Sunday, June 7, 2009

Japanese 'herbivores' not interested in bush


Source: CNN



They are young, earn little and spend little, and take a keen interest in fashion and personal appearance -- meet the "herbivore men" of Japan.

Author and pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawa coined the term in 2006 in a series of articles on marketing to a younger generation of Japanese men. She used it to describe some men who she said were changing the country's ideas about just what is -- and isn't -- masculine.

"In Japan, sex is translated as 'relationship in flesh,'" she said, "so I named those boys 'herbivorous boys' since they are not interested in flesh."

Typically, "herbivore men" are in their 20s and 30s, and believe that friendship without sex can exist between men and women, Fukasawa said.

The term has become a buzzword in Japan. Many people in Tokyo's Harajuku neighborhood were familiar with "herbivore men" -- and had opinions about them.

Shigeyuki Nagayama said such men were not eager to find girlfriends and tend to be clumsy in love, and he admitted he seemed to fit the mold himself.

"My father always asks me if I got a girlfriend. He tells me I'm no good because I can't get a girlfriend."

Midori Saida, a 24-year-old woman sporting oversized aviators and her dyed brown hair in long ringlets, said "herbivore men" were "flaky and weak."

"We like manly men," she said. "We are not interested in those boys -- at all."

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Agreed. Women like to feel secure and even though I don't need a manly man, I just need a normal guy that is confident about themselves. Someone who can be my companion. I don't want a guy with no confidence what I have to babysit all the time.

It's also strange how it says they don't like to spend money but have a keen interest in fashion and appearance. That costs money!

Confident, assertive men are the biggest turn on. Why would I want a guy that is afraid of himself?

5 comments:

Roger Williams said...

Eh, you know how some women want different things from men. Some women want the manly self-assertive man, while some women want men who will be more sensitive, but really, all most men really want is a woman who will put out and shut up every once in a while. :D

Anonymous said...

In North America they're called Metro-Sexuals.

Degenerasian said...

Anonymous: I think Metro-Sexuals act feminine but they still want women and want sex and they're extremely successful professional people.
They're just the sensitive type.

These 'herbivores' are SCARED of being in a relationship. They're pretty much scared of everything, even working. They just want to live at home with mom and dad and look pretty.

Degenerasian said...

Roger: But these men don't want that. They don't want women to shut up. If anything they want their women to babysit them and be their mom.

Bascially these guys just sit around a look pretty. That's why they're being called useless.

Hoyun said...

japanese are so good at making up outrageous game shows... they are the only ones that can make an cnn report seem funny :)