Just like many teenage girls, I like to put posters of some of my idols on my wall. My dresser in particular has a few pictures of Gackt in some SMEXy poses. However, I constantly get asked the question “Jess, why do you have pictures of this girl by your mirror?” by any one who visits my room. Whether they know my love for Asian Media or not, I calmly correct them and say ” No… that’s a man” and a bit of my dignity dies inside. Most of my family and friends will argue that Gackt is indeed a women or just really gay, others just give me a funny look. This routine is nothing new to me now but, before when I first started to show an interest in music artist and drama stars besides the ones directly related to anime, it was indeed a bit confusing for me as well.


But why is it that fans keep screaming for more? That some find this rather entertaining or exotic? Upon first glace from a Western point of view, one might be confused about the gender of some of these pretty men. When I first got into the boy band KAT-TUN, I was very confused. They all looked very… um… girlie. During a short stay in Japan I even had a talk about them with a local Japanese girl. She said herself  that KAT-TUN looked too girlie and that there were in fact rumors going around about all the JE boys shooting female hormones. Looking at them I wouldn’t be surprised if the rumor was true but that’s another topic up for debate.

Gackt and KAT-TUN however are just a few examples of a pretty man who we might deem as “questionable.”  What some fangirls call “fan service” others will call it flat out yaoi but, why is that? Just because some stars like to express their feminine side doesn’t automatically mean gay… Or does it? This brings up the topic: are pretty men questionable? And when I say questionable it could mean a whole lot of things (I’ll let your minds wander with that one).

Lets take Kim HeeChul of Super Junior for example. Now yes, I would agree he is rather pretty man most of the time. Heck from this pic I myself would call him flat out gay but because I value my life along with my kidneys (I won’t say anything negative in hopes of not being eaten to death by rabid ELFs). But others will think he’s hot. But why? Don’t some of his actions seem “questionable?” What makes his fan service so appealing and SMEXy where as some of us might gag? And how does he get his hair so shiny?!

Most of us fangirls are indeed used to this by now. The pretty clothes, the fashionable pinks and, oh, the ridiculous amounts of glitter. But there are two things that bother me about these pretty men. HOW DO THEY STAY PRETTY!? And why do they look more gorgeous then women sometimes? However, that’s not on my thoughts as much, but really the people. So fangirls and non fans, please do comment on pretty men. Tell me what you think and why? Is it a culture thing or maybe something deeper? Do you think they are questionable and if so what questions are you asking?