Why Anime Men Look So Feminine | The Story Of Bjorn Anderson 'Most Beautiful Boy In The World'

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[justahumanbean_]

Tbh i feel bad for Bjorn Anderson when he was heavily objectified at such a young age. His case remind me of Brooke Shields as well. It's sad that child actors in risks of constant sexual pressure without having respect of them merely as individuals.

[sfilipee]

In K-Dramas the male protagonist is usually very feminine as well, extremely noticeable when next to other male characters.

[zitronentee]

Please note than even before Bjorn Anderson, Japan has something that's called 'wakashu'. This is what I found :
"Four hundred years ago in Japan, male youths, called wakashu, were the objects of sexual desire for women and men. Creating a third gender, wakashu looked different from both women and adult men and played distinct social and sexual roles."
There is a wikipedia article about it.

[capitanmarmota]

You didn't touch the last part "while retaining masculine traits" I think that the great appeal these characters have is in the combination of the feminine and the masculine which makes them feel more complete, like the yin is not divorced from the yang in them

[hannahbull]

I find androgyny so attractive in men and women. But especially in men, I think a man being comfortable in leaning into more ‘feminine’ traits or styles is just very appealing.

[minsugamaxsalt]

The combination of masculine and feminine makes them very attractive

[harfir]

I love the point made at the start that women value emotional intelligence etc so much more than men understand. My BFF is dating a guy that shows he cares and doesn't make it seem like a hassle to stay in touch and to be honest, calm and vulnerable: and she is falling so hard because it's so rare to find a man like that!

[princesseville]

How did you forget to add that women see bishonen as less of a threat than Hypemasculine men? I mean, its nobodys fault, but some guys just naturally look meaner and more aggressive than others - which makes feminine men seem a safer option.

[Swagdonalds]

Can you talk about the appeal of “tomboys” and why many people are attracted to women with masculine traits?

[blackfish]

One of the things about some bishonen characters is that they look white and pure but are often manipulative, cunning or pure calculated evil (Griffith, Ryo devilman crybaby). flipping the white=good guy black=bad guy thing on It's head. It's a great anime trope.

[Mhkkvvyl]

I think regardless of the actual gender both men and women have a certain percentage of feminine and masculine traits.
It's an individual thing.
Some men have higher percentage of masculine than the feminine traits.
Some men have higher percentage of feminine traits.
And some have it balanced somewhat 50% feminine, 50% masculine .
The same thing applies to women.
We all have it to some degree.
But most people suppress it to fit society expectations.
We all have the mix of both feminine and masculine traits, it just varies from person to person.
The society wants us to show only one either masculine if you are a man or feminine if you are a woman.
And its stressful for both genders to meet these unrealistic expectations.
It's about setting yourself free, finding and embracing both sides of you.
The most attractive people are the ones who know and who are according to this.

[wowwie]

I'm from Asia, and although I'm not an East Asian, I can still kinda explain the reason why these "bishounen" men are often drawn with white, porcelain skin.
First, in feudalism times, a farmer who had to work hard outside will have dark skin while the nobles, who could sit inside all day, will have lighter skin. This led to classism based on skin tones, and we're still affected by it.
Second, it is also the effects of colonization from Western countries, plus Japan's homogeneity. As long as you're a foreigner, you can experience racism no matter your race, but POCs still suffer the most.

[shhi]

its interesting how all shoujo male characters have these features given its a genre that depends heavily on its female audience. this effect is not only seen in japan's pop and acting industry, but also in skorea china etc. makes sense why mlm fanfics are so loved specially in these countries

[forgotmyun]

As a girl, this was 💯 my type.
Now that I’m older, I still fall for the more grown version of this look, somewhere almost in the middle.
Overtly masculine, LEGO jawed, big bulky low-browed men just terrify me tbh.
Men have this ideal for themselves, and have no actual idea what women want. When women tell them, they go “no you’re wrong”
You don’t get an opinion on that, beefcake 🤷🏻‍♀️

[memeomeme]

The perfect balance of feminine and masculine is incredibly important in a truly beautiful person. In particular, male models will rarely be seen as beautiful unless they have certain feminine traits. Ultimately the time of hypermasculine archetype is behind us in terms of being the prime example of male attractiveness.

[nskfsr]

Tbh I love feminine beauty both on men and women. Idk why but I'm not attracted to wide jaws, buff muscles. I really find Korean actors and anime characters so handsome. And I realized majority of the East Asian male celebrities have kind of angel skull with V shaped jaw with or without surgery, and they're very slim+tall, these are the features what make them so different from celebs of other countries -especially Western ones. And I'm living for it, they seem like beautiful ethereal creatures to me sometimes.

[nganguyen]

It's fastinating how different the west and the east define masculinity. You rarely saw extremly muscle men in the east media. And when there is they was portrayed mostly as villians (not even the boss, but the lowly stupid one)

[acatssoftnose]

I'm someone who enjoys being a feminine guy. I'm really glad anime has made people like me feel desirable.

[reibubbles]

"Taller, slender men, are a rarer sight at the gym because the androgyny works to their advantage, and as such, they don't have as much as an incentive to get big and strong." BOOM! This! 1000 times this!

[dearrationals]

Maybe masculinity and the "perfect man" is just viewed differently in different places and cultures. I read about the Wodaabe tribe where men wear make and adorn themselves to attract women.
Some women prefer big beard Jason Mamoa types and some prefer more pretty boys like Kpop/K drama leads, or even a combination. People should just accept that humans are different and like different things. The in-depth analysis over stuff this is a bit weird to me.