Editing Catgirl

{{Short description|Human female character with feline traits}}
{{hatnote group|
{{About|the anime/manga trope|the film|Cat Girl|the character|Carrie Kelley|other uses|Catgirl (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Cat lady|Catwoman}}
}}
{{Redirect|Catboy|the musician|Boyd Terry}}
[[File:Neko Wikipe-tan.svg|thumb|alt=Illustration of Wikipe-tan as a catgirl. She is a young girl with blue hair, cat ears and a tail, wearing a maid dress, and is laying down on all fours with one hand forward posing as a cat.|A ''[[shōjo]]'' illustration of a catgirl maid, with cat ears and a tail<!-- Mentioning in the caption that this is Wikipe-tan, that she is moe anthro Wikipedia, and/or that she is usually not thought of as a catgirl, is going on too much of a tangent for the lead image -->]]

A {{Nihongo|'''catgirl'''|猫耳<!-- This is the title given to this article on the Japanese Wikipedia; see [[wikt:ねこみみ]] -->|'''''nekomimi'''''|{{lit|cat ear[s]}}|lead=yes}}{{efn|Also: {{Nihongo||猫娘|nekomusume|{{lit|cat girl}}}}}} or '''neko''' is a young female character with feline traits, such as [[cat]] ears, a tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. As a type of ''[[kemonomimi]]'', catgirls are associated with Japanese [[anime]] and [[manga]] but may appear in other genres. The equivalent male character is called a '''catboy'''.

Catgirls are descended from [[Edo period|Edo]] and [[Shōwa (1926–1989)|Shōwa]] period stories of villainous, [[shapeshifting]] [[Kaibyō|cat monsters]] such as ''[[bakeneko]]'' or ''[[nekomata]]'', whose cat traits designated them as antagonists. [[Postwar Japan|Postwar]] and more recent media have largely rehabilitated catgirls into docile, ''[[Moe (slang)|moe]]'' characters.

==Description==
{{multiple image
 | total_width = 320
 | align = right
 | image1 = Toronto 2015 cosplay (16931212845).jpg
 | alt1   = A young woman is wearing a maid outfit and cat ears and presenting a bottle of soda on a tray. 
 | image2 = Cosplay of Azusa Nakano 2024 FF43.jpg
 | alt2   = A young woman is cosplaying wearing cat ears and a school girl outfit and is posing for a photograph.
 | footer = Catgirl [[cosplay]]ers at fan conventions
}}

The term ''catgirl'' is applied broadly to characters with some (often minor or superficial) cat physiology, and usually with at least one of either cat ears or a cat tail. Depending on the narrative, a catgirl may have cat-like mannerisms or [[verbal tic]]s, or the ability to become a cat.<ref name="Planty-2020" /> A character who wears a cat ear headband, or who is momentarily depicted with cat ears to convey emotion, might also be called a catgirl within that context.

Whether a catgirl is correctly categorized as a "[[furry fandom|furry]]", or whether a person who appreciates catgirls is considered ''[[kemonā]]'', is hotly controversial to fans who do not wish to be associated with both furry and catgirl cultures. This is further complicated by the loose definition of a catgirl as a character who may or may not possess certain cat traits, raising the question of which or how many such traits can be added before a character is better sorted as a furry.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 February 2017 |title=『けものフレンズ』大ヒットの理由とは？ ガチケモナーな東大研究者が語るケモナーの歴史とその深淵 |trans-title=What is the reason for the huge success of "Kemono Friends"? A hardcore furry researcher from Tokyo University talks about the history and depths of furries |url=https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/kikakuthetower/kemono_friends |access-date=4 March 2025 |website=Denfaminicogamer |language=Japanese}}</ref>

==History==
The oldest mention of the term {{Nihongo||猫娘|nekomusume|{{lit|cat girl}}}} comes from an 18th-century ''[[misemono]]'' in which a cat/woman hybrid was displayed.<ref name="Davisson-2017" /> Stories of shapeshifting ''[[bakeneko]]'' [[Prostitution|prostitutes]] were popular during the [[Edo period]].<ref name="Davisson-2017">{{Cite book |last=Davisson |first=Zack |author-link=Zack Davisson |title=Kaibyō : the supernatural cats of Japan |publisher=Chin Music Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-63405-916-9 |edition=First |location=Seattle, WA |oclc=1006517249}}</ref> The ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' artist [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]] (1798–1861) depicted the human forms of cat monsters as retaining cat ears, a trait that made them appear untrustworthy or frightening.<ref name="Planty-2020">{{Cite web |last=Planty |first=Blake |date=July 19, 2020 |title=From Bakeneko to Bakemonogatari: The Secret History of Catgirls |url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/features/2020/7/19/from-bakeneko-to-bakemonogatari-the-secret-history-of-catgirls |access-date=March 4, 2025 |website=[[Crunchyroll]] News}}</ref> The popularity of the ''nekomusume'' continued throughout the Edo and [[Shōwa (1926–1989)|Shōwa]] periods, with many tales of cat/woman hybrids appearing in works such as the {{Nihongo|''Ehon Sayoshigure''|絵本小夜時雨}} and {{Nihongo|''Ansei zakki''|安政雑記}}.<ref name="Davisson-2017" />

The villain in [[Kenji Miyazawa]]'s 1924 work ''{{ill|The 4th of Narcissus Month|ja|水仙月の四日}}'' is the first example of a beautiful cat-eared woman in modern Japanese literature.<ref name="Gow-2012">{{Cite web |date=29 April 2012 |title=ニコニコ超会議のネコ耳人気に嫉妬！最古のネコ耳もかわいいもん |trans-title=I'm jealous of the popularity of cat ears at Niconico Chokaigi! The oldest cat ears are cute too |url=http://magazine.gow.asia/life/column_details.php?column_uid=00001362 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505121210/http://magazine.gow.asia/life/column_details.php?column_uid=00001362 |archive-date=5 May 2012 |access-date=4 March 2025 |website=Gow! Magazine |language=Japanese}}</ref> In 1936, the ''nekomusume'' experienced a revival in ''[[kamishibai]]''.<ref name="Davisson-2017" /> [[Anime]] and [[manga]] such as ''[[Princess Knight]]'' (1953) and ''[[Wata no Kunihoshi|Star of Cottonland]]'' (1978) began to reimagine catgirls as cute and approachable characters rather than dangerous monsters, though these mediums can still cast antagonistic catgirls as in ''[[Dominion (manga)|Dominion]]'' (1985) and ''[[List_of_Monogatari_episodes#Bakemonogatari|Bakemonogatari]]'' (2009).<ref name="Planty-2020" /><ref name="Da Vinci-2013">{{Cite web |date=2 November 2013 |title=なぜ獣耳（けもみみ）娘はかわいいのか？ を検証してみた |trans-title=Why are girls with animal ears so cute? |url=https://news.nicovideo.jp/watch/nw825268 |access-date=4 March 2025 |website=[[Da Vinci (magazine)|Da Vinci]] |language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Berndt |first=Jaqueline |title=Phänomen Manga : Comic-Kulture in Japan |publisher=Edition q |year=1995 |isbn=978-3-86124-289-5 |location=Berlin |page=111 |language=de}}</ref><!-- In America, the [[DC Comics]] character [[Catwoman]] first appeared in 1940, and [[Cheetah (comics)|Cheetah]] first appeared in 1943.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wallace |first=Daniel |title=DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7566-6742-9 |editor-last=Dolan |editor-first=Hannah |page=31 |chapter=1940s |quote=The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one. With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman.}}</ref> -->

By the 1990s, catgirls had become common in Japanese anime and manga.<ref name="Azuma-2009"/> Catgirls have since been featured in [[List of nekomimi wearers|various media]] worldwide. Enough of a subculture has developed for various themed conventions and events to be held around the world, such as [[Nekocon]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-11-07 |title=After Action Report |url=http://hamptonroads.com/2007/11/after-action-report |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914090838/http://hamptonroads.com/2007/11/after-action-report |archive-date=2016-09-14 |access-date=2013-02-03 |work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]}}</ref>
<!-- Catgirls are also popular among the [[furry fandom]]. In 2023, the furry hacker group [[SiegedSec]] attempted to blackmail the [[Idaho National Laboratory]] into "creating real-life catgirls".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yeo |first=Amanda |date=2023-11-24 |title='Gay furry hackers' breach nuclear lab, demand it create catgirls |url=https://mashable.com/article/catgirl-real-nuclear-hack |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref> -->

==As an aesthetic==
In 1980s Japan, cat ears started to appear as a regular accessory in some youth,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kaneko |first=Shobo |date=November 1985 |title=「若者+昭和」ライフスタイル事典 |trans-title="Youth + Showa" Lifestyle Encyclopedia |journal=青年心理 |language=Japanese |volume=54 |pages=49}} {{NCID|BN14331136}}</ref> with limited continuing popularity.<ref name="Da Vinci-2013" /> Recent cat ear headbands sometimes use motorized ears, which emote depending on the wearer's state of mind [[Electroencephalography|as determined by an electrode]].<ref name="Gow-2012" /> Some Japanese trains and train stations are also decorated with cat ears.

In the West, [[queer]] or [[transgender]] youth may adopt the catgirl as an [[ideal self]], to be expressed on the [[Internet]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Zaman |first=Hazal Ali |title=Feeling Otherwise: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study of Queer and Trans Youth of Color Who Create and Embody Fursonas |date=23 May 2024 |access-date=4 March 2025 |degree=Ph.D. |publisher=[[Portland State University]] |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e49b1a26b7d5e51d433ff90/t/665a3a0400a4dd49e7c18efd/1717189129257/THE+FINAL_DISS.pdf |doi=10.15760/etd.3757}}</ref> In a 2022 survey of trans [[software engineer]]s, 80.5% indicated they were "kinda" or "very" experienced with the catgirl concept.<ref>{{Cite conference |last=Kychenthal |first=Skye |date=26 March 2022 |title=Why The Trans Programmer? |conference=IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference 2022 |arxiv=2205.01553}}</ref> Some [[Internet meme]]s flippantly advocate for [[Human genetic enhancement|genetically engineering]] catgirls;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yeo |first=Amanda |date=2023-11-24 |title='Gay furry hackers' breach nuclear lab, demand it create catgirls |url=https://mashable.com/article/catgirl-real-nuclear-hack |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref> this is not feasible with current technology.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Strategic roadmap for research in morphological freedom |url=https://freedomofform.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Research-areas-white-paper.pdf |access-date=2025-04-23 |publisher=Freedom of Form Foundation |language=en}}</ref>

==Analysis==
[[File:Neko 1.png|thumb|alt=Black-and-white sketch headshot of a young woman with cat ears. The cat ears are drawn simply wiht two to three strokes on the top of the head.|This catgirl sketch shows that very few lines are necessary to add cat ears to an existing character, which may have contributed to their popularity.]]

Japanese philosopher [[Hiroki Azuma]] has stated that catgirl characteristics such as cat ears and feline speech patterns are examples of ''[[Moe (slang)|moe]]''-elements.<ref name="Azuma-2009">{{Cite book |last=Azuma |first=Hiroki |author-link=Hiroki Azuma |url=https://archive.org/details/otakujapansdatab00azum |title=Otaku: Japan's database animals |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8166-6800-7 |edition=English |location=Minneapolis |pages=[https://archive.org/details/otakujapansdatab00azum/page/n77 47], 89 |translator-last=Abel |translator-first=Jonathan |oclc=527737445 |translator-last2=Kono |translator-first2=Shion |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Galbraith |first=Patrick W. |date=31 October 2009 |title=Moe and the Potential of Fantasy in Post-Millennial Japan |url=http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html |url-status=live |journal=Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025065102/http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html |archive-date=2019-10-25 |access-date=2018-05-23}}</ref> In a 2010 critique of the manga series ''[[Loveless (manga)|Loveless]]'', the [[feminist]] writer T. A. Noonan argued that, in Japanese culture, catgirl characteristics have a similar role to that of the [[Playboy Bunny]] in western culture, serving as a [[Sexual fetishism|fetishization]] of youthful innocence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Noonan |first=T. A. |date=Fall 2010 |title="I Can't Get Excited for a Child, Ritsuka": Intersections of Gender, Identity, and Audience Ambiguity in Yun Kôga's Loveless |url=http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf |url-status=live |journal=MP: An Online Feminist Journal |volume=3 |issue=2 |issn=1939-330X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112002434/http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2016 |access-date=10 February 2013}}</ref>

According to the Japanese magazine ''[[Da Vinci (magazine)|Da Vinci]]'', the fact that cat ears can often be easily added to a character or costume without compromise has made the catgirl trope accessible and quickly popular. It is further suggested that the docile image created by cat ears stimulates the viewer's desire to protect cute animals.<ref name="Da Vinci-2013" />

==See also==
* [[Animal roleplay]]
* [[Furry fandom]]
* [[Human–animal hybrid]]
* [[List of fictional catpeople]]
* ''[[Nekomata]]''

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite conference |last=Yamamura |first=Hiroo |last2=Kondo |first2=Ryota |last3=Sugimoto |first3=Maki |date=23 November 2024 |title=Necomimi illusion: Generating Ownership of Cat Ears through Haptic Feedback via Hair |url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3681759.3688923 |conference=SA '24: SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 XR |location=Tokyo, Japan |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|catgirl|catgirl|catperson}}

{{Stock characters}}
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[[Category:Catgirls| ]]
[[Category:18th-century neologisms]]
[[Category:Anime and manga controversies]]
[[Category:Anime and manga terminology]]
[[Category:Cats in Japan]]
[[Category:Fantasy tropes]]
[[Category:Female legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Female stock characters]]
[[Category:Fictional cats]]
[[Category:Fictional human–animal hybrids]]
[[Category:Fictional hybrid species and races]]
[[Category:Furry fandom]]
[[Category:Japanese subcultures]]
[[Category:Moe anthropomorphism]]
[[Category:Otaku slang]]
[[Category:Shapeshifters]]
[[Category:Therianthropes]]
[[Category:Transgender culture]]
[[Category:Yōkai in popular culture]]