Japanese Highschool Girls

[Liebesapfel]

Are they really innocent like in Sukuran, or are they like in Momoiro Sisters? (ie only 1% of them are inexperienced :P)

[Mana]

I'd say that would probably depend on the girl. Most of them are just pretty normal, the way highschool girls in any other country are. Japan has a fair share of all different types of girls.

[Legend Saber]

Trying to assemble all the participants of any given social group under one umbrella is a lost cause under any circumstances, and this is especially true when one is considering a group as large as Japanese high school girls.

To put it simply: They're all individuals, with their own likes, dislikes, attitudes, behaviors, hobbies, friends, style, intelligence and way of life. To say anything different would be stereotyping, and I dislike stereotyping.

[laborpilot86]

don't judge a society by its pop culture......................................

That's why everybody thinks Americans are gun-crazed sex fiends:help:

The education system in Japan is extremely high-pressure, with high suicide rates among teenagers, while bullying has become a problem. Great Teacher Onizuka (minus some of the more over the top jokes and gags) is probably the most accurate depiction of Japanese high school life, based on what i have seen and read about contemporary Japanese society.

[f1rst children]

• In most of the developed world, the majority of young women become sexually active during their teenage years—the proportion who have had intercourse reaches at least three-quarters by age 20.

• Levels of sexual activity and the age at which teenagers become sexually active do not vary considerably across comparable developed countries, such as Canada, Great Britain, France, Sweden and the United States.

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_teens.html

Japanese teenage sexual activity occurs about as frequently as any other developed, industrialized nation. They're hardly vestial virgins, but it's not all enjo kousai (teen prostitution) either.

Japanese teenage pregnancy rates are far below the US, due to much more widespread use of contraceptives, specifically condoms. Japan has one of the lowest rates of teenage motherhood, and one of the lowest in out of wedlock births.

[laborpilot86]

That's because, unlike Americans, the Japanese can have an honest discussion about sex and sexuality without having an attack of the vapors:bnono:

The Japanese don't hold a candle to the Swedes on this regard, as Sweden was named recently as one of the best places for children to live among the 'industrialized' nation-states...

Britian and the U.S were close to the bottom....:doh

Go to www.guardian.co.uk for the story

[soundchazer]

That's because, unlike Americans, the Japanese can have an honest discussion about sex and sexuality without having an attack of the vapors:bnono: [/url] for the story

Actually, I think it has more to do with the fact that they are not a Christian society and therefore are more practical about their sexual encounters by not having to deal with the issue of condoms being sinful.

[laborpilot86]

Problem with that arguement, Soundchazer-san is that Sweden, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Britian, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Beligium, Italy, Australia, New Zealand , and Canada are obstensively 'Christian' societies (Various flavors of Christianity are still the techinical state religion in Austria, Ireland, Britian, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Italy and Portugal) and thier societal view of sexuality, with the exception of Portugal and Ireland, is much more in line with the more sensible Japanese view, especially with regards to teenagers.

In fact, Sweden has had mandatory sex ed, from the equivelant of the 4th grade on, since 1915:cool:

The Swedish rates of teen pregancy, out-of-wedlock birth and STD infection are even lower than the Japanese

The flip-side is that Japan is the least liberal in regards to acceptable gender roles in family and society among any 'industralized' society, but slowly they are making progress in this regard.

They still have more frank discussions about gender and sexuality than any of the above 'Christian' society, with the exception of the Scandanavians, Netherlands and Germany.

[laffinizluv]

Where exactly are you getting these facts about the Japanese being much more open talking about sex? All you have really stated is which countries have low sex-problems...

Just fill me in here, okay buddy?

[laborpilot86]

You can learn a lot from reading about Japanese history and culture, much less reading critical deconstructions of anime and manga.

[laffinizluv]

Yeah, but if there're so many books saying this than couldn't you find an artical or something? It just feels like you have nothing to back that statement with. To tell you the truth, your side sounds eligible but I'm leaning towards what Soundchazer is saying because it's easy to prove (or present I guess) and he directly stated it. You just kinda added your statement into your post with no real way of knowing if it's true.


I'm just a little confizzled here...

[ZZalapski]

You can learn a lot from reading about Japanese history and culture, much less reading critical deconstructions of anime and manga.

Do you (or anyone well-versed) have any recommended books?

[laborpilot86]

You should start with George Sanson's three volume History of Japan (available in paperback), while all of Stephen Turnbull's books on the Samurai are excellent. Thier is a book called Embracing Defeat about Japanese society after WWII, while Edwin Hoyt's Japan's War is a great source about the fall of the Taisho era.

On the anime/manga side of things, thier are several useful books to read. Cinema Anime has several interesting deconstructions of several titles, including Ghost in the Shell. Anime Explosion:The Why, What and Wow! of Japanese Animation is also pretty good, while Susan Napier's Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle is brilliant. A new yearly series called Mechademia just started publishing and is written by a group of Asian studies scholars.

You must read to better understand your anime experience:cool:

[soundchazer]

Problem with that arguement, Soundchazer-san is that Sweden, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Britian, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Beligium, Italy, Australia, New Zealand , and Canada are obstensively 'Christian' societies (Various flavors of Christianity are still the techinical state religion in Austria, Ireland, Britian, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Italy and Portugal) and thier societal view of sexuality, with the exception of Portugal and Ireland, is much more in line with the more sensible Japanese view, especially with regards to teenagers.

In fact, Sweden has had mandatory sex ed, from the equivelant of the 4th grade on, since 1915:cool:

The Swedish rates of teen pregancy, out-of-wedlock birth and STD infection are even lower than the Japanese

The flip-side is that Japan is the least liberal in regards to acceptable gender roles in family and society among any 'industralized' society, but slowly they are making progress in this regard.

They still have more frank discussions about gender and sexuality than any of the above 'Christian' society, with the exception of the Scandanavians, Netherlands and Germany.

Comparing the U.S. with Europe in terms of sexuality is like comparing the dark ages with the internet age, the U.S. being the dark ages.

The U.S. society is very unique in their view of Christianity. That is why you have something called the Bible belt. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of those unwanted pregnancies happen there because of the impressive religious oppression that goes on there. Pretty much anything that is not religious in nature is sinful, sex and condoms included. The fact that certain states are still debating whether or not to teach evolution, or the fact that a president can restrict stem-cell research are a testament to how shackled this society is to religion. Europe had its share of that mentality. See Spain during the Franco dictatorship as an example: churches were full and families had 10 to 12 members. The moment religion stopped being shoved down people's throats, churches had their share of empty seats, teenage pregnancies went down, marriage age went up and families limited their number to around 2 kids per couple.

In other words, the U.S. has still to experience "religion enlightment", by that meaning letting religion be a personal decision and not something imposed by a group. While we wait for this event to happen, unwanted pregnancies will keep going at a steady rate. "Christian" European countries do not have to deal with the problem anymore: religious guilt is no longer a part of their psyche.

As for Japan, I do agree that sex is a bit more apparent and accepted in their society. The fact that plenty of salarymen do business in places were hostesses are serving them while their wives at home know about it and shrug the issue is a good indicator. On the flip side, they are so awkward in regards to relationships and physical contact that I don't think they have as much "action" as we think they do.

[bwing55543]

I don't know how is it that people have this Lolita-esque stereotype of Japanese school girls.

[soundchazer]

I don't know how is it that people have this Lolita-esque stereotype of Japanese school girls.

I would say part of the problem is the Japanese themselves perpetuating the stereotype with a lot of the material (anime or not) coming out of the country. I would also say a lot would have to do with the fact that age is not as easy to determine in the Japanese population and you can see a lot of adult women portraying high school girls either for cosplay purposes or in some of the thematic bars that salarymen or otaku like to frequent.

[laborpilot86]

From watching too much hentai:moron:

[Javer]

Oh hush, that's not it. :P

Besides, anime that isn't necessary adult (say, PG-13 material) presents a lot of the same ideas. Think of hentai as "what would have happened five minutes later".

[Milkymagic]

I would say part of the problem is the Japanese themselves perpetuating the stereotype with a lot of the material (anime or not) coming out of the country. I would also say a lot would have to do with the fact that age is not as easy to determine in the Japanese population and you can see a lot of adult women portraying high school girls either for cosplay purposes or in some of the thematic bars that salarymen or otaku like to frequent.

Definitely

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p266/Milkymagic/blanche.jpg

When I bought my slew of Mari Iijima albums, I actually looked up how old she was during the release of her earlier albums because she looked way too young on them.

My inital response from this album cover was "she's gotta be 16 or something" only to be shocked and find out she was 21. So it doesn't seem all that hard for some girls to look much younger than their age when I think about it to myself.

I know we're talking about schoolgirls, but I still wanted to get my comment out there.

Oh hush, that's not it. :P

Besides, anime that isn't necessary adult (say, PG-13 material) presents a lot of the same ideas. Think of hentai as "what would have happened five minutes later".

Just think, if class was actually conducted, everyone would have to wait at least 30 minutes or even until a lunch break.

[Neo-Hunter]

japanese highschool girls have more issues due to pressures from family,men and fashion I think, sometimes its hard for them to be themselves one question i found out from a friend who is japanese is that her sister was forced to marry after she got out of highschool get pregnant and start a family insuing that the family bloodline or something will be their,also I think that their youthfulness show that they might be an easy target for sexual predators. my opionion.

[laborpilot86]

I wouldn't want to be a Japanese high school student:lopoint:

[icelava]

Are they really innocent like in Sukuran, or are they like in Momoiro Sisters? (ie only 1% of them are inexperienced :P)
Lesson #1: cartoons/anime are for entertainment. Do not mistake them for real-life Japan.

I do not think the sewers of USA have got four humanoid turtles and a rat. I do not think its cities are under threat of invasion by lunatics who yell "COBRA!" everywhere they go. Neither should you.

[Manga_Creator]

(ie only 1% of them are inexperienced :P)


Be great if they were though, eh. LOL no I'm Just kidding....... I think I would have to agree with most of the comments as it being like any other school, Take my school, its all boys but most of them know that about 30% of all the girls in the all girls school next door are craving action between the sheets (or back alley). But yeah, I know a few Japanese school girls and they say the same thing (in there own words)...

Andy

XxX