I.
Birth of the Herbivores
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My first blogpost talked about Japan’s Herbivore Men. In retrospect we now know who these
herbivores are and how they differ from conventional males. But now, allow me to take you back in time to
know when and how it all begun.
As I have mentioned in my first blogpost the term herbivore
men or “sôshokukei danshi” was first coined by columnist Maki Fukasawa in
October 2006. Etymologically,
soushokukei danshi is Japanese phrase that literally means grass eatingmen.
t is
pointed out to a group of young men who seemed to be different than common
typical of men in Japanese society. Ms.
Fukasawa first used the term herbivore
men in her essays posted on Nikkei Business online. Now in one article written by Mr. Gordon Clay
entitled, "Herbivore Men", he said that Ms. Fukasawa used the phrase to describe
young men who, although having a general interest in heterosexual love and sex,
do not show positive attitudes toward them.
At that time, however, the term did not receive special attention.
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Now taking these facts into account, the emergence of
herbivore men is truly revolutionary and phenomenal milestone for the
Japanese. I think that their emergence
suddenly gave variety to the strict Japanese culture of gender branding men
and women as carnivores and herbivores, respectively. These herbivore men redefined masculinity by
giving it new flavor and spicing up the concept in appropriation to the needs
of the ever-evolving world.
II.
Talk
of the Town
In this
section, allow me to take my discussion to the time when herbivore men were
first noticed, described, and studied in Japan.
I have come
across Ms. Aulia Dwi Nastiti’s paper entitled, "Redefiningthe Concept of Counter Culture: Study Case of Sôshokukei Danshi". At the onset of the emergence of herbivore
men Ms. Nastiti explained that, Popular
discourses identify soushokukei danshi as young men approximately on their 20s
or 30s, mostly heterosexual, but having lack of interest in heteronormative
activities such as dating, sex, and marriage.
They are also much less competitive, in a sense that, unlike the older
generation who climbs the hierarchical career in a big company, herbivore men
prefer to live for their passion and have part-time job as source of income. They have correspondently different
life-style that commonly attributed to feminine trait. For instance,
fashion-conscious, take care of their physical appearance, love shopping for
sweet stuffs, enjoy cooking and handicrafts, and refrain from smoking or
drinking.
These were the
first observations made about herbivore men.
Through time, we can still see that these remarks became the point of
discussion in Japan, which later became basis for the scrutiny they received
from all sorts of social groups.
Due to these
circumstances Prof. Morioka even gave tips to Japanese women in case they want
to be involved with herbivore men, during that time. Still according to his research, "A Phenomenological Study of Herbivore Men," Prof.
Morioka added that There are three requirements for becoming involved with herbivore men: Herbivore men lack
assertiveness, so the woman must take the lead in romance Excessive
scheming and romantic techniques are off limits, and should be replaced with
more easily understood displays of affection; and herbivore men like women
of substance, so women must elevate their human qualities
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III.
Perspective
For me history is more than mere stories of the past. They ring with the truth. It tells us tales which may bear lessons
intended for us to listen and understand.
History is a reminder that things came to be for a reason. Just like in the case of herbivore men they
also have a history to tell. And a very
interesting one for that matter.
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