New topic
Printable| Author | Message |
Japanese Culture - How true is this? Girlish youth and innocence are considered sexy in Japan, a culture with a long history of regarding women more as sex toys than as people. This obsession with untouched adolescence results in the sad sight of women in their thirties emitting girlish giggles and clutching teddy bears in an effort to maintain their appeal to the opposite sex. Although it can fairly be said Western society also prizes youth in a woman, there the fascination has to do more with the looks of a girl than it does with her immaturity and presumed sexual innocence. A pretty 26-year-old who would be considered lovely in the West would in Japan be viewed by many as hopelessly long in the tooth.
Western society looks for firm, youthful bodies housing the attitudes of grown women — we like them young, but we don't like them to act young. In the West, a teen's sex appeal is dependent upon her ability to look and act much older, thus the fascination with makeup and plunging necklines, accoutrements that make her appear less of a child and more of a woman. In Japan, this ideal is reversed — sexy in the Land of the Rising Sun adds up to childlike behavior and modes of dress that express this ideal. Sometimes this amounts to the adoption of clothing styles highly reminiscent of high school uniforms, but even when a girl dons an evening gown, she will strive to look like a kinderling caught parading in Mom's finery. Likewise, childish outbursts, pouting, and tantrums are viewed as charmingly erotic because such actions work to further the violated schoolgirl image. Source | |
- E-mail - orgNote -  Report post to moderator |
well, i heard of this before, i think i saw something about this on some show one time. I'm not sure, if all heterosexual japanese men who are into this fetish. it all mostly based on those pornographic anime, and stereotypes. but then again, i never been to japan.
[Edited 3/26/08 15:15pm] [Edited 3/26/08 15:15pm] | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
i read the article that paragraph came from and it sounds like this is a fetish that is similar to the barely legal thing here in the US. Some men are into it and some men aren't. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Study the culture
Study the people Go there Whichever way you cut it The Japanese are more honourable, more respectful and have a safer society than the US. Simple | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
I'm not talking about the fetish...
I'm talking about the idea that girlish youth and innocence are sexy. Is that the way it is for the most part over there? | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Dance said: I'm not talking about the fetish...
I'm talking about the idea that girlish youth and innocence are sexy. Is that the way it is for the most part over there? whoops. 
First let me say that I don't know because I've never been to Japan or studied Japanese culture in depth but...sometimes I wonder if Americans perceive this girlish youth as sexy trend in part because many Westerners seem to think of Asian people as child-like, cute, doll-like, etc. Perhaps because of this, Americans see certain aspects of Japanese culture and misinterpret them. I would be interested to hear what it is like from someone who actually lives there. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
As true as this Bush lovin' flag wavin' imperialist arab hatin' yankee cowboy hillbilly here, who doesn't even know where Japan is! My Legacy
http://prince.org/msg/8/192731 | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
An ex of mine is Japanese. We had many talks about the mistreatment she experienced growing up there because, at 5'7" and generously built, she was considered unappealingly tall and fat (durn-near OBESE, really) ... there. Here, in the States, she was considered attractive.
There, she was expected to be docile and accommodating. Here, she was able to be the hothead that she was at heart.  | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
One of my favourite Japanese terms:
Christmas Cake In Japan, age counts. Especially if you are a woman. The ideal of feminine beauty in Japan is youth and innocence. Plus, there's a lot of pressure on women to get married. So, if you're an unmarried woman, and heading towards thirty, we'd say that you're being "left on the shelf" or maybe "past your sell-by date". In Japan though, they compare such women to a "Christmas Cake". It may well be sweet and delicious, but no one really wants any after the 25th. So, if you're an unmarried Japanese woman, after the age of twenty five, you're in extreme danger of becoming a Christmas Cake. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
PopeLeo said: One of my favourite Japanese terms:
Christmas Cake In Japan, age counts. Especially if you are a woman. The ideal of feminine beauty in Japan is youth and innocence. Plus, there's a lot of pressure on women to get married. So, if you're an unmarried woman, and heading towards thirty, we'd say that you're being "left on the shelf" or maybe "past your sell-by date". In Japan though, they compare such women to a "Christmas Cake". It may well be sweet and delicious, but no one really wants any after the 25th. So, if you're an unmarried Japanese woman, after the age of twenty five, you're in extreme danger of becoming a Christmas Cake. 
Damn. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Dance said: I'm not talking about the fetish...
I'm talking about the idea that girlish youth and innocence are sexy. Is that the way it is for the most part over there? I think innocense is very sexy. you don't have to show your tits for everyone to see, and act like a tramp in order to be sexy. I think the opposite can be much sexier. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
All I know is, from teaching female Japanese students English when I was doing my course with Inlingua, there were some interesting quirks in behaviour. Some of my students would deliberately hold back their skills and sometimes even make small mistakes on purpose. The girls would never want to appear too confident (or even too competent in their answers) in classes and even held back a bit in one on one lessons. When reading a book regarding teaching students from different Asian countries I also remember reading about this way that they suck in breath (not sure how best to describe it), a funny little quirk, which signified remaining humble rather than overly confident. I can't recall if they did this in my lessons though. I wondered if the way they behaved in class was the way they behaved in their other social settings. One student who was apparently really quite devastated by some family troubles back home was most certainly putting on a distinct act, and more than just putting on a brave face. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
PopeLeo said: One of my favourite Japanese terms:
Christmas Cake In Japan, age counts. Especially if you are a woman. The ideal of feminine beauty in Japan is youth and innocence. Plus, there's a lot of pressure on women to get married. So, if you're an unmarried woman, and heading towards thirty, we'd say that you're being "left on the shelf" or maybe "past your sell-by date". In Japan though, they compare such women to a "Christmas Cake". It may well be sweet and delicious, but no one really wants any after the 25th. So, if you're an unmarried Japanese woman, after the age of twenty five, you're in extreme danger of becoming a Christmas Cake. I heard her say that a few times, too.  | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
| Ex-Moderator |
PopeLeo said: One of my favourite Japanese terms:
Christmas Cake In Japan, age counts. Especially if you are a woman. The ideal of feminine beauty in Japan is youth and innocence. Plus, there's a lot of pressure on women to get married. So, if you're an unmarried woman, and heading towards thirty, we'd say that you're being "left on the shelf" or maybe "past your sell-by date". In Japan though, they compare such women to a "Christmas Cake". It may well be sweet and delicious, but no one really wants any after the 25th. So, if you're an unmarried Japanese woman, after the age of twenty five, you're in extreme danger of becoming a Christmas Cake.  |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
It's an intresting take and a facinating cultural comparrison. However, I am not sure of the source, though there could be a fantastic article in there somewhere if it were re-written and researched well. [Edited 3/27/08 6:26am] Happy is he who finds out the causes for things.Virgil (70-19 BC). Virgil was such a lying bastard! | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
CarrieMpls said: PopeLeo said: One of my favourite Japanese terms:
Christmas Cake In Japan, age counts. Especially if you are a woman. The ideal of feminine beauty in Japan is youth and innocence. Plus, there's a lot of pressure on women to get married. So, if you're an unmarried woman, and heading towards thirty, we'd say that you're being "left on the shelf" or maybe "past your sell-by date". In Japan though, they compare such women to a "Christmas Cake". It may well be sweet and delicious, but no one really wants any after the 25th. So, if you're an unmarried Japanese woman, after the age of twenty five, you're in extreme danger of becoming a Christmas Cake. Oh, the offensive jokes I could make about eating leftover Christmas cake. Nah, too easy.  | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
| Ex-Moderator |
PopeLeo said: CarrieMpls said: Oh, the offensive jokes I could make about eating leftover Christmas cake. Nah, too easy. oh, I'm not -ing at you. I'm -ing at the idea that a woman is stale after 25.
|
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Dance said: PopeLeo said: One of my favourite Japanese terms:
Christmas Cake In Japan, age counts. Especially if you are a woman. The ideal of feminine beauty in Japan is youth and innocence. Plus, there's a lot of pressure on women to get married. So, if you're an unmarried woman, and heading towards thirty, we'd say that you're being "left on the shelf" or maybe "past your sell-by date". In Japan though, they compare such women to a "Christmas Cake". It may well be sweet and delicious, but no one really wants any after the 25th. So, if you're an unmarried Japanese woman, after the age of twenty five, you're in extreme danger of becoming a Christmas Cake.
Damn. this is true. i lived there for a while. as to your original question i don't know since i haven't been there for a while but it would not surprise me | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
