American "Seventeen"
"CanCam" 
"VOGUE" 
"Hanachu" readers are female junior high schools students in Japan.My research topic is “Do American and Japanese magazines share the same images of men and women.” This question does not have right answer, because it is vice versa depending on the points you argue about.
Body images in the U.S. and Japan are similar because of the universally ubiquitous body image. Japanese fashion magazines made a great development in 1970s, and those magazines were actually imitation of Western fashion magazines. Even today, Japanese magazines and culture have been affected by ideal Caucasian body image. Some men’s fashion magazines feature style such as American Casual, Mode, Punk, French Casual, Military, B-Boy, Surfer/Skater, Outdoor, and Dread. For some Japanese women, double-eyelid is an important issue. Brown hair and body piercing are common all over Japan.
On the other hand, there are clear distinctions between American and Japanese body images. Ideal American male body images are macho with the triangular, V-shaped muscular, mesomorph, or ecto-mesomorph. The common things to achieve these idealized body are binge eating, compulsive exercises, steroid, prohormones, ephedrine, and having silicone implanted. On the hand, many Japanese male want to look moderately strong, not excessively. Rather than having strong body, Japanese men pay more attention to facial care, hairstyling, clothes, body hair removal, and so on.
American women are encouraged to look sexually attractive as well as thin. In contrast, Japanese females are expected to have femininity and doll-like cuteness. There are some fashion magazines both published in the U.S. and Japan, but the posing of models in magazines and advertisements are obviously different. For example, the cover girl of the American Seventeen issued in June 1995 wears a blue blouse and bikini bottom portrayed in sultry face while Japanese model of the same issue wears a short blouse and shorts directly smiling to the camera.
Although “Cultural Imperialism" can be seen in fashion magazines, it does not mean cultural aspects have completely disappeared in Japanese and non-western countries. I’d like to think positively that the mixture of culture infuse something new and interesting into fashion magazines and industry.
"Hot Japanese guys " on youtube
Tokyo Girls Collection 2007; a big fashion show for young women in Japan
1 comment:
I had actually recently finished a project regarding gender and body image in a psychology course, and found that there were links toward western views of appearance and the desire to appear more mature/powerful.
It's interesting to know that while both cultures value thinness, they do so for different reasons; particularly, American fashion tries to convince images of power, whereas in Japan, there is more priority towards aesthetic value.
Interestingly, I think that fashion in Europe sits between the two countries; you won't often see Japanese apparel in American magazines and vice-versa (aside from shoes, bags, things that are more universal to body-type), but will find numerous brands and designs from Europe in both.
Magazine types seem to be more varied in Japan due to a larger number of subcultures...which is ironic since America's iconic impression is individualism. You will not find pop magazines like Junon or the visual Fool's Mate anywhere in the country because most people seem gravitated to one form of imagery that appeals to them most.
Perhaps it's America that has imperialized itself.
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