Well a bit of cultural relativism needs to be practiced when watching anime sometimes, as certain themes and concepts are percieved differently. Its less offensive to Japanese folk than it is to us americans. It isn’t always sexual. There’s actually quite a bit of partial nudity in Anime too, which trips a lot of Americans out. Nudity in Japan, a country with communal bath houses, is also percieved quite differently
Hentai (anime porn) is another story though lol
I understand the cultural differences. I just never quite clicked when it came to cartoon porn. 
How is nudity perceived in Japan, by the way?
I’m not certain how “nudity” is perceived, although showing “certain areas of your body” (as Bill Cosby routine said) is a no-no. Much similar US standards. It’s kinda funny in a way that they “can’t” show human sexual organs, but they can go wild if it’s tentacles or remote contols etc. (The real “hard core” XXX hentai DOES show the naughty bits though.) The back of the neck is seen as as much as an “erotic zone” as many other areas we are familiar with.
I think one of the main differences I’ve noticed is that the Japanese are not afraid to acknowledge that men and women are built differently, they don’t “gloss over” those physical differences as much. Body shapes are pretty accurately depicted (“anatomically correct”), even in “kid’s” shows.
One thing may be that in a way they are “sexually repressed.” Up until fairly recently most marriages were arranged (many still are). Romance and “love” didn’t exist. It’s interesting to note that almost all “terms of endearment” in Japanese are actually English. “Darling,” Sweetheart," etc don’t exist in the Japanese language, they are all “loanwords.”
They also seem to have a more “mature” approach to life. What we might rate as “TV14” in the US is pretty much considered “TV7” there. For example Cardcaptor Sakura features an 11 year-old girl in a pretty much what could be seen as a normal family situation, aimed at 10 year olds (or in that range) in Japan. But the uncut US version is rated PG13! The US TV version in much watered-down. In Sailor Moon they all died! (Although granted that did cause a major stir in Japan…). And let’s not even start on the body count in Ceres Celestial Legend… Or that dog or Kei’s sexual fantasies in Gantz… (Gantz was pay-per-view however).
(maybe we’d better start a new anime thread…)
I used to moderate on a forum where one day a guy decided posting TONS of HUGE Hentai pics in the “off-topic” section would be a great idea, and 17 of us spent literally hours cleaning up his damn mess.
Never will I forget the horror of seeing something called “Legend of The Overfiend..”
Absolutely vile, degrading and inhumane..UURGH!
I know there is supposedly a lot of MORE “tasteful” Hentai out there, but man..this stuff would have brought tears to a glass eye!
My avatar is actually an Anime artist’s impression of me, and I also have the full-size poster of it on my office wall at Uni.
I love a lot of Anime, being a huge console RPG fan who ADORES all the cutesy characters used in many games.
You get so much pleasure seeing this cute wee, knee-high-to-a-grasshopper female, slicing a massive Behemoth to shreds, and wielding visual spells that have your mouth hanging somewhere around floor level.
..well, I do at any rate.
Ail
I find it amusing that you say they are sexually repressed, considering how bass-ackwards the United States is when it comes to sex. I’m presuming you’re from the US, as I am, and I do not mean to sound like I’m being sarcastic toward you or anything. I’ve just come to find that the average citizen of the United States is rather heartily screwed up in the head when it comes to matters of sex and sexual repression.
We get married on a whim, and they have arranged marriages. I wonder which culture has higher divorce rates… I suspect it is us, and I also suspect that Japan is experiencing a strong increase in the rate of divorces, as well.
It’s all silly paradigms. Some day people are going to have to face the fact that sex is a natural thing and that no matter what they try to do to stop it, it’s not going to happen. Make it “evil” and you just succeed in making people express it in unhealthy ways. Make it taboo and you just get people to focus on it even more.
Catlord: yes the US of A is just as, if not is some ways more, “repressed” than others. Japan is just sorta in the same boat with us, but I think it’s for different cultural reasons. Not really something that needs to be, or probably should be discussed here. I know I have a tendency to start getting a little too off topic and it’s hard enough keeping up with the “on the main subject of pheomones” posts…
Ail: another one: Sailor Saturn - destroyer of worlds.
And I hate to say it but I know of the Overfiend, and it IS pretty degrading (had to some “reasearch” ya know,). Not my cup o tea. Hentai is not only often about down and dirty sex but violence as well. Too much. I’m much happier with the lighthearted stuff (Love Hina, Desert Punk, Ai Yori Aoshi, Fruits Basket, etc).
(My current avatar is Tokyo Mew Mew.)
okay,heres what:
without the repression, without cultural differences and the contrast of sex/violence/romance, alot of what turns on america is gone. if it aint “wrong” “bad” “pushing limits”, its boring. not necessarily to me, but from what i see, how does a woman that is attracted to a “bad boy” become attracted if he is no longer bad? what does anyone have to talk about if the contrast is minimized? as long as theres a need for diversity, there are pheromones to help you achieve your creation. ::sniffing the IShine:: all you need is love…la la la la la…
Yeah I feel you there 'homes. It makes it tougher getting some with people wanting to play head games for different reasons when it comes to sex. It’d be nice if everyone just wanted to be cool and hang out and have sex =) Heck, sometimes dealing with stuckup girls I’d think an even hotter girl over in Thailand offering a very sensual massage is more attractive. You guys should travel more, its the sh*t.=)
So when you say expressed in unhealthy ways do you mean like BD & SM?
BD/SM isn’t, in my humble opinion, an unhealthy expression of sexuality. Not if it’s done according to the code of the community: Safe, sane, consentual. While it may not be right for everyone, it is right for those who feel the need for this type of outlet. In fact BDSM can be, when done properly, a healthy outlet for the unhealthy “bending” of a person’s psyche that is caused by some attempt to force it out of existence, or deny it by the person themself or by some influence to that person.
I have noted that a lot of women I know who have control freak parents tend to be submissive, either because they need to be reminded of that control to feel loved, or because their rebellion against that control forces them to be “too strong and independent” in very other area of their lives. Those people I know who are dominant in this manner are acting out a similar need for control that was denied them in some way. Bondage is an exercise in control and trust also. Sadism is usually a cathartic outlet for someone who cannot express themselves in certain ways otherwise; masochism is often the desire to be hurt because of intense feelings of guilt or shame, or because the person has otherwise come to associate physical pain with some desireable emotional response, such as being loved, etc.
I am not a psychologist, but these have been my observations based on what I know and understand. Ironically, these things often come to be necessary because of the very things that condemn them. Something to think about. Most people have a poor understanding of the BDSM community at best. It’s interesting to learn about, although it can be difficult for someone not into it to understand.
If we would just stop with the “sex is wrong, sex is evil” crap, you’d see a lot of kinky stuff naturally disappear.
Good quick write up on BDSM though; I have found as a general rule that the hotter a girl is, the more likely she’ll be into being kinky and submissive, hmm. I do not see things like this as a moral issue.. as like you say it is a thing of trust.. I see it more based on someone elses morals.
I’m no expert in this area, although I have done some minor things like binding and light stuff like spanking or biting (like nibbling harder but not harsh biting) and even noticed that some girls like getting rougher even if it barely borders on being into BD & SM.
Aside from all the “sex is wrong, sex is evil” crap, I think something like this is at best just an interesting part of life. I try to see just about everything on an equal level.
I think it may be more of an individual moral issue. If you are offended by it, don’t bother yourself with it. Whatever goes on between two people sexually is okay, as long as it is consentual to begin with- Whatever your flavor might be.
I think that S&M, D&S, and B&D are all greatly misunderstood. It isn’t all about “pain”, or “humiliation”. A lot of those who are into it would argue that it is all about pleasure. When you are no longer in control, you are no longer in charge of your own pleasure. Depending on which role you prefer, you may like being in control or losing it. I have observed that those who have high power jobs, like to be dominated during sexual role- play, and vice-versa. Although it isn’t always like that.
Sex can be a wonderful creative outlet.
I think that the more attractive a woman is to the general populace, the more pressure will be exerted against her to be what the general populace desires sexually. That pressure usually results in some sort of wall to protect herself in some way, and that wall limits not only the interested parties, but her own expressions, as well. Which, if my theory is correct, leads to self-repression, which leads to her having to express her desires in alternate ways to make up for it, which sometimes gets expressed as kink. Not necessarily submission… although I can certainly see how super attractive women would want to submit, since they’re used to being “higher value” than most of the guys they encounter. Maybe that’s a desire to be “out higher valued” by him (or her)?
A favorite quote of mine goes like this: “I never met a psych major who wasn’t kinky.” And it’s been true in my experience, at least.
Sex is a wonderful way to express a lot of things… creativity, love, intimacy and trust come to mind off the top of my head. I have found that done right, sex can be a wonderful way to heal emotional pain, also.
Somehow I never get these darned quotes right. 
awwwwww 
It really depends on who you talk to about it though. There are those that take pleasure in losing total control. One thing I have found out is that it is about pleasure. A good dom who knows the sub knows how to turn the sub on. That can mean inflicting a right amount of pain to excite things enough or with hold certain sensations in order to help build it, etc etc. Part of it is about ones tolerance and beliefs.
A friend of mine is a professional underwater photographer based out of Guam. He spends a lot of time in Japan and when he visited a few years ago, showed us a video from around Toyko. The video showed him buying a beer from a vending machine on the street and he drank it while walking around. His comment to us was that Japan is “a truly advanced society!” 
On ththe subject on Japanese vending machines, which relates to an anime question posted earlier, check out this site. Be sure to scroll down to the picture with the heading, “Truly Bizarre!!” 
Most people seem to misunderstand anime thinking it is either porn or childrens cartoons. There are some truths to that, but I have watched a few anime’s and have come to the conclusion that it depends on what kind of anime you watch. Some are childish in nature; are romantic comedy (japanese eat this up), and some are serious with a deep storyline and others are in between.
Personally I like the ones with the serious note as it has more story content to it. Despite some nudity and frequent humour, if you look past the “content,” you will realize its not really about that.
WTF?
Dear lord..you need to get your backside over to the UK.
This is total bunkum where women over here are concerned - utter bunkum
Seriously, the more I read of people’s posts on this forum, the more I think many people living in the US (not those posting here, the people they talk about who “repress” them), need to take the collective stick out of their backsides, and go with the flow.
People in the UK have sex wherever they want, with whomever they want, and whatever floats their boat as far as their sexual practices go - that’s fine.
Anything and everything goes over here, and nothing is taboo - especially here in Scotland.
Honestly! We have none of this gumff. It’s so much easier to express yourself over here sexually, and in every other way, too, and this scenario I just quoted above…defies belief.
Are people Across The Pond REALLY this repressed?
All this submissive, subversive carry-on - you would get a MAJORLY-rude awakening if you came over here expecting that from women. We’re just not like that over here - at all. Those who are, are as rare as hens’ teeth!
Loads of what I read happens to you men with girls in clubs etc. just would not occur over here - period.
I’m 40 next year, and reading posts from people in the US is like a whole new world to me.
My friend bought this e-book called “Catch The Man” by some guy called Christian Carter, and trust me on this, if women over here were to do one 1/8th of the things he suggested worked on men, we would be laughed out of the play area.
Now, that is NOT just me talking. “The Man” sat and laughed solidly for over an hour at what he called “Bloody ridiculous total generalisations that have NO place in Europe, when it comes to dating, flirtations etc!”
We just don’t “Do” any of this stuff..
So strange how things are done so differently from country to country, continent to continent the world over.
I have already commented to Michael how I feel we work very differently over here in the entire attraction, seduction process, and this just compounds that feeling.
It totally gobsmacks me..
Ail
Obviously, I am speaking from my own experiences and those are based on my point of view, which is in turn based here in the US. I don’t claim to be the end all, be all expert, but as best I understand what I have encountered, that is the way it is here. The US really is seriously unhealthy when it comes to repressive attitudes towards sex.
I visited Canada for a month, and was astounded at how comfortably and naturally sex is treated there, but it was also like coming home for me. I don’t claim that my experiences are valid outside of my particular society. In fact I have been hoping and praying things were different elsewhere because I would like to find a place in the world where I don’t feel like I have people secretly accusing me of being an awful person because I take a more open view of sex than most (some?) of my fellow Americans do.
It’s truely heartening to hear you say that about Scotland… because for one, a Scottish accent on a woman is incredibly sexy 
, and for two, it makes me have hope that there are places in the world that haven’t yet succumbed to the insanity we have been infected with over here.
Europe, here I come. Just gotta get past this crappy economy… lol
That’s because you sent all of your Puritans over here. Thanks a lot!!!