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In Japan, 'calf hair harassment' exposes gender-based appearance conflicts

lemonde.fr

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Re: In Japan, 'calf hair harassment' exposes gender-based appearance conflicts

#11

Post by freetime2 »

derefr wrote: post #8

This and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome make me feel like Japanese culture has somehow induced a unique kind of coddling within their population. People there seem to build up severely idealized views on many different things, to which the real-world equivalents can never live up; and then they are then either repeatedly disappointed/frustrated/disgusted by reality, or they refuse to engage with the rea…

Just to keep things in perspective - it's common among people that move to Japan to suffer psychiatric distress similar to Paris syndrome. People build up an idealized view of Japan from watching anime, etc. - and then when they actually move to Japan they find that reality is very different. They find themselves in a foreign country unable to speak the language, with no family to support them, very few career prospects, etc. This can cause depression and other serious mental issues. Reddit is full of stories like this.

Regarding the issue with idols needing to conceal their relationships, you need to keep in mind that the whole "idol" industry basically caters to the Japanese equivalent of "incels" - men who have trouble socializing and who are often emotionally underdeveloped - not the broader Japanese population. I've seen similar unrealistic expectations and coddled behavior from subcultures in the US, such as gamers. (To be clear - I'm not criticizing all gamers here, just certain controversies within the subculture that have gained media attention in recent years).

Re: In Japan, 'calf hair harassment' exposes gender-based appearance conflicts

#12

Post by Martinussen »

freetime2 wrote: post #7

I think this article is quite overblown. I don't think this is causing as many problems as the article implies. It's basically just quoting a few opinions from social media - where "sunehara" is used as more of a funny, tongue-in-cheek buzzword than to imply actual harassment. There are probably a hundred different usages of "hara" - sometimes for very serious meanings like "sekuhara" (sexual harassment), and sometim…

> I think a lot of men would also say it's unattractive if women wore shorts with hairy legs.

Not actively attractive is one thing, but "unattractive" feels extreme. A sane person, man or woman, caring about the hairiness of someone else and if they're wearing shorts or not is absurd. Are rolled-up sleeves and t-shirts off limits if my arms are hairy too now? :b

Re: In Japan, 'calf hair harassment' exposes gender-based appearance conflicts

#13

Post by rwz »

alephnerd wrote: post #5
phainopepla2 wrote: post #4

This is one of those issues that I will refrain from opining on directly, because I like living in a world where different cultures have different attitudes ways of living. Far be it from me to tell the Japanese how to handle their attitudes toward dress and body hair. They can hash it out amongst themselves.

Yet you took the effort to write a response with no prompting...

Refusing to opine is a legitimate response.

Re: In Japan, 'calf hair harassment' exposes gender-based appearance conflicts

#15

Post by alephnerd »

rwz wrote: post #13
alephnerd wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet you took the effort to write a response with no prompting...

Refusing to opine is a legitimate response.

Yes, but publicly stating so on an anonymous forum where no one asked or cared is just a passive aggressive form of stating an opinion.

Re: In Japan, 'calf hair harassment' exposes gender-based appearance conflicts

#16

Post by [deleted] »

layman51 wrote: post #6

I don’t have experience in Japan, but I think part of this must have to do with a double-standard in their office culture. Like maybe the women are socially required to wear pants or tights, or shave their leg hair. I get the feeling that gender norms in Japan are way more entrenched than in western countries.

[deleted]

Re: In Japan, 'calf hair harassment' exposes gender-based appearance conflicts

#17

Post by Markoff »

layman51 wrote: post #6

I don’t have experience in Japan, but I think part of this must have to do with a double-standard in their office culture. Like maybe the women are socially required to wear pants or tights, or shave their leg hair. I get the feeling that gender norms in Japan are way more entrenched than in western countries.

Asians (Japanese/Chinese) by my experience living there for years hardly grow any leg/arm hair, applies to majority of men as well (though many like to keep one long ugly hair grow out of their face)

Re: In Japan, 'calf hair harassment' exposes gender-based appearance conflicts

#18

Post by phainopepla2 »

alephnerd wrote: post #15
rwz wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Refusing to opine is a legitimate response.

Yes, but publicly stating so on an anonymous forum where no one asked or cared is just a passive aggressive form of stating an opinion.

I don't understand how you're reading my comment as passive-aggressive. Yes, I stated an opinion, but I thought it was straightforward and direct: that it's not my place to judge Japan's cultural values as an outsider. Do you think that the only acceptable opinion in a case like this is to take a side?
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