Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
Note: Due to the subject matter, I'll admit that I've not exactly researched this subject extensively (because quite honestly, it's hard to find objective coverage of this that doesn't celebrate it), and a lot of it is based on observations. I'd be interested in objective research into this topic, not from a fan's point of view, but an actual study of it from a sociological perspective.
I ask that you use your best judgment when posting any pictures, and only post what is necessary to get your point across, not because it's funny and/or shocking. Probably a good idea to post links instead of the picture directly, and warn of objectionable material.
I'm not exactly sure how to correctly use the terms, but basically, I'm referencing to the overabundance of media, mainly Japanese, which involves rather young looking female characters, sometimes male (although this happens less, and I don't find it as widespread an issue since men aren't regularly objectified like women), that are characteristically drawn with proportions that bring to mind a young girl. Yes, I know not everything that comes out of Japan is like this, but it seems to me like their media is saturated enough by this style that I find it worthy to note. Now, not every show featuring young girls of course I have an issue with---I'm sure there are plenty of shows featuring girls for girls, but in my experience, the overabundance of Japanese media featuring young girls seems to be made in mind to cater to older, usually male, fans.
Although everything can and will be a fetish, I've started to wonder how much of this can simply be attributed to creepy fans, and how much of it is an actual problem with the media itself, and what is the intent of the people who create this media. Now, of course as people are quick to tell me, women are involved, but often this is in a minor role---the person who draws the characters, but doesn't actually decide on how they'll look or who they'll appeal to, or the voice-actors, likely just seeing these works as another way to make a quick buck. It seems to me that men are often the creative heads on these series, and I find that quite weird. Now, men and women can of course write characters of the other gender, but it bothers me how these shows that try and masquerade as being "relatable stories about girls" are rarely actually written by women who experienced that, bar that one Watamote show. And that makes me question their intent. Are they made to help men relate better to women? Or are they just pandering to a large niche of Japan who eats up this stuff and buys merchandise featuring cute girls?
You know, it's not that I really have an issue with people enjoying this type of media. What bothers me, though, is how there seems to be a weird disconnect, an inability to look at what they're consuming critically beyond "is this good or bad media?", or even understand while others not involved in this niche might find it off-putting and creepy. Now, this isn't limited to fans of this media---yes, you can find oblivious fans of anything, but it certainly seems to occur constantly to the point I definitely think the media itself is part of the problem, and not just a subsection of fans.
Whenever I express my dislike in this art-style, or point out how I find it creepy and a bit gross, I've found that very rarely do the people I talk to actually engage in a discussion about why the art style is like this in the first place, like they either ignore the fact the characters are all little girls, or just go "what's wrong with little girls?" Often, a variety of common excuses and counterpoints are raised, the most common being:
* I like the gameplay/story: This is the most common one I see, and often it still leaves me asking "why"? There are thousands of television shows and video-games out there right at your fingertips, why do you specifically seem to move towards media where the characters are young girls? Now, with games especially, I got to wonder how wonderfully fun and unique these games are, and what niche they fill that a game with a less creepy art-style couldn't accomplish. Recently, I was introduced to that Kantai Collection series---it's a popular game, but the designs bug me. One of the main characters, seen on the Wikipedia page, is an anthropomorphic ship that's a young girl wearing a low skirt with her thong sticking out, and I'm like, why was this necessary? It's apparently popular among "ship otaku", but there are plenty of media for you to consume out there that presents the subject in an interesting manner without having to turn it into a sexually-charged little girl.
* You're the one sexualizing them!: The second most common reply, and in my opinion equivalent to the people who play "you're the real sexist/racist" card. Just because I find a design to be creepy and sexualized, does not make me the bad guy. I consider myself an intelligent person somewhat, and I think I can more or less tell when a design has elements that are pandering and sexualized. A character does not have to be literally naked to be sexualized, clothing, pose, expression, all this can contribute to a character that comes across as objectionable. And I am not slut-shaming when I criticize the outfit or design of said character, because they are not a rational individual who chose to wear that, they are a caricature of a female drawn by someone, so they cannot be "shamed" for what they're wearing.
* Ethnocentrism: Another explanation I've seen people pull is, that a Westerner, I'm being ethnocentric for finding these designs gross, but this I think ignores the fact that no matter how prominent this culture is on the internet, it is still a niche part of Japanese society, a large niche however, and represents nothing about the inherent culture of Japan. Furthermore, as any basic Sociology 101 course will tell you, you're never supposed to treat ethnocentrism as a "Get out of Jail Free" card for another culture. This often goes hand-in-hand with explanations that the characters aren't meant to resemble little girls, that's just because Japanese girls look younger, or that cute characters are a part of Japanese culture, but I find there to be a difference between stuff like Pikachu and Doraemon, with universal appeal, and the niche cute characters like all the "Tans", or what have you.
To sum it up, I guess whenever I have a discussion with people about this stuff, I always come out of it feeling like I'm somehow in the wrong, that I'm being prudish, and it sort of bugs me, because I think this is something that needs to be seriously discussed, but discussions about it always seem to either derail into people just posting the grossest images they can find, or just laughing it off. But it seems there's never any real introspection, perhaps on either side, or examination of why this media that often has unrealistic, idealistic in a sense portrayals of young women made for the consumption of men like commodities, and that it may be contributing to the wide disparity between men and women in Japan, and by extension, the treatment of women on the Internet where this media has taken over every nook and cranny.
I ask that you use your best judgment when posting any pictures, and only post what is necessary to get your point across, not because it's funny and/or shocking. Probably a good idea to post links instead of the picture directly, and warn of objectionable material.
I'm not exactly sure how to correctly use the terms, but basically, I'm referencing to the overabundance of media, mainly Japanese, which involves rather young looking female characters, sometimes male (although this happens less, and I don't find it as widespread an issue since men aren't regularly objectified like women), that are characteristically drawn with proportions that bring to mind a young girl. Yes, I know not everything that comes out of Japan is like this, but it seems to me like their media is saturated enough by this style that I find it worthy to note. Now, not every show featuring young girls of course I have an issue with---I'm sure there are plenty of shows featuring girls for girls, but in my experience, the overabundance of Japanese media featuring young girls seems to be made in mind to cater to older, usually male, fans.
Although everything can and will be a fetish, I've started to wonder how much of this can simply be attributed to creepy fans, and how much of it is an actual problem with the media itself, and what is the intent of the people who create this media. Now, of course as people are quick to tell me, women are involved, but often this is in a minor role---the person who draws the characters, but doesn't actually decide on how they'll look or who they'll appeal to, or the voice-actors, likely just seeing these works as another way to make a quick buck. It seems to me that men are often the creative heads on these series, and I find that quite weird. Now, men and women can of course write characters of the other gender, but it bothers me how these shows that try and masquerade as being "relatable stories about girls" are rarely actually written by women who experienced that, bar that one Watamote show. And that makes me question their intent. Are they made to help men relate better to women? Or are they just pandering to a large niche of Japan who eats up this stuff and buys merchandise featuring cute girls?
You know, it's not that I really have an issue with people enjoying this type of media. What bothers me, though, is how there seems to be a weird disconnect, an inability to look at what they're consuming critically beyond "is this good or bad media?", or even understand while others not involved in this niche might find it off-putting and creepy. Now, this isn't limited to fans of this media---yes, you can find oblivious fans of anything, but it certainly seems to occur constantly to the point I definitely think the media itself is part of the problem, and not just a subsection of fans.
Whenever I express my dislike in this art-style, or point out how I find it creepy and a bit gross, I've found that very rarely do the people I talk to actually engage in a discussion about why the art style is like this in the first place, like they either ignore the fact the characters are all little girls, or just go "what's wrong with little girls?" Often, a variety of common excuses and counterpoints are raised, the most common being:
* I like the gameplay/story: This is the most common one I see, and often it still leaves me asking "why"? There are thousands of television shows and video-games out there right at your fingertips, why do you specifically seem to move towards media where the characters are young girls? Now, with games especially, I got to wonder how wonderfully fun and unique these games are, and what niche they fill that a game with a less creepy art-style couldn't accomplish. Recently, I was introduced to that Kantai Collection series---it's a popular game, but the designs bug me. One of the main characters, seen on the Wikipedia page, is an anthropomorphic ship that's a young girl wearing a low skirt with her thong sticking out, and I'm like, why was this necessary? It's apparently popular among "ship otaku", but there are plenty of media for you to consume out there that presents the subject in an interesting manner without having to turn it into a sexually-charged little girl.
* You're the one sexualizing them!: The second most common reply, and in my opinion equivalent to the people who play "you're the real sexist/racist" card. Just because I find a design to be creepy and sexualized, does not make me the bad guy. I consider myself an intelligent person somewhat, and I think I can more or less tell when a design has elements that are pandering and sexualized. A character does not have to be literally naked to be sexualized, clothing, pose, expression, all this can contribute to a character that comes across as objectionable. And I am not slut-shaming when I criticize the outfit or design of said character, because they are not a rational individual who chose to wear that, they are a caricature of a female drawn by someone, so they cannot be "shamed" for what they're wearing.
* Ethnocentrism: Another explanation I've seen people pull is, that a Westerner, I'm being ethnocentric for finding these designs gross, but this I think ignores the fact that no matter how prominent this culture is on the internet, it is still a niche part of Japanese society, a large niche however, and represents nothing about the inherent culture of Japan. Furthermore, as any basic Sociology 101 course will tell you, you're never supposed to treat ethnocentrism as a "Get out of Jail Free" card for another culture. This often goes hand-in-hand with explanations that the characters aren't meant to resemble little girls, that's just because Japanese girls look younger, or that cute characters are a part of Japanese culture, but I find there to be a difference between stuff like Pikachu and Doraemon, with universal appeal, and the niche cute characters like all the "Tans", or what have you.
To sum it up, I guess whenever I have a discussion with people about this stuff, I always come out of it feeling like I'm somehow in the wrong, that I'm being prudish, and it sort of bugs me, because I think this is something that needs to be seriously discussed, but discussions about it always seem to either derail into people just posting the grossest images they can find, or just laughing it off. But it seems there's never any real introspection, perhaps on either side, or examination of why this media that often has unrealistic, idealistic in a sense portrayals of young women made for the consumption of men like commodities, and that it may be contributing to the wide disparity between men and women in Japan, and by extension, the treatment of women on the Internet where this media has taken over every nook and cranny.
