"Bones'" squints were known for being pretty open-minded about new people and experiences.
That is, until they weren’t. Keep watching for the "Bones" scene
that makes us uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons.
One of the best things about "Bones" is the even-handed, accepting nature
of the Jeffersonian staff when confronted with lifestyles they've not previously considered.
It makes sense that Temperance Brennan would keep an open mind when thrust into a new culture.
Brennan is a forensic anthropologist, but you don't get to that profession without studying
some cultural anthropology along the way. She knew a lot more about other cultures than her
colleagues, and she wasn't afraid of shoving that fact into people's faces. She was a smart,
confident woman who didn't pipe down, making her
one of the strongest female protagonists to come out of television in the 21st century.
FBI agent Booth, on the other hand, usually has a more reactionary view of the things he's seeing.
But to his credit, he didn't feel put down when Temperance knew more than him. He accepted it as
a fact, but these two viewpoints still frequently came in conflict, with the show eventually coming
down in Bones' favor most of the time. But one time the show just completely whiffed it.
Season 4's episode titled "The Girl in the Mask" is wild to behold after years of gender discourse.
In the episode, a Japanese forensics expert, Dr. Haru Tanaka travels to DC
to help Booth investigate a death. Dr. Tanaka dresses very androgynously and
the squints obsess over what their, quote, "real" gender is.
"So, any guesses?"
"We don't really have enough evidence yet."
"No, not the case - the doctor. Dude or dudette?"
The scene that goes too far lands near the end of the episode. Fed up with not knowing,
Angela hugs Dr. Tanaka until they have a... biological reaction to being so close
to a beautiful woman. Angela thus concludes that Dr. Tanaka is a man.
Not only is this extremely invasive, but the team ignores the possibility that Dr. Tanaka could be
agender or nonbinary. Nobody just asks Dr. Tanaka what their pronouns are, which
would be the polite thing to do. Brennan does an excellent job of never gendering Dr. Tanaka,
always referring to them by their full name to obviate the need for gendered pronouns at all.
The misgendering of Dr. Tanaka has its roots in orientalism.
The episode scores some points when Sweets says Dr. Tanaka belongs to the "kei" subculture,
which is known for its genderless style, and that Tanaka's gender shouldn't matter. However,
the rest of the team essentially dismisses Dr. Tanaka's gender expression as a Japanese
thing. But plenty of people all over the world identify as nonbinary, and what could have been
an excellent opportunity for representation on TV just ended up being problematic and disrespectful.
"The Girl in the Mask" only came out in 2009, which isn't that long ago. Yet, it manages to
ultimately damage androgynous representation on-screen by insisting upon the significance
of assigning everyone a binary gender role. In an interview after the episode came out,
Ally Maki, who portrays Tanaka, spoke about how that division emphasizes
a clear cultural divide between Western and Eastern sensibilities.
Maki discusses how she was at first hesitant to audition,
as well as how the creative team lowered her voice register in post-production.
She also provides a different type of insight into the character and how, strangely,
the episode actually confronts Western culture's ideas on gender. Maki explains -
"I thought it was hilarious that the three [characters] wanted to know,
'Man or woman, man or woman.' It was so important to them."
Maki, who is Japanese-American, goes on to clarify how Japan is far more accepting of
androgynous identities that don't neatly fit into binaries. She goes on to state -
"In Japan, you know, it's like no one would
really care. You're walking down the street, and it wouldn't even be an issue."
Whether the episode succeeded in getting that idea across is open to interpretation, but it's clear
Japan has been ahead of the curve when it comes to accepting individuals of all gender identities.
Few would argue the episode could've done more to be more inclusive of non-binary identities,
perhaps by casting a non-binary actor in the role. While television still has a long way to go with
greater LGBTQ+ representation, we're in a much better place today than we were even 10 years ago.
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