PART 1 — Introduction

With the growing popularity of groups such as BTS, it would seem, at least on the surface, that Kpop is the long awaited answer in fighting western emasculation and erasure of Asian men in the media. However, there also exists an ongoing debate as to just how much Kpop’s boy bands actually help in battling western emasculation or on the contrary, how much they may even reinforce negative stereotypes of Asian men. While it can’t be denied that Kpop’s catchy tunes have been able to captivate many worldwide, the question as to whether the presentation of many of the boy bands in terms of dress and style does more harm to Asian men’s image remains.

To start off, much of the debate is rested on the topic of masculinity. We have already discussed in our previous article the fact that the west does not own masculinity and that traditional masculinity had been an inherent trait within Asian culture long before Asia made any contact with the west. To develop the notion further, one would only have to take a look at older Asian male actors who became famous for their good looks prior to the popularization of the “flower boy”. One could see that Kpop’s current fashion statement was not always the prevalent style among men considered handsome.

So how and why do Kpop boy bands look the way they do when previous generations of Asian male celebrities were, for the most part, traditionally masculine? In our previous article, we’ve explored several factors that could have led up to the popularization of the flower boy style. However, startling new discoveries had since been made to uncover clues as to what begun the more effeminate fashion statement among many of Asia’s young men.

Johnny Kitagawa

Long before the rise of Kpop’s boy bands, Japanese boy bands once took center stage in Asia. Like Kpop’s manner of presentation, these bands often portrayed an effeminate image via clothing style, make-up and hairstyles. Many of these bands were owned by Johnny & Associates; a production agency led and founded by Johnny Hiromu Kitagawa. Kitagawa’s influence over the Japanese entertainment industry was phenomenal due to the fact that he held a monopoly over the creation of Japanese boy bands for more than 40 years.

Moreover, it has also been speculated that Kitagawa’s influence may even reach beyond just simply the entertainment industry. In 1988, Koji Kita, a member of one of Kitagawa’s bands, came forward about Kitagawa’s abusing of his position to make unwanted sexual advances upon the boys in the bands. Later in 1996, more performers came forward to state similar allegations. What was intriguing, however, was despite Kitagawa’s fame and popularity, there was almost no mention of it in the press. From “Secrets, sex, and spectacle: the rules of scandal in Japan and the United States”, by Mark D. West, West commented that it wasn’t due to the Japanese shying away from pedophilia stories since there were numerous articles covering Michael Jackson’s cases. But for some peculiar reason, Kitagawa’s cases were almost entirely ignored.

from “Secrets, sex, and spectacle: the rules of scandal in Japan and the United States”, by Mark D. West

But who exactly was Kitagawa? What do we know about him as a person? According to Shuto Yoshiki, a writer for Japan’s Foreign Policy Forum, “Johnny Kitagawa was born in Los Angeles in 1931 as a Japanese-American bearing a US passport. Following the Korean war he moved to Japan where he lived in a single-room apartment on the fourth floor of a lodging house within Washington Heights (later the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center accommodation block). While there, he worked as a member of staff at the American Embassy Military Assistance Advisory Group”.

The takeaway here is that Kitagawa was a Japanese-American who had worked for the United States government. Yoshiki also noted that “in fact, it was America that gave birth to the Johnnies”, because Kitagawa’s first contact with young Japanese boys was at a site owned and operated by the United States government; Washington Heights.

Not only is this fact essential to proving that the birth of the “flower boy” was not something that naturally came from Asian culture, but that there could potentially be something or someone insidious, perhaps even sinister, who was behind the popularization of the flower boy in Asian media. This is especially the case when taking into account the fact that the United States government was involved. As a result, the question isn’t whether the U.S. government played a role in pushing the emasculating style onto young Asian men. Rather, the question that should be asked is how big of a role did it play in pushing the style and how big of a role did it play in potentially brainwashing many young Asian men and women to embrace the style as attractive? Judging from how the Japanese press were kept eerily silent on Kitagawa’s crimes, the assumption would be that the U.S. government’s involvement was, perhaps, not insignificant.

But how would the west benefit from going out of its way to promote a grotesque fashion sense among Asians, particularly Asian men? The influence of soft power can’t be underestimated. By bolstering a style that has tremendous emasculatory effects on Asian men, Asia’s soft power can be weakened and respect for the continent and its people as a whole will be decreased. In the meantime, the west remains the epitome of beauty, reason, culture and prestige in which it can easily use to wield undue influence over other countries.

Effeminacy in men — not an inherent part of Asian culture

Besides Kitagawa, there were numerous factors that could have contributed to the effeminate dress style seen today in many of East Asia’s young men. Some of these factors may include influences from the west:

…the current popularity of these images of masculine beauty also reflects the influence of the metrosexual trend from the West.

Other signs that pointed towards the notion that effeminacy in men in Asia was a foreign (or at least, niche) concept until recently also consists of the fact that much of the bishounen subculture originated from anime or manga; a genre that is not without western influence. Likewise, even outside of pop boy band culture, other Asian musicians of various music genres, such as visual kei, were also inspired by western glam metal bands such as Kiss and Twisted Sister.

It is also worth mentioning that WWII sparked many changes to Japanese women’s criteria for potential male partners. After Japanese women were able to work outside of the homes and became more financially independent, concepts such as “financial stability”, “bravery,” and “chivalry” that were once treasured so highly in Japanese men were no longer upheld as necessary requirements for male partners. On the contrary, factors such as “kindness”, “sensitivity”, and “appearance” became more emphasized. Prior to WWII, however, bravery and chivalry were the leading attributes considered attractive in men in Japan, thereby demonstrating that male effeminacy was never regarded as respectable traits in older Japan (or Asia).

Portrait of Yamaoka Tesshu, a samurai during the Edo period’s final years. Note the lack of effeminacy in his features.

Further proof that traditional masculinity was the default norm among East Asian societies was documented by older men in China lamenting that their grandsons were much less masculine than they were at their age. Some have speculated that this was due to parents’ over-indulgence of their only child because of the One-child policy in countries like China while others believed that placing too much pressure to do well in school was related to the cause. No matter the reason for it, it is evident that the “new” form of masculinity is an alien notion to many older Asian men in previous generations.

Likewise, in South Korea, the emergence of kkonminam (translates to “flower boy”) was linked to the rise of yaoi genre of comics after 1998 when there was a lift on the ban of Japanese pop culture. It can then be concluded that the kkonminam is certainly a recent trend and was never originally part of Korean culture. There had also been discussions regarding the rise of kkonminam as being caused by Korean women’s desire to “conform to an ideal, surgically enhanced beauty”, which then induced them to “turn away from the traditional male role model, towards a man who now understands, and may even to some extent share, the beauty burden".

Although one could argue that Japanese comics and animation were widely available in South Korea before the ban on Japanese popular culture was lifted, it is in fact difficult to find signs of the kkonminam trend prior to 1998.

However, what is interesting to note is that despite speculations that Korean women’s change in preferences may have contributed to the rise of kkonminam, it has also been documented that many Korean women are now, in fact, turning their backs against this trend. One particular website contained millions of comments from Korean fans who are now starting to complain that Kpop idols are dressing too effeminately and acting too girly.

It is ironic that even though the phenomenon may have arisen at least partially out of working women’s disillusionment with traditional male roles and that today’s young girls prefer a softer, less sexist male figure, these can hardly be seen as triumphs for women.

So while many researchers theorize that Asian women’s changes in what they considered desirable in male partners may have contributed to the rise of effeminate trends among men, other research have shown that some, if not many, Asian women (or at least in South Korea) are starting to find the trend unattractive.

Nonetheless, regardless of the reasoning behind the sudden popularization of kkonminam, what was certain was that prior to it, traditional masculinity was the norm for the nation.

The face of male beauty is changing in South Korea. While masculinity has long been a prized trait in the nation’s traditional and highly patriarchal society, thanks to the latest generation of K-pop stars and celebrities, the husky, angular leading men of South Korean dramas from the 1990s and 2000s have been replaced by a new male ideal: the “pretty boy”.

This alone disproves opposing ideas that traditional masculinity only belonged to the west. As a matter of fact, many Korean men were subjugated to plastic surgery to alter their natural, rugged features in order to fit into what is considered “pretty” enough to be in a Kpop group.

Debunking alternative masculinity

● Why do the women promoting alternative masculinity for Asian men happen to be Asian women? Why do these same Asian women…

1. avoid Asian men2.

only tell Asian men to embrace “alternative masculinity”

3. have only non-Asian partners (who often also hate Asian men)

4.

only pursue men with traditional masculinity5.

have a fetish for and/or are influenced by yaoi6. or, identify as asexual or a lesbian?



● If alternative masculinity is so great for Asian men then why aren’t Asian women embracing alternative femininity? If Asian men are accused of being “toxic” for sticking to traditional masculinity, then by that logic, women who stick to only one type of femininity are also toxic.

● By this same argument, femininity in Asia would also be a “western construct.” Being thin, having good skin and having dainty features would also be seen as “toxic femininity.” After all, if Asian men’s pursuit of traditional masculinity is considered going against “our” culture, then likewise, Asian women who pursue traditional femininity should also be seen as self-hating and going against Asian culture. If the argument that Asian men should embrace alternative masculinity to show respect for Asian tradition is valid, then Asian women should embrace alternative femininity by shaving their heads, putting on intimidating amounts of weight, and growing robust beards.

Some Asian men (particularly those who follow the flower boy ideal) occupy the most extreme feminine end along the spectrum of masculinity, relatively speaking, in looks, dress, mannerisms, and general behavior. But women want masculine men, not a feminine companion. The feminine male archetype may work in a society where such standards are the norm. However, this archetype invites failure everywhere else, where traditional masculinity is emphasized.

Sessue Hayakawa was one of Hollywood’s first male sex symbols despite being Asian. Note the lack of make-up and/or plastic surgery to alter his natural looks. This is how many, if not most, Asian men would appear without shaving their jaws or putting on excessive amount of make-up or getting a bowlcut and dying it pink.

“Western” masculinity is not real

Every group wants the same masculinity, including East Asians, until very recently. We’ll get to that soon enough.

Being physically fit doesn’t belong to westerners. To believe this is a symptom of mental colonization. Are effeminate, nerdy, and scrawny white men pursuing “eastern” masculinity? Of course not. It is absurd to even suggest such a thing.

Even if “Western” masculinity were real, the conclusion is no different.

If the erroneous belief that “Western” masculinity were true, the solution is still the same.

Traditional masculinity works everywhere. It is the most successful style. This is not to reference Caucasoid features but merely universally celebrated traits such as strength, physicality, and dominance.

If this is what works then we should adopt it.

Denying this by proclaiming “You’re a self hater! You’re a race traitor! I’m a proud East Asian who is true to my ‘Eastern masculinity’!” does the community more harm than good. The following case is illuminating.

Industrialization: A case study of Japan (successful adoption) vs China (unsuccessful denial)

Western imperialists invaded both countries. One of them survived and became a formidable competitor against westerners. The other, who was much larger and traditionally stronger, was crushed and suffered for 100 years.

Japan recognized the futility of denial. They chose to learn and emulate the best parts of western science, military strategy and tactics. They prospered..at least for a while.

China rejected western science out of pride. The Chinese wanted to maintain their culture but sadly paid the price via the humbling of the entire nation.

Today, the Asian community, especially in the west, is currently undergoing that same degradation. Instead of losing to western guns, the community is losing to western psychological weapons that include racist media, peer pressure, bullying, racist stereotypes, and discrimination.

East Asian self-proclaimed “cultural purists” may defend effeminacy. But it is important to note the ironic circumstances in which they defend it in. These circumstances include but are not limited to the fact that white men fare better in terms of sex, dating and the marriage market for decades.

This is why it is important to learn from history and adapt rather than repeat the same mistakes our ancestors once made. While our ancestors, no doubt, deserved respect for the dignity they displayed in holding onto their culture, there is such a thing as too much ego being harmful.

Moreover, whites and other non-Asians do not waste time debating whether an idea that benefits them is Eastern. Other groups simply adopt what works. Look at the Chinese government examinations. The examinations were used to recruit people based on meritocracy. It was a revolutionary concept that Europe copied to replace their inferior method of selecting “royal blood”. Similarly, China eventually adopted western science later on as well. But this was after seeing the harm brought upon the nation from choosing ego over choosing what works. The message to be learned from this is that the longer the needed change is delayed, the more detrimental it will be for the community.

Why did masculinity in East Asia transform from “traditional” to “alternative” eg effeminate. Hint: Johnny Kitagawa

See introduction as well as the last section for more details.