Talk:Bishōnen

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[edit] Biseinen definition?

Heading added by User:Ambush Commander

I was under the impression that 'biseinen' meant a man who was attractive in a masculine way, as opposed to the bishonen, beautiful in a feminine way.

Literally, it would mean beautiful group of manga aimed at a demographic group of 18-25 (look up meaning of prefix bi and seinen, so I'm even more confused than you are. — Ambush Commander(Talk) 20:53, August 7, 2005 (UTC)

Seriously, the whole 'biseinen' and 'bishota' is a product of people who haven't lived in the Japanese language. Native Japanese SPEAKERS do NOT use the terms, as they violate the integral aesthetic context, and the Japanese women I've talked with insist on only using 'bishonen'. Age is important here--the concept that a bishonen is sexually viable but still a youth, not a married man with the responsibilities of manhood. Once a man moves into that sphere, literally with full societal manhood (producing children is part of this), different descriptions apply, even if that man is supremely attractive.

Case in point: It would be highly innappropriate to refer to Johnny Depp as bishonen, despite his popularity. There is another Japanese term for someone who is physically attractive, rather than the prefix, "bi".

--sazynska 16:44, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Edits needed

This article is skewed to a western perspective, and shows a lack of knowledge of Japanese culture relative to the rest of Asia and of Japanese/Asian aesthetics. The original writer was quite thorough with what s/he had, but lacking background for the topic beyond pop culture and sources typically available in the west.

This is an old concept, although I am not sure how long the word 'bishounen' itself has been in use.

Transliteration with a 'u' is quite proper under the Hepbern system, although in American English we tend to simplify the spellings; the 'u' letter is actually in the word in Japanese, which translates in letters to "bi sho u ne n"; however, the 'u' simply marks a long vowel, when following 'o'.

All things considered, I'm going in for an edit, here. This is my thesis topic. --sazynska 16:56, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Seconded, for what it's worth. Not only does the author use some improper definitions (a rather creative misdifining of the word which the article is about, actually, borne of American Manga pop culture more than the definition of the words in question and their meaning) but also there are some really, really bizarre editions. Ie: The Master Chief from Halo being included in the list of Bishounen. 68.96.255.13 22:05, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wrong meaning of 'fetish'?

I'm thinking the original author was intending to link to Sexual Fetishism with the reference to fetish.

Checking with the others before I edit it myself.

[edit] Book by Beckjord

Why can't he list it? Or anyone list it?

Also, why do Japanese cartoons show non-Japanese people most of the time?

Puzzled.

207.200.116.67 03:19, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] homo and hetero problems

I'm not sure most of them in reality are heterosexual is an accurate or appropriate statement capable of citation. I would say that most often the characters of shonen-ai and yaoi, the predominant areas in which bishonen appear, are in male/male relationships. Whether or not someone wants to refer to these characters' sexual identities as "homosexual" can go under dispute, but the relationships they are in are certainly not "heterosexual" in nature either.

Is this statement saying that bishonen appear most often in heterosexual situations? Can this be qualiified a little--maybe with an academic source? There has been plenty on bishonen representation.

Also, the phrase "in reality" is a little problematic, as bishonen characters exist predominantly in works of fiction.

I'm going to go ahead and rephrase the sentence, but if these questions can be accurately answered please feel free to re-alter.

[edit] why does this article exist?

the encylopedia brittanica doesn't have any retarded blatherings about faggy anime characters. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.19.14.15 (talk) 19:35, 14 December 2006 (UTC).

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