Chaudhry 1

Anisa Chaudhry

Professor Smyrl

English 123

18 May 2021

The Effects of Misogyny on Relationships: Shortcomings

Even now in the 21st century, women are not treated or seen as equals in our society,

especially in the perspective of men. Adriane Tomine writes about this perception in his book

Shortcomings through the protagonist of the story, Ben. Ben’s character provides insight into

why some entitled men feel emboldened in treating women in a way in which they are a

commodity to be used by men. In understanding Ben as a character and his decision, we can

better understand the entitlement that comes from personal insecurity of one’s self, to prevent the

harmful treatment to women. Tomine discusses the toxic masculinity and fetishization of women

through relationships. By using the research of intersectionality when it comes to gender

relations, we can have a better understanding of characters and their actions. In the book

Shortcomings by Adriane Tomine, the main character Ben is presented as a misogynist. Adrianne

Tomine uses Shortcomings to further explain and explore the effects of toxic masculinity and the

fetishization of women of different races through the protagonist’s failed relationships.

Ben begins to display his toxic masculinity and misogynistic traits with the first woman

that is introduced in the story. Miko is the first woman that Tomine introduces in the story. She is

an Asian American woman, who at the beginning of the story is dating Ben. Through their

relationship, Ben undermines Miko’s accomplishments and opinions by putting his own toxic

ideals of masculinity at the front of their arguments and uses it as an excuse. Miko and Ben are

coming back from a film festival that Miko had been a big part of. Ben is clearly upset, as he did
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not enjoy going to the festival and was being an embarrassment to Miko. Ben continues to

undermine Miko’s interest and support for being in the Asian Film Festival. Miko says, “Well,

it’s a little embarrassing for me. And really, who are you to criticize?” (Tomine 12). Ben replied

angrily, saying, “Hey.. I know a lot more about movies than she does. I’m in the industry…”

(12). And finally, Miko gets frustrated by him and snaps back by exclaiming, “The Industry!

You manage a theater!” (12). Ben has no experience in the film industry, yet claims to know

more than Miko, about this industry. This is an instance in which Ben belittles Miko and her

accomplishments so he is able to feel more dominant to her. Tomine is displaying the toxic

masculinity that is shown by Ben in his inability to feel adequate when with other women.

Tomine explores this concept that Ben feels he needed to be the one who knows more and is

more capable in every situation and conversation. Ben continues to treat Miko poorly through

their relationship in the book.

Ben continues his misogynistic behavior with the aspect of Miko’s race. Ben sees Miko

as the undesirable Asian woman he is with due to comfort, not happiness. “Tomine shows Ben to

be incapable of recognizing the sexual desirability of Miko, his Japanese-American girlfriend”

(Sheffer). He does not see Miko as desirable, yet he seeks after white women as he sees them as

something to obtain as a prize in comparison to his current Asian girlfriend. Miko says to Ben.

It’s like you’re obsessed with the typical western media beauty ideal, but you're settling for me”

(Tomine 29). Miko knows how Ben is when it comes to other women, and she makes these

observations and confronts him when she finds pornographic material of multiple white women.

Tomine adds this dialogue between the two characters to show the realization that Miko has

about Ben’s feelings on her racial appearance and what that means for their relationship security.

“He brilliantly illustrates how Ben’s desires are defined by mainstream pornographic tropes that
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fetishize white women’s bodies and lesbian sexuality for male viewers” (Sheffer). That she

knows that she isn’t desirable to Ben because she does not fall under a certain beauty standard

that Ben subscribes to. Tomine explores this first relationship with an Asian woman and moves

on to Ben with women of other races.

Ben continues this poor behavior towards women, he does with a new white character. By

chapter two, Ben is beginning to hang out more with Autumn, one of his white female employees

that he has an interest in. He goes to one of her musical shows and feels uncomfortable there.

Later he goes back to her apartment and Autumn shows Ben some of the art pieces she has been

working on. Ben then tries to advance with Autumn. Autumn rejects this sexual advance in their

relationship. Ben then calls Alice on the phone to share what happened, “So she’ll writhe around

on stage with a bunch of naked creeps. And she’ll take pictures of her piss every day, but kissing

me… apparently that’s too disgusting for her!” (50). Ben is embarrassed and angry, and this can

be seen through the tone, that he did not get any sexual gratification from Autumn. Ben has this

idea that if he hangs out with a woman, he is entitled to her sexually. He believes that if she is a

sexual person who expresses it, that they should be easy to get with. Ben assumed that he could

sleep with Autumn because she is a sexual person and he has shown interest, and when she

rejects him, he degrades her. With the use of Autumn’s relationship with Ben, Tomine displays

the toxic traits of masculinity that Ben possesses. In his rejection by Autumn, Tomine shows the

emasculation that Ben feels when he is unable to obtain what he desires, a white woman’s body.

Since Autumn is white, he feels especially emasculated because she represents the

commodification of women.

In addition to the emasculation of Ben, Autumn’s race affects the way he discusses and

perceives the incident of rejection. “Tomine points out the fallacy of Ben’s using white female
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physicality as a means of empowering his masculine identity” (Tsai 103). Ben feels the need to

explain his ability to get the attention of a white woman to his friend Alice, he says, “Well in this

case my superficiality would’ve overpowered my snobbery. Oh and I forgot… She’s White!”

(Tomine 50). Tomine shows Ben’s character as a prideful, toxic man who seemingly has

something to prove. In talking to Alice, Ben needed to get this validation of getting to a certain

point with a white woman. In this way, Tomine is showing the fetishization of white female

bodies as a commodity of his own desires. The use of the dialogue between the characters acts as

a method of showing this fetishization through the actions of these individuals.

Continuing with chapter two, Ben meets another white girl named Sasha. They end up

hanging out and eventually hooking up. However, Sasha breaks off their relationship because her

ex-girlfriend is back in town and she wants to go back to her. After Sasha tells Ben she is

breaking up with him, Ben lashes out at her. Ben yells at Sasha and says, “Well, this seems to be

a little problem of yours, huh? Telling the truth? You might want to work on-” (72). Here, Ben

lashes out when he gets disappointed by this news. He continues to hurl insults at Sasha while

she is breaking up with him. This tone affects the perception as he did not need to get so angry at

Sasha, as she did not owe him anything. If we were to ask why Ben continues to be rejected from

women he wants to pursue, we would hope he would say it is just bad luck in relationships.

Using this scene with Sasha as an example, he would use her and her past relationships to blame

her for leaving him. Furthermore, we could also ask Ben why the women are the problem in his

relationships. He would most likely answer by saying that women are inferior to men in

relationships causing problems. This would also push his patriarchal ideology that because of

this he continued his oppressive behavior. Additionally, we can ask the question, of why does

Ben feel the need to take control of a conversation with another woman, as he did with Sasha?
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Tomine does this in order to show that Ben needs to feel power over the women he is conversing

with in order to be perceived as more masculine so he feels he is a superior person.

Tomine continues to show Ben uses this toxic masculinity to his advantage in subjecting

women to this negative treatment of these women. Tomine further explores the fetishization and

commodification of white women to Ben. As they are going out to eat they see a group of Asian

men and Ben comments on their interaction, “That guy that just passed us. He has white-girl

envy. Now if he had been with a white girl too, we would have given each other the sign”

(Tomine 68). Here Tomine shows the character interactions between Asian men and white

women. He conveys the message that Ben perceives these white women as a prize to show off,

instead of a woman he respects to be with.

The issues discussed in this book also have effects on race. This aspect of race relations

in the fetishization of white women doesn’t just affect the perception of white women, but also of

an Asian woman. “In the construction of Ben Tanaka’s character we find similar strategies of

identification and dis-identification, which are more explicitly based on ethnic identity” (Suter

18). Tomine goes further to show this through Ben’s reconnection with Miko in New York. Ben

finds Miko in New York and explodes on her for being in a new relationship despite him

engaging in multiple new relationships. He feels entitled to Miko’s new life. Ben says, “I guess I

didn’t know that “taking off” meant that you could lie to me and fuck around behind my back!”

(99). Miko replies and says, “Like you’ve been so honest and devoted…” (99). Ben gets

defensive and says, “What’s that supposed to mean?” (99). Although this confrontation was

based on jealousy, there was also another aspect to it, race. Miko was in a new relationship with

an Asian man, and Ben felt threatened by this. This part of the story is alluding to Ben’s

continuing insecurity due to his toxic traits of masculinity. In addition to this, he feels a sense of
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ownership over Miko, making him a toxic person to her. Although this has been known to the

reader through the book, Tomie brings this to light at the end to bring the character arc to a halt.

The reader learns that Ben is set in his ways, and stuck in the past. Due to this, by the end of the

book, the reader continues to have a distaste towards Ben and his toxic behavior toward women,

as it has been displayed through multiple relationships throughout the story.

Tomine explores the irony that Ben has been in multiple different failed relationships

with many women yet he got angry when he found out that Miko is in a relationship with a new

man. His anger is unjustified considering he is being toxic towards Miko and her new

relationship. This is because of the toxic masculinity that Tomne embodies in Ben so well, that

Ben is allowed to use women for their sexual desires, but women can not embrace their sexuality

without being labeled as undignified. Ben uses this as a cop-out to justify the anger and

frustration towards Miko by oppressing her with these societal standards. This effect of toxic

masculinity rubs off into his perception of Miko. “He is a bitter narcissist with, as his own

girlfriend points out, "weird self-hatred issues," "relentless negativity" and a pathological fear of

change. Tomine depicts these flaws almost too faithfully in Ben's consistently sullen expression,

which stands out all the more among the other characters' precisely inflected faces” (Hoffman).

When the women reject Ben or leave him for another person, Ben tends to get defensive. He uses

his own effects of toxic masculinity and the fetishization of white women to obtain what he

desires. Ben seemingly had no character development through the book but rather Tomine

displayed what a toxic man who fetishizes woman would act like. At the end of the book, you

continue to have negative feelings towards Ben because of this continuing mistreatment of

women. Tomine displays this through the use of relationships between Ben, white woman, and

Miko, an Asian woman.

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Annotated Bibliography

“Cartoonist and Author Adrian Tomine.” NPR, NPR, 11 Dec. 2020,

www.npr.org/2020/12/10/945229084/cartoonist-and-author-adrian-tomine

An NPR interview giving a preview and a short review of who Adriane Tomine is with his
literary work. What he has accomplished as an author and his background before he
became a full-time author and cartoonist of his books. This interview provided additional
research and analysis on Adrian Tomine as an author and the effect he had on writing Ben.

Hoffman, Jascha. “"Shortcomings."” salon.com, LLC Associated Press, 6 December 2007,

https://www.salon.com/2007/12/06/tomine/. Accessed 8 May 2021.

This article provided insight on the novel as well as who the author and illustrator Adrian
Tomine is. An Asian American who is setting himself in the world of graphic novels. The article
also goes into a detailed review of Ben and his anti-Asian traits, as well as his misogyny towards
other female characters. This article was used in this paper to provide more detail and affect to
describe accurately Ben as a character.

“Librairie D+Q Presents Adrian Tomine in Conversation with Seth.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 July

2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCoMkmzZUsc.

This video is an interview with Adriane Tomine and how he got into his career or
becoming an author and shares bits of information about himself and his writing. Through this
interview, the view gets to know To one better and can appreciate his work due to the personal
nature of them. This was used to provided additional research as to who Adriane Tomine is and
his intentions of writing this novel.

Sheffer, Jolie Alexandra. “The Optics of Interracial Sexuality in Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings

and Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” ResearchGate,

John Hopkins University Press, 18 July 2016,

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265955724_The_Optics_of_Interracial_Sexuali

ty_in_Adrian_Tomine's_Shortcomings_and_Sherman_Alexie's_The_Lone_Ranger_and_

Tonto_Fistfight_in_Heaven. Accessed 6 May 2021.

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This journal article discussed the optics of interracial relationships and sexuality through
the novel. The journal went on to compare two specific novels to each other and provide insight
into the different perspectives of these relationships. This journal was used in this paper to
provide support for the analysis of race as an aspect of Ben’s issues with women.

Suter, Rebecca. “Japan/America: Gender and Identity Politics in Adrian Tomine and Yoshihiro

Tatsumi.” Paradoxa, 2010, p. 22. academia.edu,

https://www.academia.edu/15962181/Japan_America_Gender_and_Identity_Politics_in_

Adrian_Tomine_and_Yoshihiro_Tatsumi. Accessed 7 May 2021.

This academic journal explored the implications of gender identities and sexuality more
within the Japanese American community. It provided extensive research on the effects of
hyper-masculinity and lack of confidence within men and how those traits affect relationships.
This journal article provided substance to support the analysis of toxic masculinity and the
effects of the trait on all of Ben’s past relationships.

Tomine, Adrian. Shortcomings. Drawn & Quarterly, 2007.

Graphic novel by Adrian Tomine that goes into the self-identity of one Asian man as he goes a
part of his life where he explores relationships and women of different races to prove his own
masculinity and superiority.

Tsai, Mei-Yu. “The Color of Desire: Interracial Romance and Racial Melancholia in Adriane

Tomine's Shortcomings.” The Wenshan Review of Literature and Culture, vol. 14, no. 1,

2020, p. 115. wreview.org,

https://www.wreview.org/attachments/article/393/The%20Color%20of%20Desire%20Int

erracial%20Romance%20and%20Racial%20Melancholia%20in%20Adrian%20Tomine

%E2%80%99s%20Shortcomings.pdf. Accessed 6 May 2021.

This journal article explained the desire of white women by men of color, and the effects
this has on interracial relationships. Additionally, it explores the fetishization of these women for
the effects of the male ego. The explanation of toxic romances went to further support and aid in
analyzing Ben and his fetishization of white women and disregard for Asian women.

Windolf, Jim. “Asian Confusion.” New York Times, New York Times, 11 November 2007,
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www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/review/Windolf-t.html. Accessed 13 May 2021.

Through this article, the author reviews and analyzes the character, Ben, through the lens
of Asian Confusion. Ben is a self-hating character and the author of the article analyzes this
phenomenon concerning real life. This article provided further insight on the analysis of Ben as
well as the complications that follow his life.

Hello Professor,
1) What I like most about this essay is the content itself. I believe with this topic, I was able
to fully immerse myself into it and really dive into Ben’s character. The first time I read
Shortcomings I had so many thoughts about Ben and his treatment of women, so when I
finally got to write about it from a research perspective, it excited me.
2) The most difficult part of writing this paper was finding the right topic sentences. As you
probably know, this has been a difficultly for me with most of my reader’s responses and
I continued to struggle with it during the first draft. However, with some work and
reflection of what points I was trying to get off with each paragraph, I believe I made
them work.
3) I believe this continues to be difficult for me because I want to get straight into the topic
without having to introduce the points, however, I do know that this is an important part
of the paragraph that I need to have to make it more comprehensive for the reader.
4) Feedback
a) Unfortunately, I did not get any peer feedback on this draft so I could not
incorporate any.
b) However, I did add feedback from you. I fixed my topic sentence and added
additional analysis to where it was lacking. I also fixed up my work cited into an
annotated bibliography and polished up the mechanics and format of my
completed paper. I’m pleased with my end result and I am excited to publish this
on my Weebly. I hope you enjoyed the read!
Thank you,
-Anisa