It seems that the cancerous influence of “metrosexual” men isn’t limited to Western countries. In Japan’s ‘herbivore men’ — less interested in sex, money by CNN’s Morgan Neill, there are a growing number of young men in their 20s and 30s who are apparently uninterested in making money or getting any sex.
It seems these guys not only earn (and spend) little but also they take a keen interest in fashion and personal appearance.
How did the ‘herbivore man’ phrase come about? Pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawa coined the term in 2006:
“In Japan, sex is translated as ‘relationship in flesh,’” she said, “so I named those boys ‘herbivorous boys’ since they are not interested in flesh.”
To me, this is a stunning revelation. How can a young guy not be interested in sex? It’s mind-boggling. Their numbers are also quite shocking: Fukasawa estimates that perhaps 20% of Japanese men are “herbivorous” and their numbers are climbing.
Some quotes from these guys:
- “My father always asks me if I got a girlfriend. He tells me I’m no good because I can’t get a girlfriend.”
- “Herbivorous boys are fragile, do not have a stocky body — skinny.”
- “Some guys still try to be manly and try to be like strong and stuff, but you know personally I’m not afraid to show my vulnerability because being vulnerable or being sensitive is not a weakness.”
- “A lot of my friends were trying to work for a big company that pays well and I wasn’t interested in that. I am kind of struggling financially and my father is not very happy about it”
It’s entirely possible that such men are only interested in sex with each other (nudge, wink, etc.) but surely the article would mention it if they were gay. After all, modern society is getting steadily more accepting of this by now.
But no, it doesn’t seem that way at all. These guys have simply given up on pretty much everything, including the prospects of good careers and incomes.
Their parents and older men are quite disappointed by all this, but what do women think of these vulnerable, fashion-conscious guys?
Midori Saida, a 24-year-old woman sporting oversized aviators and her dyed brown hair in long ringlets, said “herbivore men” were “flaky and weak. We like manly men,” she said. “We are not interested in those boys — at all.”
How is this happening?
Japan is suffering economically right now, just like pretty much every country you can think of at the moment. It’s tougher to get and keep jobs and build a stable career.
But rather than rise to the challenge, herbivore men have crawled into their shell and hidden themselves from the big, bad world.
There could be biological reasons for this: male sex drive seems closely related to testosterone levels. And research shows that testosterone levels rise in the members of the winning team after a sports match … competitive success raises testosterone and competitive failure lowers it.
So guys who strike out a lot with women are likely to experience reduced testosterone levels and therefore they’ll generally lose interest in women.
It could very well be an evolved “protective mechanism” to keep guys from taking on challenges where their chance of prevailing will be negligible.
And that seems the case here: they’ve got no game and now they’ve got no interest either.
Is this the future of America?
Just a few years back, Men’s Heath did a survey where only half of single men had gone on a date the year before and (of those who did) only half of those had any fun on the date or dates. I’ve been unable to dig up the old link for it to get the hard numbers, but such a trend is strikingly similar to Japan’s herbivore men.
Here we call them “metrosexual men” rather than “herbivore men”, but the trajectory is similar. In fact, I know a lot of Canadian and American guys who are this way now. Many were raised by their mothers (after she kicked their father to the curb) and they grew up with no strong male figures around.
“…
I suspect this will be the future of America: mostly ‘manly women’ and ‘effeminate men’
…”
They’ve got no game with women and have been pretty well neutered by this point.
I suspect this will be the future of America: mostly “manly women” and “effeminate men”. Neither of whom will be happy with their lot in life nor particularly pleased about the dating prospects on offer.
Women may want “manly men”, but they’re doing a pretty good job of emasculating the men around them.
On the bright side, maybe this will be nature’s way of reversing the population explosion. There are several countries already with birth rates below replacement level. Canada and the USA are still growing, but that’s because of …
- High immigration rates (both legal and illegal) and
- The high birth rates seen in the poor parts of America, in what one economist calls “the third-world nation within a first-world nation”.
Japan is a country that’s already showing a declining population and it looks set to accelerate that trend to the downside. I can see why.
But there’s one more advantage…
There’s one more benefit for us “manly males”, though: reduced competition for women. Those of us red-blooded guys who still have a healthy testosterone count will be enjoying increased chances of success with the opposite sex simply due to the “numbers” game.
And those of us who have “good game” with women (or wish to acquire one) will really reap the benefits of frustrated women looking for masculine guys.
Start building your game by checking out our articles on flirting and seduction. We also offer a free downloadable flirting ebook you can start reading today.
Until next time,
-Nick Thomas
