Interesting article!

[winterspel]

[Warning: Sexually explicit discussion of cultural customs in historical Japan found in the comments. Proceed at your own risk.]

Many thanks to icajoleu for forwarding this to me! :) I love that my friends keep an eye out for my crazy interests...this article is short but addresses a few different interesting ideas.

Harry Potter Loves MalfoyBy Jennifer

Comments

Part 4

[riccichan]

2. Further, in relation to Johnnys, I'm fascinated by the whole concept of "fanservice" and of the idea of corporate big business + real people participating in and encouraging fan fantasy. Sex really does sell. Huh. ;) That would just never happen in the U.S., not like JE does it, anyway.

I agree, it wouldn't, and I think it is because of Japan's history in depicting "male youth". The yaoi business still booms, and I guess JE (and not only JE) also wants a slice of that. Another idol of the androgynous, mysterious, bisexual "bishônen" (even though he's in his thirties now) is Gackt, though he projected this image much more strongly in his visual days. Visual kei thrives on the diffusing of gender.

3. And further to the last, the sexualization of JE boys in service to this, even at a young age.

This is a difficult topic. I find it hard to disentangle my set of moral values from that I've encountered and read about in Japan. If you ask them, the majority of japanese fangirls would probably look at you in wonderment and say "But they aren't sexualized." I think it's because there is a clearer differentiation between someone as a public persona and someone as a private person. If Jin would go and kiss Kame on stage (an Akame fangirl may still dream :)), no one would point his finger and scream "OMG, he's gay!" The public as well as JE know that they feed the fangirls' fantasies of "love transcends gender" (a common plot in manga and books alike: "But I'm not in love with him because he is a boy, I am in love with his soul, no matter if he is a boy or a girl.") and "if he loves Kame, he doesn't love another girl and can marry me later".

It's okay for a fangirl to go crazy about Akame.

But it's not okay for a grown woman (like you and me) to go crazy about Akame. There is a term in japanese for us, and it's "rotten women" (furyô onna). We are supposed to have graduated these teenaged dreams, to have shelved or sold our yaoi manga and gone on the venture to find a good husband before we turn 30.

Mean, isn't it?

Back to the topic of sexualization - since it's not "real", whatever that might mean, the boys have nothing to worry about, nor does the public worry about them. Although there have been voices in the japanese entertainment industry who say that JE produces "worthless boys", meaning that they are confused as to their role in society (which might also imply confusion over their gender). They advocate a more "decent" marketing of the boys. But I don't think we'll ever see that happen, I'd predict that things will get even more sexualized in the future.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this, though I realize that you might need some time to process all this info I threw at you. :) Since my current academic research is about drugs in japanese middle schools, I haven't given that much thought to JE and gender issues ever since becoming a fan last year, but your questions have made me rethink that!

Re: Part 4

[winterspel]

I have so much love for you right now. *squish*

I can't believe your posted all this up for me! I will read it, try to organize my thoughts and we'll talk. Already I can see this is a very interesting read.

Re: Part 4

[riccichan]

You're welcome! *happy* I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts on this topic.

Re: Part 4

[winterspel]

Okay, to avoid my layout squishing our discussion too much, I've posted responses to this below here and here.

Re: Part 4

[ina]

Wow! We have talked about this before, but never really with this academic background you provided here and I really love it.

I find it interesting that men (at the least the "youth" part) as well as women are supposed to graduate from it. Not so surprising since the urge to proliferate while leaving your youthful errors behind is build into many human traditions and cultures. It's okay to "play" for a period of time, but then it's time to grow up and become a productive member of society.

Even according to western standards we are supposed to have graduated from fangirling boy bands, while something like this is okay during your teenage days. There is a reason I seldom tell my age. ;)

Re: Part 4

[riccichan]

Well, it was the "youth's" own choice if he wanted to graduate or not. If he was the son of a merchant, he surely would have wanted to start a family. But if he was living in (and on) the pleasure quarters, it would have been in his best interest not to take the genpuku ceremony. And no one would have frowned upon him (maybe his own peers would have teased him about it, but certainly not his clients).

I agree with you on the stigmatized fangirling matter, but I think in Japan it's even worse than here. But there's also a way around it which works pretty well at least in Japan - start a family, make your daughters fangirl JE and be one of those okaa-sans who, when interviewed, always say "Well, I'm accompanying my daughter who so wanted to go to this concert..." :)

Also, if you've been a fan of one of the older groups like SMAP or V6, it's perfectly normal to stay a fan, they're accomplished artists after all.

Hey, what am I supposed to say - I fangirl Nakajima Yûto! Granted, not in a "oh he's so sexy I want to rip his pants off of him" way (I reserve that for Tottsu *g*), but still, I'm looking forward to seeing him in other dorama roles. In Japan, I could never tell that to anyone. It's difficult even here, but I can make people understand that I find him cute and that I take an interest in him as a child actor. In Japan, that wouldn't interest people much, they'd just steer clear of me.

I just remembered the typical answer of the japanese exchange students coming here, after I've told them I like Johnny's Entertainment - "Oh, Johnny's, I was also a fan until I graduated highschool."

Re: Part 4

[ina]

I agree on the choice for the youth living in the pleasure quarters, but I think the son of a merchant probably got pressure to start a family at a certain age too.

As for the age restrictions to fangirling I think it's kind of typical that it's stricter in Japan, because there are more expectations there to act a certain way, like marry before you are 30, stop working and start a family.