Margaret Mead Japan China Religie en seks Moral panics Seks en robots Seksuele ontwikkeling Seksualisering Leeftijdverschillen Geweld en misbruik Consent Sexting Prostitutie Pornografie"The “Romance Gray” phenomenon was a news media and entertainment topic for nearly two years. The boom itself reached its peak in 1955/56 and then began petering out as the economy picked up speed and the incomes of both young men and non-public women continued to rise. The custom for older men to liaison with younger women, from both the entertainment trade and regular business, did not disappear, however." Boyé Lafayette DE MENTE - Sex and the Japanese - The sensual side of Japan, p. 42
Boyé Lafayette DE MENTE[Oppervlakkig verhaaltje.]
"Throughout their history, Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious have obsessively dwelt on the theme that human sexuality is another word for sin and evil, and that women, because they are more sexual than men, must be repressed to keep their sexuality under control."(10)
"The social system fashioned by the Japanese was based on their observations of real life, of nature in all of its diversity, rather than on an abstract theology that treated men—and especially women—as puppets on strings, born with an overload of crushing guilt.
But it was not until recent decades that Japanese women as well as men became free to take advantage of this enlightened attitude toward sex—and the United States was to play a vital role in this fundamental change in male-female relations in Japan." [mijn nadruk] (11)
[Pardon? Uitleg blijft uit.]
"Be that as it may, the legacy that Shintoism bequeathed to Japan played a central role in the overall sexual attitudes and practices shaping the traditional culture of the country, and set the stage for what an unenlightened Western visitor in the 1600s described as “an orgy of licentious behavior from one end of the country to the other.”"(14)
"These learned philosophers recognized that failure to engage in sexual activity on a regular basis results in the buildup of a kind of sexual energy that very quickly has a negative effect, both mentally and physically. If unrelieved, said the Daoists, this energy-overload brings on a variety of illnesses, ranging from headaches to hysteria, and also causes a great deal of the mental and physical violence that human beings inflict upon each other."(14)
"Of course, this new wrinkle in Daoism was not sanctioned for all Japanese. It was primarily the prerogative of those in power who, after all, were the ones with the time and means to enjoy such healthy measures.
Still, the concept spread far and wide and became woven into the fabric of Japanese culture. Along with Shintoism, it was to underpin the sexual mores of the ruling shoguns, provincial fief lords, and the large samurai warrior class during the long feudal period from A.D. 1192 to 1868."(16)
"The Edo period also saw the rise of the geisha, the heyday of sanctioned red-light districts (the “floating worlds” of Japanese literature), hot baths featuring the sensual services of young women, and a vast national network of inns that also functioned as houses of assignation.
Perhaps the best-known of the institutionalized purveyors of sensual pleasure were the geisha, who began as part entertainers, part prostitutes, and never escaped the reputation, whether deserved or not." [mijn nadruk] (17)
[Dat lijkt me onjuist. Maar de zin is zo vaag als wat.]
"All geisha were sexually available to patrons in one way or another, but generally speaking, the higher class geisha did not work on a nightly or regular basis as prostitutes. They were expected to develop intimate relationships with favored patrons, however, and might have several in serial fashion. Less attractive geisha were often forced into semi-prostitution by their masters."(18)
[Allemaal beweringen, geen bronnen.]
"But it was the great red-light districts of the Edo period that set the tone for much of urban life in Japan from the late 1600s until the 1950s. Every town and city had one or more pleasure quarters. The most famous of all was Tokyo’s Yoshiwara, which was known as the “Nightless City,” and was the impetus and center for much of the cultural activity that flourished during this period."(18)
"Thus it came about that Japan, with its geisha, red-light districts, and extraordinary system of travelers’ inns, came closer perhaps than any other country to providing sanctioned, institutionalized sexual outlets for a big percentage of its male population.
Of course, this was a system based absolutely on the chauvinistic attitude that men have sexual needs and women do not—or at least that the needs of women are not important enough to be given serious consideration."(21)
"Apparently it was not only the exotic appearance and size of the foreign men that fascinated the Japanese women. The women were also attracted by the courtly, romantic behavior of the foreigners toward upperclass women—something they had never experienced or witnessed in their relations with Japanese men."(26)
"Fortunately for Japan, the “winning lord” was the United States—a country whose people had absolutely no affinity for war or the strict military occupation of an alien nation, especially one of which they knew virtually nothing, and whose people they could not communicate with or understand.
But what the Americans did have was a built-in compassion for people that surfaced almost immediately—an ability to quickly distinguish between the innocent civilian population of Japan and the arrogant military warlords who had started and pursued the war, and an inherent kindness that compelled them to begin immediately to treat the ordinary Japanese as victims who needed all the help they could get." [mijn nadruk] (29)
[De auteur is waarschijnlijk zelf Amerikaans? Even gezocht: "Boyé Lafayette De Mente (November 12, 1928 – May 12, 2017) was an American author, journalist, and adventurer who wrote more than 100 books mainly related to the culture of Japan and the Japanese language." Inderdaad. Dat moest wel zo zijn. Wat een gemakkelijke positieve oordelen over de VS. ]
"The war had also reduced most Japanese to living at a bare subsistence level, and the younger, more attractive women learned quickly that the foreign GIS, especially the always generous Americans, would shower them with food, clothing, money, and other amenities in exchange for sex and female companionship." [mijn nadruk] (30)
[Ja, ze waren ook erg gul met atoombommen.]
"Stories about this mass meeting and mating of hundreds of thousands of American GIS and officers and Japanese women are endless."(33)
"The political reforms imposed on Japan by the Americanled Occupation Forces included freeing women from the tyranny of the Confucian family system and giving them the right to exercise more control over their own lives.
This, combined with the fact that the old male-dominated order in Japan had been totally discredited by the disastrous war and the fact that women were forced by necessity to play a key role in the recovery of Japan, laid the foundation for the rise in women’s social, economic, and political status to levels previously not even imaginable."(37)
[We moeten de Amerikanen dankbaar zijn dat ze de Amerikaanse cultuur naar Japan hebben gebracht. :-( ]
"Even after Japanese men began picking up on the practice of dating “non-public” women in public, it was generally not the younger men as would normally be expected, but older married men—men who were in their 50s, 60s, and older.
The reason for this was very simple, very basic. Most young men, whether single or not, did not have the money to take women out to restaurants, theaters, resort inns, or other places where there was cost involved.
This phenomenon of young girls dating older men reached its peak in the mid–1950s, resulting in reams of newspaper and magazine hype and numerous movies with a “Romance Gray” theme, in reference to the fact that the men involved in these hundreds of thousands of liaisons were gray-haired. That was a golden time for older men with money in Japan!
And it was not only older Japanese men who created and took advantage of this sex-with-young women boom. Foreign men in fact were in the vanguard of the phenomenon." [mijn nadruk] (40)
"The “Romance Gray” phenomenon was a news media and entertainment topic for nearly two years. The boom itself reached its peak in 1955/56 and then began petering out as the economy picked up speed and the incomes of both young men and non-public women continued to rise. The custom for older men to liaison with younger women, from both the entertainment trade and regular business, did not disappear, however." [mijn nadruk] (42)
"Soon after Japan regained its sovereignty in the spring of 1952 various women’s groups began to lobby for the elimination of all legal and illegal red-light districts in the country.
A number of women who were elected to the Diet (also for the first time in Japan’s modern history) were among the chief spokespeople for this campaign. One of their points was that Japan’s image in the eyes of the civilized world was being damaged by the fact that prostitution was legal in the country, and that many women were more or less treated like slaves.(...) A law was passed banning the practice of organized prostitution. The law went into effect on April 1, 1956, with a one-year grace period for all the people in the prostitution business to get out of it."(43)
[Christelijke invloeden?]
"With their tiny homes, one-room apartments, and small jampacked offices, the Japanese—except for wives with children and elderly people—spent a significant portion of their waking hours in coffee shops."(46)
"In later years, coffee shops offering private bedrooms to couples also appeared on the scene.
Along with this network of coffee shops, a type of “shorttime” and over-night hotels, called “lov-tels” by the press (known today as “love hotels”), began appearing by the thousands."(46)
"As the whole social scene in Japan continued to metamorphose, young unmarried couples also began utilizing lov-tels, as did husbands and wives who had no privacy in homes or apartments shared with grandparents and children."(47)
"Another institution in Japan that had its roots in the ancient past, died down during the war years and then came back with a vengeance during Japan’s economic recovery, was the combination hot bath/massage parlor. There are several hundreds of them in Tokyo alone."(48)
[De "soaplands".]
"Each room is staffed by a female attendant (sometimes two) who steams, scrubs down, then massages the customer. The massage, often just perfunctory, generally leads to sexual services."(48)
"The institution of the geisha still exists in Japan, and they are still patronized almost exclusively by leading politicians and businessmen (no one else can afford the cost). But their numbers have dwindled down to a few thousand. While there were dozens of famed geisha districts in Tokyo alone as recently as the 1960s, there are now just a few remaining." [mijn nadruk] (50)
"More importantly, however, given their sexual attitudes and customs, the Japanese did not look upon sexually explicit printed or carved materials as sinful or sleazy or dehumanizing or demeaning. They were generally not spread out on the tea table for visitors to admire (or be shocked at), but they too had their place."(51)
"Perhaps the most interesting aspect of porn in Japan is that the people who buy it read it in public on buses, subways and trains, in coffee shops, snack bars, and elsewhere. Boys and men who read it in such public places make little or no effort to conceal it from the view of others."(52)
[Akelig traditionele rolverdeling nog steeds: mannen houden van seks en vrouwen...]
"The reason why the comic-book characters were made to look so young is that Japanese men are fascinated by girls with baby faces who look and act infantile, and use them in their sexual fantasies as well as their business advertising." [mijn nadruk] (53)
[Ugh... ]
"Looked at in the overall context of love and sex in Japan, the part that concerns me is the sadistic content of a great deal of it and what it might mean for Japanese women. At the same time, Japanese women themselves have not been overlooked as sexual consumers."(54)
"Since the male-oriented society of Japan has always distinguished between the sexes, with women treated as sex objects on the one hand and as the epitome of femininity and virginity on the other, male magazine publishers wanting to tap the rich female market simply adopted an educational approach.
By assuming the stance that Japanese women knew nothing about sex, and taking the high road that sex education was essential for them to become complete women, they justified a whole slew of magazines that both educate and titillate, to a degree that non-Japanese tend to regard as over-kill."(55)
"residue of the ancient myth, accepted by both men and women, that Japanese women are superior to other women and at the same time are so pure they know nothing of worldly things.
This attitude is often especially conspicuous where sex is concerned, when the contradiction between reality and myth is so direct, so overwhelming, it becomes ludicrous (to a Westerner). As when a young, sweet, charming girl will behave with absolutely angelic innocence, and then prove to be a master lover only moments later."(57)
[Een ongeloofwaardig verhaal over naaktheid en seks op tv. Dat is allang achterhaald. Als het al ooit zo was.]
"During those years my circle of acquaintances and friends included some of the most sexually aggressive foreigners in Japan. The behavior of some of them was outrageous, but few of them did anything to anyone who did not knowingly put themselves in an intimate situation where the result was a foregone conclusion."(68)
[O, gefeliciteerd. Ja, die vreemdelingen toch. ]
"The feeling of uniqueness that has been characteristic of both Japanese men and women since ancient times is still very strong. At the same time, there is a growing desire to be less Japanese in the narrow, negative sense—to prove to themselves and others that they are the equal of and acceptable to people outside of Japan. The strongest way these feelings can be expressed is often sexual." [mijn nadruk] (72)
[Ja, hoor. ]
"There is one other important area of sex in Japan that I have not touched upon at all. Namely, the hundreds of thousands of Japanese wives, particularly those in their 30s and 40s, whose husbands are stationed away from home by their companies or who follow the traditional custom of leaving their wives pretty much alone and having most of their sexual recreation outside the home."(72)
"In the 1970s this situation saw the appearance of male-host bars and clubs that catered to married women of all ages. Many of the matron patrons of these places were well-to-do, and showered their host paramours with money, expensive clothing and trips abroad.
Still today, rumor has it that wives trysting with lovers are so common one can hardly shake a love hotel or hot spring resort inn without dozens of them tumbling out of bed. It is hard to make any kind of precise measurement of numbers, but there is no doubt that the figures are impressive."(74)
"Generally speaking, men are attracted to women who are smaller and weaker than they are. This means the women represent no physical threat, and reassures the man that if need be he can physically overpower the woman in order to have his sexual way with her. Small women make men fell bigger and stronger and more macho."(75)
[En daarom houden die grote westerlingen van die kleine Japanse vrouwtjes, begrijpt u wel? En de kleine vrouwtjes denken alleen aan de grote piemels die die grote westerlingen hebben.]
"Japanese women know from long experience that men lose some of their capacity to think rationally when they are sexually aroused"(80)
[Nog meer bevooroordeeld geklets.]
"But young Japanese women today, particularly those in the major cities, are so different from past generations they (and young men) are often referred to as “new human beings,” which, for the most part, means they are not “Japanese” in the traditional sense.
Still there is a quality about the typical young Japanese woman that, even today, sets her apart and makes her attractive both as a lover and as a wife. This quality includes a clear perception of herself as a woman who has her own place in the world and does not have to compete directly with men; along with a heightened sense of femininity and sensuality."(84)
"While it may strike some as being cynical and selfish, the most successful lovers I have known were those who always made sure they had an absolute minimum of two affairs going simultaneously and that their respective paramours knew about the other affair."(86)
[Typisch het geklets van een man.]
[Zo'n term alleen al.]
"And just as in other countries, and over and above introductions, most relationships begin with males taking the initiative in meeting women whom they find attractive and going through the usual steps in establishing a relationship with those who are receptive."(87)
"There are, however, particular places in Tokyo and other Japanese cities where girl-watching is unsurpassed. The foreign male is not likely to meet any of these passing girls unless he is especially aggressive, but it will certainly whet his appetite."(88)
[De man als jager. Zucht. ]
[Een zinloze opsomming van allerlei Japanse woorden en uitdrukkingen op het vlak van liefde en relaties.]