One of the side-effects of being a geek is an inevitable interest in East Asian culture. Whether you got sucked in through anime, electronics, films, manga, pop music, or video games, you eventually up in the same place. Often times, however, Westerners’ awareness of China, Japan, and Korea only goes so far. While most geeks are eager to reprimand others’ ignorant comments, few have any real interest in the sociopolitical dynamics of East Asian countries; aside from the Samurai and Shaolin, Asian history gets ignored in favor of Herodotean generalizations about male-dominated societies and femicide.  Continue reading →