'Are you gay?'（different fashion senses: 4）

Something I find "unbearably boring" in Europe is

"Man has to be a man"

More specifically

"Man has to LOOK LIKE a man"

This notion still firmly exists
even in Western Europe

---

When I lived in London & Amsterdam,
some people "blatantly" asked me if I'm gay or not

And I'm certain
there were more people who had the same question,
yet didn't ask due to their politeness

Every time,
I smiled in my mind

Because
this was the question I'd been waiting to be asked

this was the question I was expecting much before I'd left Japan

---

Before going abroad for the first time,
I saw this kind of "advice" several times from a Japanese person;

"..........In a foreign country ( = outside East Asia),
a Japanese man could be misjudged as homosexual, due to a different beauty standard.........."

"..........Be careful not to have the same fashion style over there, if you want to avoid such a misunderstanding.........."

I didn't have any "extreme" fashion style back then

It was the same as now

But
I was 100% sure that I was having
.........am still having now.........
many "soft" traits in European standards

both appearance & behaviour wise

And I didn't really intend to change them

Therefore,
I was almost looking forwards to that question from local Europeans

We become so happy
when a predicted event happens in the predicted way

But
when actually being asked & saw their attitude,
I couldn't help but feeling;

There is almost a fear among these Europeans men to be seen as homosexual

---

I still think
a pressure of "Look like a man"
.........specifically in physical aspects.........
is far stronger in the entire Europe
than in Japan

And their concept of "Being a man" always includes a strong emphasis on one's look

Namely
"Being a man = Being tall, big & muscular"

And this boring concept produces another boring notions, such as;

Men shouldn't pay attention to their look
Men shouldn't have a long hair
Men shouldn't wear accessories
Men shouldn't wear tight-fitting clothes
Men shouldn't wear pink

.........all these absurdities

---

For a long time,
as a Japanese person,
I couldn't understand this Europeans' almost obsessive focus on one's appearance,

specifically, on one's body

Typical religious/cultural/historical approach didn't satisfy my thirst

But now,
feels more make sense, considering;

―Their fashion sense for revealing their own body, rather than hiding or decorating it

And

―Their almost unconditional trust with body & the nature

---

Then,
"Being a man" concept doesn't exist in Japan?

It exists

But
emphasising physicality, or
focusing on man's appearance, or
"macho culture"
is certainly, significantly weak in Japan

Their preference of "hiding one's body",
also the distant attitude towards the nature & body,
must contribute to this

Also, from a biological standpoint, some Japanese professor said;

".........Size difference between East Asian man's body & woman's body tends to be smaller than European's

"Thus, an emphasis on body & appearance, for differentiating a man from a woman, is not strong in East Asia"

Sounds very valid to me

In Japan
things that are usually considered "feminine" are
accepted,
well-received,
in fact, favoured

Less emphasis on male physicality
.........namely, mixing male & female.........
can be seen even in the Japanese culture

Japanese traditional play, called Kabuki;
All roles are played by men

Nation-famous musical theatre, called Takarazuka;
All roles are played by women

(*All-female theatre exists in China too, called Yue opera)

And, I firmly believe
the entire Japanese culture (and probably all kind of cultures in the world) is fundamentally driven, penetrated & dominated by female dynamism

---

"Less emphasis on physicality"

This also produces a different idea of "Being sexy"

I'm personally convinced
an idea of "Sexy" did not exist, and still do not exist in Japan

Because..........(To be continued: Next)