Stickland knows the Takarazuka Revue from the inside, having spent several years as their English translator and even more as a fan of this Japanese institution. The Takarazuka is made of girls and young women who perform various musical stories. Some women take the part of men, an idealized image often at variance with the men the female fans of this group have contact with in their own lives. Stickland explores the idea of gender within the members of Takarazuka on stage and off along with the ways in which the largely female audience interpret and fantasize about the actresses. Using the small world of the Takarazuka, Strickland examines the larger concepts of gender identity in Japanese society and how the Takarazuka both affirms and subverts the traditional role of women. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation 2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
