BeefontheBone, on May 14 2005, 10:26 AM, said:
Aurelianos, I knew you were joking (well at least I REALLY hoped you were...)
...or was I ????!!
...no, I'm pretty sure I was.
Still, I don't support the "girly man" trend. I don't see any kind of possible justification to it. It's all the rage thanks to the combined effect of what I like to call the "artist boom" (everyone's an artist - the concept of quality becomes obsolete) and the growing bishounenification of mangas and anime, which have a growing impact on the mass' subconscious
The artist boom allows a physical ideal that was once only present in elitistic groups (aristocrats and artists, usually) to be promoted among the masses. Personnally, I always saw those kind of looks as dependant of a certain wealth. Looking girly and freil was a way to say "Eyh look, I don't have to do anything rough myself because I'm rich". It goes without saying that I don't respect wealth nor shelteredness, so beside the fact that my previous post was a joke, I still don't think it's an adequate social model for nations composed of a growing middle class.
Mangas and anime are giving their characters slender traits because more and more the violence they distribute is cut from normal physics and seemingly doesn't depend on mass and speed. Certainly there's a way to explain why that 4 feet tall kicks so many rears - oh wait there is ! Magic ! Magic being a force that revolves around not having to actually do what the spell can do for you (in anime representation at least) and requiring a sum of effort negligible compared to it's effect, I'd say it's not different to the least from the example above, and as such inadequate for people who have to fight daily to fill their dishes.
Now chew on THIS, Keanu Reeves ! You lost all your "Speed" manliness to turn into a wimp in "The Matrix", but you'll see ! Soon burly and hairy men will come for the payback, and your special kung-fu moves will not save your skinny behind.