June 30, 2004
Japanese Imports – Millennium Style
Japan has long been known for its gender bending. In Kabuki theater, men known as onnagata play all the female roles. And apparently the word “skebe,” what I would define as “sexually weird or perverse” has made it into the vernacular of pop American culture. I’ve heard it casually dropped by “gaijin” on a couple of different occasions.
Today’s LA Times has an article with the intriguing title “Young Men in Love.” It’s about Yaoi, Japanese manga-type animation that depicts exactly that – men getting romantic with other men.
Yaoi started in Japan in the ‘70’s and is catching on quickly in the States. It will be prominently featured at this weekend’s Anime Expo in Anaheim. Says a distributor, “When we ask fans what type of titles they’re interested in having us bring over, yaoi titles are always at the top of the list.” Some yaoi just hint at gay sex but others are blatant pornography.
According to the article:
- Why yaoi has become so popular is the subject of considerable debate. The beautiful, androgynous young men of yaoi fiction, with their long hair, long limbs and slender, hairless bodies contrast sharply with the stern, muscular, short-haired males in men’s manga, many of whom are sadistic or misogynistic by Western standards. Some cultural observers argue these stories allow Japanese women to escape the bonds of a society that restricts them.
(According to) The Comprehensive International Encyclopedia of Sexuality, yaoi “explores female views of masculinity and of the male body in way that do not degrade or threaten the female viewer and which allow her to focus enthusiastically and openly on all the sexual-romantic things that men do.” Said another, “The teenage girls that I run into think these guys are hot.” They’re comfortable with them because they’re not macho. In my opinion, yaoi isn’t really about guys getting together. It’s meant to portray relationships that are hetereosexual at their foundation.
Call it “skebe” if you must. But I think it’s time the ladies had their due.
Posted by dmorse at June 30, 2004 05:12 PM