If you walk through the streets of Japan’s busy cities it’s hard to ignore the importance of fashion, especially for younger generations. No matter if you bump into girls or boys, almost each of them has its own “leisure dress-style”. They take their appearance very serious, even if they just go to the convenient store around the corner. I already mentioned the significance of Japanese standardized dress-codes in my first post. However, outside of school and occupation, the youths are able to express their individuality through brand clothing. This seems very facile; nonetheless fashion is a simple but effective means of communication.
The fashion market is huge and the possibilities for dressing-up are endless. Trends reach and leave Japan’s market and media fluently and have therefore an impact on the audience. So, if you are a fashion-designer, Japan’s metropolitan zones are the right place for you. Customers don’t just gaze at your creations they even buy all imaginable clothes and all sorts of weird gimmicks. This could be one reason why natural gender-constructions may vanish sooner or later. In this respect I’m going to draw my attention to these recent trends: Ojo-man (girly men) and Rekijo (history girl) – two forms of cross-dressing.
The fashion market is huge and the possibilities for dressing-up are endless. Trends reach and leave Japan’s market and media fluently and have therefore an impact on the audience. So, if you are a fashion-designer, Japan’s metropolitan zones are the right place for you. Customers don’t just gaze at your creations they even buy all imaginable clothes and all sorts of weird gimmicks. This could be one reason why natural gender-constructions may vanish sooner or later. In this respect I’m going to draw my attention to these recent trends: Ojo-man (girly men) and Rekijo (history girl) – two forms of cross-dressing.
(A cross bar in Doyama-cho, the unofficial gay district in Osaka)
(A guy with heels inside a train-cabin [ii])
In Japanese society cross-dressing has its origins in Kabuki. Men dressing up as women on stage didn’t seem strange to me, but I could never imagine that, apart from acting, “gender-switching” is also becoming an industrial sector for private purposes. For example Japanese designers have invented male-bras and –leggings and apparently they are selling! The main costumers are so called herbivores (Ojo-man). In one article I’ve found, they are described as thoughtful, articulate and fashionably dressed young man, who seem to be metrosexuals without the testosterone (Parry 2009). Reading this I wonder why men without sexual preference or need want to be or at least look more feminine? Sociologist Sharon Kinsella gives a cue: “For many young men, cute fashion represents freedom and an escape from the pressure of social expectations and regulations (Kinsella 1995: 244).”
(Picture borrowed from CNN)
Japanese women on the other side can be seen as “leaders of modern culture”. Unmarried girls obtain greater freedom than young men and there are definite tendencies showing that they want to remain free women (cf.: Kinsella 1995: 244), who are striving to achieve their personal goals in a subtle patriarchal society. Speaking of patriarchy, has anybody of you for instance ever seen a female samurai? Even for entertainment purposes this would have been unimaginable some decades ago. This summer there has been a genuine history girl (Rekijo) boom spreading through the media.
(Picture borrowed from Japan Probe)
Pop culture researcher Ichiya Nakamura detects a relation between these two trends. While the “passive herbivores” seem to weaken the society, self-reliant women seek “super carnivorous males” [ii].
Literature:
Kinsella, Sharon (1995): Cuties in Japan. In: Lise Skov & Brian Moeran (Ed.): Women, Media and Consumption in Japan.
Parry, Richard Lloyd (2009): Girly men of Japan just want to have fun. Times - Online Edition.
Recommended Readings:
Blurring the boundaries
Endnotes:
Endnotes:
[i] Copyright belongs to O. Alavaz, edited by tobi-san
[ii] Found on Google-news
I am not sure there is a connection between herbivore men and homosexuals. We must remember that masculinity is culturally constructed. This herbivore men thing is nothing so new; the term might be new and trendy but the behavior can be seen going back to David Beckham's visit to Japan and the spread of the metrosexual style. Herbivore men are just another convenient target to blame Japan's societal ills upon. Another example of the Japanese media blowing things out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is certainly interesting to investigate in the context of this week's theme of gender in Japan, however I would not be so hasty as to connect all of the things you have presented here, at least not without more explanation.
Thanks for the comment! Though I can't really agree with you this time. I didn't describe any connection between herbivores and homosexuals... that would make no sense and wouldn't fit with the definition I was working with. And I know that this metrosexual behaviour is nothing new... in fact one article even points out that past Japanese men had similar charateristics, before the world war, the western influence and the economic bubble. And I also mentioned that media is quite influential in this respects. Of course these guys are blamed, because they are a good target. The only real new trend in this case is the term "herbivores", which surprisingly enough is also used by the Japanese.
ReplyDeleteTo your last advice: you're right, I should have explained more on the background. however, I tried to be as short as possible this time, because the recommended readings explain this matter quite good... there are some obvious and some not so obvious connections, but this doesn't mean, that everything is connected... latter I didn't plan to point out with my post... So, I hope you have read the articles... otherwise I wouldn't recommend them ;)
You include an image of a bar in the gay district of Osaka and so by doing so indicate some relationship with homosexuality. We should never underestimate the power of images (and their captions).
ReplyDeleteYou probably shouldn't assume the reader has or will read your recommended readings. If you are using them as a basis for your own text you should cite them in your own text.
Thanks gonthros, but since you somehow know me now for four months, you don't have to tell me about the visual power. And you also have witnessed how I structure my posts. The picture is part of the introduction and not of the main post. Furthermore I just mention that such bars can be found in the gay-district (and probably also in other districts). That doesn't say anything about this bar itself.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah maybe I don't keep my readers in mind all the time. I would rather post two original pictures about the main theme, but you know how hard it is to make research every week and at the same time trying to be as qualitative and unbiased as possible.
Of course I can't expect someone to read the readings. But if someone is really interested he will probably read and can moreover get much more out of the matter. Besides, the post isn't based on the recommended readings. You may know from my last posts how thoroughly I work. I would never intentionally borrow something without citing it!
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