People who're not used to Japanese or Korean dramas/music really shouldn't harp so much on the fact that the Asian men, as opposed to their more macho Western counterparts, are a lot more at ease with displaying emotion. For example, it's perfectly fine for a male character in a drama to shed tears twice in as many episodes, if the situation is heartbreaking enough (death, desperation, the like). I can't really say this for the Koreans, knowing nearly nothing about them, but I
can tell you that the Japanese don't - or didn't - have quite the same rigid rules when it comes to masculine conduct as much of the world has.
Case in point: homosexuality. Even back in the days of feudal lords and
bushi, a man's sexual orientation was simply a matter of preference and never a sin. Some even went as far as to say that love between males,
nanshoku/shudo, was sacred. Beautiful male prostitutes were not uncommon and sometimes highly sought after. This, however, doesn't mean that pretty boys are necessarily homosexual.
Contrary to what most people think, the whole
bishonen/biseinen/bidanshi thing did
not, in fact, stem from anime-manga culture, and it definitely doesn't equal homosexuality. Japan has a historical record of its fascination with beautiful young males, the most known of which would be
Hikaru Genji, the most infamous playboy in ancient Japanese literature (Google him, you'll get tons of hits). And yes, he fooled around with truckloads of
women. The appreciation of the semi-androgynous form, an aesthetic not dissimilar to that of Renaissance angels, isn't a recent development at all, though it has become overly popularised in current times - and it most certainly does
not relate to homosexuality. I can't stress this enough.
So you see, pretty boys are not a fad, nor are they gay. Please remember that, and keep your antagonistic redneck views, if any, to yourself. Thank you.
It can be a real blast reading historical stories because of the things you learn, especially when it's made so accessible. This post has been sitting around just waiting to be published since I first read Kaze Hikaru, so it's nice to finally get it done!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
p.s.: It wasn't until Western thought penetrated Japan that homosexuality was viewed as an abnormality, which shows again how some people have the conceit to claim their opinions as fact.
p.p.s.: I think I should make a disclaimer here that I am not, in any way, endorsing homosexuality. As a matter of fact, yaoi makes me extremely uncomfortable. BUT. I don't believe in pushing personal opinions quite so far.
