Korean Men turning into women!, ... and vice-versa! Options

[Anagram]

Nobody posts in this forum anymore. Because I want the other thread to die a quick death (I know, won't happen) .. I present to you the following article:

I've guessed this all-along. The men are getting girly and women are getting manly. It's good in some ways, bad in others, I guess...

I see this with a lot of my students. Women are assuming more power and the guys are starting to put on makeup. Korea has really embraced this metrosexual trend.

Are you a guy? Would you wear makeup to make your skin whiter? To make your pimples less evident?

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0412260015.html

Korean Gender Roles Collapsing


Metro Sexual: A New Male Image or Media Commodity?

A survey has revealed that for more than half of Korean men and women, fixed gender roles are collapsing, and both sexes are pursuing relatively “androgynous” lifestyles.

Cheil Communications announced Sunday that in its report entitled “2004 Quiet Revolution in Our Age’s Men and Women,” which was written after surveying 300 people (150 men, 150 women) between the ages of 17 and 39, 66.7 percent of men and 57.3 percent of women were categorized as “androgynous.”

Respondents to the survey, which was composed of 15 check-style questions, were categorized based on their answers as “androgynous,” “masculine,” feminine,” and “indeterminate.”

The results revealed that men have developed feminine delicacy and have taken a greater interest in fashion, actively taking care of their physical appearances. Women, on the other hand, now possess leadership and have grown more self-conscious.

Cheil Communications labeled men who desire the strong points of the opposite sex “Mr. Beauty,” while labeling women who do the same, “Ms. Strong.”

Cheil Communications team leader Park Jae-hang said, “The survey revealed that many Korean men and women desire the strong points of not only their own sex, but those of the opposite sex as well... It appears the changes in male and female sexual roles are not a temporary fad, but will continue into the future.”

The following are the changes in sexual roles revealed by the survey, sorted by age and profession.

◇ “Mr. Beauty”

▲ Male university students between the ages of 19 and 24: This group forms the prototypical “Mr. Beauty.” Men, too, acknowledge that it’s now a time to be competitive about appearance, and purchase many forms of male-use cosmetics and bright clothing. This group views sexual economic equality as natural, and considers it old fashioned for men to pay for entire dates.

▲ Unmarried working men between the ages of 25 and 34: This group isn’t as concerned about “looking good” as the university students, but do worry about their appearances in order to raise their own value. They desire male-female relations where both sides help one another rather than assigning gender roles to one side only.

▲ Married working men between the ages of 28-39: In particular, men in their 30s are working to drop the tough masculine image and become softer, more refined men. Both husbands and wives work and household duties are split. Some want to become “house husbands” or take “paternity leave,” but they worry about what those around them might think.

◇ “Ms. Strong”

▲ Female university students between the ages of 19 and 24: Female university students who want to be sexy and strong form the mainstream. They are aggressive to the point that they will ask out men they like first and demand physical contact, while at the same time refusing special treatment just because they are women.

▲ Unmarried working women between the ages of 24 and 34: This is a generation of women working to become career women recognized for their skills. In order to present a look of femininity and toughness, they thoroughly take care of themselves, and possess feminine delicacy and male tenacity and impulsiveness simultaneously. They look at marriage as a matter of choice.

▲ Married working women between the ages of 28 and 39: This group takes care of themselves and thoroughly manages their time in order to be faithful to both work and family. Sometimes they are envious of their friends who are housewives only, but they take pride in their work and feel a sense of accomplishment.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

This post has been edited by Anagram: Dec 27 2004, 12:39 AM

[mr_boogie]

Excuse me, but this is also called "equality of rights and duties". Anyway all the korean girls I know are far away from beeing just close to a situation near the girls in Europe and North-America. So what?? You still want woman to be housewifes?? Go find one....

I'm totally for the liberty of choice of woman to be whatever they want to be, as long as they are capable of the position. I would prefer to work with a girl that got the job because she was good, than one that got the job because she seduced the boss...

[starry]

◇ “Ms. Strong”

▲ Female university students between the ages of 19 and 24: Female university students who want to be sexy and strong form the mainstream. They are aggressive to the point that they will ask out men they like first and demand physical contact, while at the same time refusing special treatment just because they are women.

▲ Unmarried working women between the ages of 24 and 34: This is a generation of women working to become career women recognized for their skills. In order to present a look of femininity and toughness, they thoroughly take care of themselves, and possess feminine delicacy and male tenacity and impulsiveness simultaneously. They look at marriage as a matter of choice.

▲ Married working women between the ages of 28 and 39: This group takes care of themselves and thoroughly manages their time in order to be faithful to both work and family. Sometimes they are envious of their friends who are housewives only, but they take pride in their work and feel a sense of accomplishment.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

This is great! Quite a dramatic change from what I was used to seeing when I was living in Korea.

I only hope that Korean men don't start turning into lazy good-for-nothings just because the women are starting to take charge of their lives... like so many men here in L.A. are

[Jasel]

wow those Ms. Strongs don't sound half bad lol

[hi-head]

gender collapse...conservatives panic, but I see it as progress. Parting from old confucian paradigms, korea is lunging forward into the future. Progressive nations lead the way, the conservative ones either wither away or die in flames. Looks like korea is becoming far more progressive these days than most countries in the world, including europe and the USA
but there's still a lot to change, and it will take some time

[doozer3]

I just love the way the press takes something and totally overblows it.

Just like the Japanese press made hay about how Japanese women "preferred" Korean men b/c they were more masculine (build) and yet "sensitive" due to the influx of Korean media into Japan.

This is just normal development as women gain other opportunities outside of marriage and having babies (already done to a certain extent in the U.S. and Europe with women lib and even more recently with the stupid metro thing).

With all the Japanese women complaining about Japanese men, I guess even Japanese men woke up.

A Samurai And Japan Get Samba Night Fever
By NORIMITSU ONISHI

Published: February 19, 2005

SAKA, Japan - Perhaps it was the equivalent of Americans waking up one morning to find John Wayne transformed into the Cowboy of the Village People.

For 25 years, on a Japanese television series called "The Violent Shogun," Ken Matsudaira played an 18th-century samurai who embodied Japan's idealized masculinity: strong, selfless, interested in neither women nor money, quick to dispense cold justice with his sword and a single order, "Punish!"

So closely identified had Mr. Matsudaira become with this pop culture hero that it came as a shock when the Japanese found out recently that for the last decade (and hidden mostly out of sight), he had been dancing the samba on stage in glittering gold and purple kimonos, emitting animalistic cries and thrusting his hips. His sword replaced by a coterie of female dancers and a revolving disco ball, he told his fans that in these dark days in Japan, samba was the only thing to do and sang: "Samba! Viva! Samba! Matsuken Samba! Olé!"

The metamorphosis of Mr. Matsudaira, now 51, into the singing samurai of his revuelike show, "Matsuken Samba II," caught on wildly in a country where the idealized image of Japanese masculinity has changed drastically in recent years, both in pop culture and in the real world, from stern to soft. After stealing the show at a nationally televised concert on New Year's Eve and watching his trademark song climb to No. 3 on a weekly chart in mid-January, Mr. Matsudaira recently kicked off the first of 30 scheduled performances this year of his new "Matsuken Samba II" show here in Osaka.

In addition to the show's own qualities, Mr. Matsudaira's radical transformation forms part of its appeal, as the actor himself said between rehearsals here. "People may be interested in it because they may think, there is this kind of samurai, too, a samurai who dances and sings," Mr. Matsudaira said...

...The image was in keeping with the macho or tough-guy image idealized in the pop culture for much of postwar Japan, said Kimio Ito, a sociologist at Osaka University. It is in the last two decades that the image of the idealized male began changing, he said, with the popularity of funny and sensitive types.

In the real world, as the generation of gray-suited corporate warriors has given way to young Japanese men who put great care in their dress, use cosmetics and are generally considered feminine, it was perhaps not surprising that "Matsuken Samba" has become wildly popular now even though Mr. Matsudaira had been performing this show for a decade...

[Anagram]

gender collapse...conservatives panic, but I see it as progress. Parting from old confucian paradigms, korea is lunging forward into the future. Progressive nations lead the way, the conservative ones either wither away or die in flames. Looks like korea is becoming far more progressive these days than most countries in the world, including europe and the USA
but there's still a lot to change, and it will take some time

Gender collapse, eh? That's an interesting term. Would you rather see NO gender?

It's not the gender *roles* collapsing that I find hard to take... I encourage women and men to take on whatever roles they feel like. Great!

I don't think many people, with the possible exception of you, wants the two sexes to merge into one sex (who can breed with itself). I think the emphasis should be on not being *equal* (because that's a load of horse$hit), but being *equivalent*. You're not going to change biology. Women ARE ALWAYS going to be better, in general, at certain things while men will be better at others. The goal is to provide equal opportunity, but an ultimately MERIT-BASED system.

like korea is becoming far more progressive these days than most countries in the world, including europe and the USA

Do you really have to wave your *yay Korea* flag at *every* opportunity?

[hi-head]

i agree
male and female, equal and opposite
i dislike those opportunist feminists who go on saying $hit like males and females are the same, only conditioned to be different

so anagram, you have some anger issues, you gotta yell at every opportunity...

anyways i'll say again just for you: "YAY KOREA"

perhaps you dont see what i see, that the world is changing, and south korea is changing for the better, and therefore i'm very optimistic and happy for it. Maybe for clarity, the Sun is rising in the East, NOW.

[Anagram]

so anagram, you have some anger issues, you gotta yell at every opportunity...

anyways i'll say again just for you: "YAY KOREA"

perhaps you dont see what i see, that the world is changing, and south korea is changing for the better, and therefore i'm very optimistic and happy for it. Maybe for clarity, the Sun is rising in the East, NOW.

Funny how I only find it necessary to do so when I'm talking to you.

The East. lol. East of what? Everywhere can be east, depending on where you're standing.

I don't mind people saying 'Yay Korea!' - because I'm known to do it from time to time myself. You, however, seem to bend and twist some aspect of culture and somehow manage to end up saying that Korea's better than everyone else.

Like in this case. You say that Korea's becoming more progressive - and yet you, and many many other Koreans, still can't stand to see a Korean and Westerner together. Many people still don't believe there are any (or many, at least) gays in Korea, sons are still preferred over daughters, family registry, etc, etc. I agree with you that it's changing for a better - and it's changing fairly quickly - but there's no way that Korea is even close to being very progressive.

And, some food for thought: A 5 minute microwave dinner never tastes better than one that took care and time to prepare. Doing things quickly isn't always doing things well.

[hi-head]

dude, you need to relax, or learn some netiquettes. You agree with basically what i'm saying and yet you just gotta whip around with a sore attitude. What's your problem man? i've been trying to be nice, but you're surely testing my patience.
i dunno man, but my respect for you is falling. i thought you were capable of carrying out a more balanced discussion, instead of going on an emotion-ridden whiplash, as if you have a problem with anything positive being said about korea.
korean tradition is a long way from being up to modern progressive standards, but progressive it is becoming, and the change is very delighting. i think there is nothing wrong in believing that korea is changing for the better in a world that for the most part is changing for the worst, to begin with the USA itself. You have some serious issues, or maybe it's just the love-hate relationship you got with the country of your residence, which is commonplace among non-native koreans.

[mIna]

0____0

[RockHeart]

WoW!!! Its very good...He feels so tired to stay on the TOP. Thats why he must surgery in order to stay on the bottom. So!!! Is He surgery his private thing???


2

This post has been edited by RockHeart: Feb 23 2005, 09:08 AM

[hilikus]

Korea has a long history of "men" going to the feminine side. For humans to become more intelligent they need to lose their sexual differential characteristics that wastes developmental energy. All the nutrients/proteins would go instead towards evolving larger, and more complex brains. We are seeing this now, Korean women are having less babies, Korean men are losing their "masculinity" and turning into women. Its only a matter of time when both sexes become "de-sexualized" and come into an enternal state of adolecense in their physical appearence.

[oblivion38]

Korea has a long history of "men" going to the feminine side. For humans to become more intelligent they need to lose their sexual differential characteristics that wastes developmental energy. All the nutrients/proteins would go instead towards evolving larger, and more complex brains. We are seeing this now, Korean women are having less babies, Korean men are losing their "masculinity" and turning into women. Its only a matter of time when both sexes become "de-sexualized" and come into an enternal state of adolecense in their physical appearence.

Uh... so how do we breed if we're not sexually different? Even if we manage to breed, how are we going to evolve without sexual reproduction(as opposed to asexual reproduction)?

[mndeg]

um ok, so koreans are less primitive and instinctually driven

[Pada]

Yea, you can see that in the dramas and movies they produce too ~ now the guys are showing more "feminie" side and the girls always try to show their strong side ... saying like "wanna die?" or etc etc ... but then, when they guy really wanna beat them up, they ran ~ <.<'' so typical nowadays ..
My korean guy-friends worry more about what he wears and how his hair stays at the same place more than me ... and even though I'm a girl who DO worry about these things but I wouldn't mind getting my hair blown by the wind or get wet from the rain once in a while ...

[Subotai]

LOL!

[AmericanNazi]

gay

This post has been edited by Gatts: Jan 17 2008, 01:00 AM

[warrhero]

this is bull$hit
men and women will always be biologically different, thats just how the human race is

[Klansmen]

This article is funny. Propaganda at it's finest.