In the classic buildup-climax-resolution structure of drama, the JoJo pose is not the climax. Witnessing this, both men instantly pose up, like it’s a natural answer to such a scenario. For example, Caesar and Joseph’s pose, in the story, is actually an expression of grief and anger! Caesar’s best friend (a literal Nazi oops) was just killed by an Aztec gym god. Rather than emanating an aggression that causes a Ripple effect, the pose is the result of narrative tension that culminates in character (re)action. The masc body is disarmed, contrasting conventional cinematic choreography. Their posturing is weird or creepy, accompanied by the katakana for ‘menacing’.Ī JoJo pose, then, doesn’t instrumentalise masculinity as a weapon, despite all the musculature going around.
Characters don’t move to induce fear in others or assert themselves as dominant - when they do, it’s a villain. A JoJo pose, however, is almost never constructed as an intimidatory thing. The posing in those media involves showcasing the body as a weapon: about to unleash gunfire, a knockout blow, a pressure point-press capable of exploding a skull. A ‘JoJo pose’ is different than, say, a pose from more traditional masculine media like Fist of the North Star or even Rocky/Rambo. We all know the phrase ‘JoJo pose’ in reference to bombastic, fabulous, and near-anatomically impossible postures.
POSESĬaesar and Joseph acting normal and regular There are a couple of explicitly gay or bi characters (DIO, Pucci, Sorbet & Gelato) in the show, but its approaches to masculinity and queerness are only accidentally instructive, maybe because it is a-categorical. Its queerness is the corollary of on one hand the art direction and the other the silence around its own queer factors, resulting in a paradoxical normalising effect. In that light, I welcome any addendum, comment, and critique made for whatever reason!ĭisclaimer: I’m not making JJBA out to be in any way revolutionary. My specific question is: “What possible avenues have led JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure to arrive at a queered configuration of masculinity?” My goal here is to to try and establish a base discourse, meaning that deeper discussions of, for example, race, ethnicity, or women can feel somewhat sparse. I assume that the reader: 1) is familiar or interested in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure 2) has an open mind about the term ‘queer masculinities’ 3) doesn’t see this thesis as an obfuscation or obviation of other possible critical considerations. I want to investigate the possible causes of why it’s so different, and what kinds of implications it has. Instead, characters dress freely, move dramatically, and pose sensually! To me, a queer man, it feels like an incredibly queer show in a way I haven’t seen anywhere else. They defy the cis-heterosexual prisons of how mascs are ought to approach body language, fashion style, and presentation. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the men (and the women) of JoJo carry masculinity in non-conforming ways. Then Battle Tendency aired right after and Joseph and Caesar wore make-up and crop tops. They were the most hyperbolised masculine pieces of meat I’d ever seen and they were emotional. Despite the absurdity of it all, these two men weren’t afraid to cry, afraid to show affection, or even afraid to feel afraid.
I saw vampire extraordinaire Dio Brando dress like an idiot steampunk wizard as he poisoned his foster dad before rejecting the prospect of upper-body clothing entirely (also he turned a dude into a dog at one point?). I saw Jonathan Jo estar, the diesel-jacked gentleman rip out of his clothes more than one time, changing into increasingly skimpier wardrobes every other two episodes. [This article has been translated into French by I first watched JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure in 2012, I wasn’t out yet.
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