#bosozoku

(Character design wise i’m aware that bosozoku wore tokko-fuku, which was androgynous. But Mondo doesn’t wear that, so I have to reach out here.)

Mondo’s entire character is so heavily intrenched in toxic masculinity, specific to bosozoku culture. My immediate instinct is to still have her be the rough, violent, gangster her male counterpart is, but fem! Mondo (for a placeholder name let’s call her Momo) would be raised in an entirely male environment that believes men are made to protect women, and that all women are inherently weak.

I’m not going to overly simplify this by saying both Daiya and the Crazy Diamonds are all girls, I want to delve into this specific rift.

I version of this universe is Daiya tries to ‘protect’ his sister by not letting her become the leader (either out of his sense of duty as a man, or knowing he’s pitting her against every one of The Crazy Diamonds and that’s not a position he wants to put her in.)

Would Momo dive into her insecurites by trying to uphold these ideals, just by becoming hyper-feminine instead of masculine? The one-dimensional ideal of what a woman ‘should’ be? Mondo’s specific style of punk leans heavily into the yankee aesthetic, taking clear inspiration from the American biker gangs of the 1950s, thus the obvious blonde pompadour. I think the female equivalent would be the gyaru style; a subculture which also embraced Western styles and over exaggerated hair. My personal style for her would be Tsyome; emphasising heavy makeup, leopard print and sex appeal over cuteness factor. Looks like a rougher version of Junko’s kogal style. (When trying to research bosozoku I did some images and conversations about girl gang members adopting the gyaru style, but once I tried to research that connection specifically it disappeared).

Second universe idea is that Daiya does actually put Momo in charge of the gang, thus even more pressure to become someone who will make an entire gang overlook their personal biases regarding women to stay together and follow you. Way more intense than what original-recipe Mondo had to deal with.

The alternate is that Momo denounces these ideals and still leans heavily into embracing toxic masculinity and ends up with an insane amount of internalised misogyny. (A more natural conclusion to all this honestly). Instead Momo subverts to sukeban style; a subculture of girlgang rebelling against gender norms famous for ankle length skirts, face masks and dyed perms.)

There’s a part of me that thinks Momo wouldn;t adhere to sukeban given the basis if their style is rebelling against gender norms while still embracing them, and I don’t think Momo is that willing to question the beliefs she was raised in beyond ‘Man Strong, Girl Weak’. But also her being a woman stops her from stepping too into traditionally ‘male’ styles without upsetting the other gang members. So I don’t think Momo styles herself after Sukeban because she believes in their cause, just cause it’s the closest middle ground she can get.

Honestly Momo would closer to Toko than Mondo in this au, but it is closer to his original personality. And she keeps the perm.