Gravure Idols

A common stereotype about Japan that is often held by Westerners is that it is a patriarchal country where outdated traditional views on men and women still rule society and where the media portray women as beautiful, often unintelligent creatures. Shockingly enough this stereotype couldn't be closer to the truth in a country where I am often shocked at just how ridiculous some of the views their media and government put forth such as when a government minister referred to women as baby making machines. However this entry is about a lighter matter and one that doesn't have such deep overtones. I'm talking about gravure idols.

Now gravure idols are Japanese models who pose primarily in bikinis and other provocative clothing for photo spreads in magazines, books, etc. They also can be seen daily on a wide variety of Japanese shows as eye candy or celebrity guests. Now perhaps not surprisingly these idols can become extremely well known and popular such as Hoshino Aki, perhaps the most popular idol presently. Another aspect of these idols I find interesting is that almost all of them are proportioned like Barbie dolls, something which is very rare in Japanese women.

Now I realize that America has similar figures such as the Victoria's Secret Angels and such, but they can't compare to these idols as they are household names and appear in countless media on an almost daily basis. The Japanese man's obsession with busty, submissive women just seems so unreal to me simply because it is not an accurate view of the women in this country. Almost all of the young Japanese women I have met are anything but submissive and far from the well endowed women these idols embody. Yet when I asked my past students how they would describe their perfect woman all of them agreed that she should be inordinately busty, have a very small waist, very slim, short, and have black hair. It just seems to me that the men of this country refuse to acknowledge the beauty that surrounds them and instead hold to a wildly unrealistic view of women.