Perhaps the Next Target Market in Japan
By Rio Kuroyanagi

Despite the nominal prestige earned by Reiko Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto through their notorious take on playful androgynous discourse favored in their collections, the rising popularity of “thinking outside the box” has not only influenced fashion but also the Japanese society…somewhat uniquely.

Many designers have repetitively proposed androgynous dressing over the last few decades, causing the perpetual trend in the unisex style worldwide. Thus, Japanese males gradually reinforced their wardrobes with slim-sleek skinny jeans, which made them easily adaptable to the acquiring fashion taste of androgyny. In fact, Japanese men nowadays seem to have a keener sense to the latest fashion trends than women, even caring to add their own “twist” to their unisex style by means of reinvention. Evidently, the traditional Japanese aesthetics of conventional behavior have been diluted with the latest trend of sexual ambiguity.

Today, the term “androgyny” is often utilized loosely, with a vague reference to the sexual mannerism/preference of the individual. It is focused more on the physical attributes rather than the spiritual aspect. However, in Japan, the situation is a bit more perplexed.

The rise of the “soushoku danshi” or the literal translation “the grass-eating boys (herbivores)” has recently been declared as a major social concern in Japan. Herbivores: Self-contained males who prefer silence and tranquility with the lack of interest in sex life. But, wait. Bromance and metrosexuality are somewhat well accepted in the modern media. Gender distinction has somewhat dissolved over the years since the birth of androgyny. Therefore, one may think that the growing population of the “herbivores” shouldn’t be such a critical dilemma. Surprisingly, it is.

Living like there’s no tomorrow. Ambition. Competitive. Motivated. A few generic expressions used to define a typical “homme d’affaires”. Unfortunately, these are the qualities that the Japanese herbivores lack completely. Instead, they spend time alone, attending to their gardens, going shopping, playing video games..etc. More importantly, they prefer home cooked meals for the purpose of having a higher disposable income (predominately for fashion). Desire to start a family? Impossible. Unlike the earlier generations of Japanese men, their passive personality hinders them from acting assertively in relationships. Sadly, they desire females to take the initiative of pursuing the relationship, which is ridiculous and frustrating for many modern Japanese women. Ultimately, this portrays the upsetting deterioration of charisma, romance, and chivalry in society.

Have men voluntarily deserted their innate aggressive masculinity due to recent societal acceptance towards androgyny? Has the freedom of men being able to unashamedly exhibit female qualities without the intrusion of judgments cross the borders? Or is the modern day aesthetics/values giving men too many options in terms of what is to be perceived as a happy lifestyle? (Maybe aggression is no longer chic)

In the Chinese culture, it is believed that there is a balance of both female (yin) and male (yang) energy in everyone and everything. Therefore, androgyny can be said to be a balance of both… or the absence of gender identity as a whole. If gender ambiguity does not dictate a social reputation, would the distinction between menswear and womenswear lose its meaning? Or has menswear evolved into the new womenswear? Perhaps the herbivores should know. They would be the next target market in Japan, or shall I call it the manipulation of the herbivore crisis.