19.3.10

All men, all the time

This is not Buck-Tick news, but I feel the need to share it anyway. Translated from mixi news.

First, a little background info: lately the phrase 草食系男子 (soushoku-kei danshi or "vegetarian male") has entered into popular use in the Japanese media. Originally, the phrase referred to a masculine identity centered around being loving and caring and conceiving of women as equal partners worthy of respect, and not simply flesh (or "meat") to be desired and consumed. However, the phrase has lately (apparently) come to be associated with being a wimp, or an unmanly man. The opposite phrase 肉食系女子 (nikushoku-kei joshi or "carnivorous female") refers to a woman who is forward about her own sexual desires.

Gackt "Goes Carnivorous" With No-Girls-Allowed Live Show

Today, on the 18th, we found out that singer Gackt (36) will be performing a men-only live show at Club Citta' Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture on March 21st. The plans for the live include an incredible bunch of tight regulations. The live venue will include a "sex check" room at the entrance, and women will not be allowed to enter even as staff or VIP guests. Gackt is urging the men at his show to "stop being vegetarian" by "keeping the delicate male spirit secret from women."

Lately, the phrases "vegetarian male" and "carnivorous female" have become popular buzzwords. But now, Gackt is raising the flag of protest against them.

The name of Gackt's first-ever male-only live is, "The Path to Shining Manhood ~ No-Females Allowed Male Pride Festival." Just the name reeks of maleness, but we haven't even gotten to the most serious bit yet. Gackt beckons his fans down the road to manhood through a very strict ban on women.

At the entrance to the venue, there will be the aforementioned "sex check" room. Here, sharp-eyed male staffers will be at the ready, like cops in a crime drama, checking for cross-dressing female fans trying to slip in with the crowd. The "suspects" will not be allowed to plead guilt or innocence, but will be sent straight to inspection, where they will be asked to present documents of personal identification. If their documents don't pass, they will be obliged to leave the venue immediately.

These restrictions apply to VIP guests and staff as well. Many of Gackt's staff, including his manager, are female, but they will all be shut out from this event. Even the usual female hair and makeup artists will be replaced with men, just for this occasion. The press will be sending only male writers, as well.

Gackt is known as being one of the foremost visual kei artists, and he has an enormous female fan following. But behind the scenes, he feels concerned about how the weakening of the male identity could affect Japan's future.

"I want to spread feelings of real love, that I can only show to real men. I want to show what it is to be a real man, so that the world's men and women can live with strength and style. So all you guys who are coming to the show, get ready to risk your lives and jump in!" says Gackt, in his impassioned message to fans.

He's got the heart of a melee fighter, and he's going to show us "a real man's festival."

5 comments:

  1. So I see that Japan has the same double standard like in the U.S where tough women are viewed as unfeminine and kind men are viewed as unmasculine? Lol, word check just proved me correct by giving the red line under unmasculine and not unfeminine...lol, that's one for the dictionary! Love the post! Thanks, I always wanna learn about what's buzzing in Japan!

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  2. Well, looks like I just got yet another reason to dislike Gackt. *rolls eyes*

    I'd take a "caring and loving" whimp before a manly macho man any day.

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  3. hahaha this made my day! Dir en Gray is one, but I never expected this of Gackt.. *looks around for flying pigs*.

    This blog is always so amusing huhu

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  4. As much as I love Gackt and his many many accomplishments and songs and all that good stuff, I can't help but find some irony in this shining manhood show because despite being all male, he has a lot of very feminine traits between the the makeup he usually wears and his unnatural beautiful overall appearance.

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  5. I like Gackt. I really do, no sarcasm. But when I think of the words Manly Man, he is not one of the guys that pop up in my head.
    And the name; The Path to Shining Manhood ~ No-Females Allowed Male Pride Festival...? It sounds like a part of the gay pride festival I'm afraid. So basically, without being mean, Gackt, you are tha last man to teach others how to be "manly" and this fails hard. What does he expect from the show? Or rather, what was the outcome since it already happened? Is Japan now filled with manly men strutting their manliness when walking down the street, making women faint by just a glance and a flex of the arm? Have all the Visual Kei stars seen the light and bought a pair of pants made for men and grown a beard? Should I lock myself up in my room for fear of all that masculinity that pumps out of Tokyo as we speak? Will I be able to take it??!! XD

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