Blogpost 5: In the Eyes of the Critics

By now we have already talked about a lot of things regarding Japan’s Herbivore Men.  From their social identity to the effects and implications of their emergence and to their way of living we have truly put so much effort into understanding this gender group.  I can even say that the spotlight was placed to them far too long already.

And so for this blogpost allow me to change the tone of discussion a little bit and look at other angles surrounding these herbivores.  From this point on I will look at the way other gender groups perceive the herbivore men namely the older generation and japanese women.   

I.     Charge it to Experience

In my previous blogpost I have already mentioned that there is a dominant male culture in Japan called salarymen.  These men are also referred to as male white collar workers.  They are attributed with traits such as self-sacrifice hard work and perseverance. Eventually they became a social category and the standard of masculinity in Japan. 

The emergence of herbivore men challenged the social structure of salarymen.  But I think that what is more interesting to know is the various reactions that they have about these herbivores.

I have come across Ms. Christina Akiko Tamaru’s study entitled “The Herbivorous Men of Japan: Negotiating New Masculinities” Ms. Tamaru discussed that the sôshokukei danshi’s critics can be categorized into two groups the disdainful peers of the sôshokukei danshi and the older proponents of salaryman masculinity. Within each group there are professional academic constituents mixed with casual amateur participants.  

Based on the older generation’s opinion Ms. Tamaru mentioned that The older generation especially former salarymen seems to disapprove of the sôshokukei danshi on the basis of their departure from dominant masculine models and the supposed threat that they pose to the hegemony of the salaryman model. 

Let us bear in mind that Japan follows a strict patriarchal system.  and for the longest time since the end of the World War II the salarymen served as the key to Japan’s survival and revival.  I think that it is only logical and natural that these salarymen deny herbivores the recognition they want. 

Ms. Tamaru was able to identify one strong reason for this treatment.  Still according to her study These older generation critics harp on the sôshokukei danshi generation for their supposed failure to produce offspring that will sustain future generations and the growth or maintenance of the Japanese as a people.

In my first blogpost I cited the Book of Genesis to establish that God commanded man and woman to be fruitful and increase in number.  And continuing the discussion in my third blogpost where I presented the decrease in Japan’s populace I believe that the older generation of Japanese males really strikes a valid reason for their judgments.  Ms. Tamaru even added that the foundation of the criticism voiced by older generation males lies in their own experiences with masculinity and in the specific paradigms that those experiences have engendered.

II.   Carnivore Women

If there is one gender group directly affected by the emergence of herbivore men it would definitely be the women.  With the unprecedented emergence of these herbivores the Japanese women also took a shift in perspective regarding their societal roles.

The ironic thing with the rise of herbivore men is the appearance of carnivore women.  I encountered Mr. Evan Koike’s thesis entitled “Gendering Knowledge in Discourse on Japan’s Herbivore Boys”.  In this study Mr. Koike mentioned that Japan is seeing concurrent trend  the rise of carnivorous women  women to take the initiative with men and make the first move when it comes to dating. These women embrace eating meat and are aggressive in their careers. They eschew traditional feminine tasks such as cooking or doing household chores and are less enthusiastic about marriage than previous generations.  Moreover these women have positive gogetter attitudes toward life.

With changes in roles and perception these carnivore women show signs of empowerment most especially in career and profession.  They were able to beak the various stereotypes which caged women and pushed them in a corner while glory and praise were given to men.

But the real question at hand remains unanswered how did women react to the emergence of herbivore men?  I have come across an article by Mr. Kyojiro Kagenuma entitled “Grass Fed: An Explanation of HerbivoreCulture”.  In this article

 he stated that traditionally women do not refuse the advances of Japanese man.  But the fact that modern Japanese women can and do reject Herbivore men at the point where it hurts their pride so badly that they simply cower is ludicrous.  

Mr. Kagenuma added that the feminist situation got so bad that Japanese men actually get more pleasure from anime and video game characters than from real women.  The women aren't happy and some have labelled the behavior as misogyny and are now being forced to change their entitled attitudes.

III.     Perspective 

        

        There is a well known saying that goes you cannot please everyone. I think that this is well fit in the case of the herbivore men. Since their rise a couple of years back different opinions and viewpoints about them rose quickly and if there is one thing I know about opinions it is the fact that they are strongly expressed. Reality is herbivore men demand respect. Although they may not be expressive enough to voice their feelings I believe that respect is one thing deserved by everyone including the herbivore men.

    

     But if there is one thing I am sure about I know that there will come a time when herbivore men will be truly welcome in Japanese society. Not because they conform to norms or mores but because they have proven themselves worthy of acceptance.