Men and femininity in Japanese culture: tradition and modernity
Feminist theory has questioned the nature of ascriptive categories such as masculinity and femininity. Gender history and anthropology, in its turn, on the example of studying of different cultures, confirmed the theoretical conjectures using specific sources. Especially strongly stereotypes of masculinity and femininity are displayed in the investigation of phenomena, which is not specific to European culture. Such phenomenon in Japanese culture is the usage of feminine gender display by men. At the same time a men who are using feminine gender display does not necessarily perceived as a representative of queer culture. While in Western culture using feminine gender display by men not only causes decrease in social status, but also the loss of male identity, as well as bring on traditionally negative ratio on the part of both men and women. In Japanese culture, there is a long tradition which legitimizes the usage of the feminine gender display by men. Firstly gynocentric influence of the Heian period culture with specific notions of beauty as an absolute standing beyond gender categories played its role. In general it has led to the fact that the Japanese masculinity is softer, more "feminine" in comparison with the European one. Secondly the practicees of "syudo" in the samurai class and "tyudo" among the monks which have not defined as "homosexual" and were the norm of social life, led to the fact that young men longed to be attractive to older companions (to raise their status hereinafter). Thirdly a big role was played by the tradition of medieval Japanese kabuki theater, in which women's roles were played by young men. Growth of popularity of the theater and the profession of the actor in the Meiji period made actors honorable members of society. Kabuki actors had great success among women. Currently, in the media and popular culture, there are many areas, the central figure of which are men who are realizing the feminine gender display. There are such images in manga, anime, dramas (where the central theme is gender masquerade), music (visual kei style) and everyday life (she-men or otoko-no-ko culture). The Japanese men who are using the feminine gender display for work or hobby are generally very popular among the girls (who are the main visitors of such thematic cafes). It shows that these men do not lose their gender identity, as well as the usage of the feminine gender display doesn't lower their social status.