 years old does not make it better), a looooot of rape and non consented sexual scenes, and camera angles in general.

It’s especially sad because there are so many badass female protagonists in anime who could be inspiring but end up reduced to shallow, stereotypical, and patriarchal tropes. It’s frustrating to see that kind of potential wasted.

All I'm saying is, I wish anime calmed down a bit on the sexual content. Japan has significant issues with gender equality and respect for women, and anime often reflects those problems (there’s plenty of research on this).

I just want to watch an anime that captures that magical, unique feel anime is known for—without all the sexism.