- 19 May 2007
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- 113
How long was your stay in Japan? Why I ask is b/c it does not seem very long. That or you only saw a one aspect of life while you were here.Some stereotypes are indeed made by brain-amputees and inaccurate, but some root in Japan itself and please don't complain when people think you are what you look like when you look like it way too blatantly.
Aout Japanese women: you may be right, never judge a book by its cover and not every Japanese woman is a submissive easy girl, but I've seen too many dressed like *****, way more than in any other country I've been to. Hot pants, miniminimini skirts, bottocks visible, bare shoulders, 1-pound-fingernails etc.
You don't need anime for some generalizations, way too many Japanese women between 18 and 30 that I've seen take care of that themselves. You can't really blame a man for thinking he's in the land of easy girls, walk through Shibuya at any time of day or night and you might just feel like you're in one hugeass red light district.
Dressing up pretty is one thing, but showing THAT much skin in all the wrong places, is still largely understood as offering some of that skin to the first dude who asks. Acting "kawaii" doesn't help things, on the contrary (though I personally find all that squealing and squirming and acting weak and fragile, repulsive). Frankly, everytime I went to a club or a more trendy district like Shibuya or Amemura, even Bukuro, I felt like I was surrounded by ******. In the other 12 counties I've been to, mostly hookers dress that way. And only one of those countries has women wear veils. All the other countries allow women to dress like that, but most just don't, because they don't want to be mistaken for hookers.
I try to be realistic and reject stereotypes most of the time, but a) stereotypes can't exist without some truth to feed on, b) THIS stereotype can't really be blamed on foreign misconceptions. When I see a woman clad just enough to cover her nipples and vagina, that is either in a bikini near some kind of swimming facility, or if on the street, I can't help but think she does it for cash. Don't blame me, blame her "fashion sense". And unfortunately, that fashion sense doesn't seem so unusual in many areas of Japan.
With due respect to the Japanese people, if you dress up like "it", don't complain when people think you are "it".
About positive stereotypes... well, many people seem to think all Asian/Japanese girls are pretty. Frankly, I found this largely confirmed, most of them girls up to 40 years are gorgeous but when they're overweight or have akne, they have it baaaaaaaaadNot to mention the yamanbas... gawd.
Ofcourse, there's also the stereotype that the Japanese are always friendly. I have received glares and stares that made me want to disappear into thin air. I mostly didn't do anything wrong, except maybe miss one of those direction arrows or boarding marks at metro platforms and stood or walked on the wrong side. I admit it deserves public execution. Cut me up. Now. I deserve to die.
Another one may be that looking effin weird is widely accepted but judging from the looks some lone cosplayers or bleached-yellow-fat-dudes-in-pink-and-white-tuxedo-and-cowboy-boots-and-lots-of-blingbling receive, it's still better to take it to Yoyogi parc.
OH! And don't think that just because of some fan service of VK stars and all the yaoi manga, homosexuals are so very loved in Japan. I've heard crowds cheer at the DJ's words: "Okamayaro bukkorose!"...
And Japan is the safest country in the world. Japanese gentlemen keep taking me as close to my hotel as possible saying they won't feel good if they let me walk home alone, let alone many people don't care to put their damn dog on a leash (dogs don't only bite, they cause accidents when running in front of cars and bikes). Oh and the bicycles on the sidewalk! And the "Chikan gochuui"/"Beware of perverts" signs are also very, very reassuring... People have taken me for insane for walking through Ikebukuro's alleys alone in the dark. What's out there?
I don't think Japan is any less safe than any other country, mind you. I even think it might be a LITTLE safer than eg. Belgium. I just don't believe in the gut-wrenching tales of it being uber-safe and risk-free. To be honest, I do feel safe about sleeping in the street with my purse in plain view thinking "This is Japan!", but at the same time, I realize that's not being smart. I just trust my scary face to keep attackers at arm's length.
Accepted and tolerated is two completely different things. People who judge this society the way people tend to do, do not have an understanding of what it is truely is all about. These things that have been brought up are a minority among a huge population and that makes them stick out like a sore thumb. This goes back to Japanese people not actively expressing there likes or dislikes for a certain topic like US loud westerners, this promotes confrontation and that is best to be avoided. But anyway it is interesting to hear Japan is veiwed like from the outside.
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