Do Japanese men dislike visual kei?

[chemicalpictures 1888]

On 14/09/2017 at 6:05 PM, Tokage said:

nearly everything i've seen & read about gya culture here and elsewhere feels utterly horrible and cultish to me so i dont rly blame dudes for not wanting to get dragged into that hell pit t b f

This. That shit is WEIRD AF. To be honest I find any kind of extreme fandom weird and kinda childish. Not that it's an exclusivity of fans of japanese stuff, but they sure get top scores at it. It can't be that healthy to dedicate so much money, energy and time to a hobby like that...

 

But yeah, the gya culture is indeed what sustains the VK environment. But that's just because VK does not have a clearly defined purpose nowadays. The movement was created with an idea that made sense at the time, to create a space for expression, to counter the mainstream culture of the time, and it was necessary. It happened all over the world, there was Punk, Glam, Tropicalia, each with its differences, but it was there. You can bet X, Luna Sea, Kuroyume are bands with 50/50 fans. Today, there's no need for that. What does VK bring to the table? What's the message in 2017? There's none, it's a scene that exists sorely to fuel these girls/fans idealizations and desires, in exchange of their money. So those foundations are so set in stone, I don't really see it changing at all.

[p0pp3r 27]

As a Japanese  who lived in Japan for 1/3 of my life, I'll have to say it's not that  Japanese men dislike it but it's BY FAR more popular amongst girls.  The reason being is Japan is quite narrow minded (yeah hard to believe isn't it?) when it comes to a persons appearance or interests...and VK is generally classified as overboard.  Guys just won't be driven to the extent where they want to be in a Vkei band or dress up VK outside just because they're interested .  Not to mention (I guess this applies for all countries but) it's 100% understandable that a straight guy feels off seeing guys in heavy makeup and flashy clothes singing heavy music.  Therefore it's natural that the majority of Japanese fans are girls...in fact I don't have a single Japanese guy friend that's very into VK in comparison to 30+ girls. 

I guess in the end the music itself is likeable, but guys who like it are well aware of the negative views they recieve so they don't even bother with anything VK. Perhaps if the music was more mainstream like in the 90s/early 2000s then the fanbase would be more even amongst genders. 

[jaymee 405]

I also want to add that girls that like VK are usually not seen as "desirable" by your average Japanese guy. The general image of a VK fan is crazy, mentally unstable, unemployed, and in some cases, someone who works in the mizushobai (hostess, escort, or sexual service) business. And to some extent, these stereotypes are not completely off as there are a lot of fans who cut their wrists, were/are mentally unstable, were/are involved in mizushobai because they can't hold down a regular job and/or doing mizushobai allows the to go to lives and make enough money to support their hobbies/lifestyle.

 

I feel like a lot of the gyao fans either a.) were/are VK fans from a young age, b.)were/are particularly interested in rock or the history of rock and this particular scene, c.) were/are involved in alternative punk or goth fashion and the two kind of go hand in hand, d.) a mix or all of the above. You also have the instance of say, a band like Golden Bomber, where the members were originally hosts/involved in the mizushobai business before debuting in the VK scene, although I'd say this extends more to members of VK bands than their gyao fans. Some gyao fans be looking pretty rough sometimes...

[Paraph 826]

Every vk gig I went to in Japan has had some guys. I was kind of surprised since I had always heard it was a rarity but I went to like 8 gigs and I was never the only male.

[Gesu 1537]

Because it's full of pretty men and most men ain't into that would be my answer in a nutshell, but I'll elaborate some.

 

I agree with the people who commented on the first page that if you look at the audience of an all-female band's lives, visual kei or nah, it's more likely that you'll see more men in the audience. I disagree, however, with the idea that "it's all about the money". I mean... yeah, that is a part of it, and it would be naïve to assume that it's not at least a small motivation for anyone who charges for anything, but there is definitely some art in there too. I would argue it's all about the money for the more uninspired, cookie-cutter bands, but to say it's all about the money as a rule of thumb is to exclude the more creative and imaginative bands who really care about what they're doing and actually make an artform out of it. Japan is, generally speaking, still pretty collectivist, so I don't think the foundation of individualistic rebellion is completely gone yet and I think there are some bands who are still seeking to "stick it to the man", as it were, and that is definitely a motivation besides money. If not that, they're at least seeking to, as I said, make an artform out of it. Compare any of the recent bland-kei projects (not saying all the recent bands are like that but yanno what I mean) to something like Moran. The former just want to make money and a meaningless statement for their fifteen minutes of fame, whereas the latter have passion and soul. I didn't name a particular bland-kei band but I'm sure you thought of one or two and were easily able to distinguish them in terms of visuals, music, talent and theme, so I think it's a bit too broad to assume they all have the exact same motivation.

Whatever, that was somewhat off-topic. I just thought I'd mention that because I saw a few people bring up the subject of getting money from bangya, although talking about this does make me wonder what the male-female ratio of fans for certain bands are in terms of their originality. Do more men like the more inspired bands? Conversely, do more women like the more inspired all-female bands?

[GreatNorthernVK 183]

Not much to add, but average age of fan could have something to do with it. When I see pictures of crowds at X-Japan or Luna Sea shows (post 2000), it’s pretty mixed. Possibly, the younger the average age of fans, the more likely that it will be gender segregated. This applies to multiple genres, not just VK. 

[303iD 8]

I've been to many shows, in the states and in japan, big and small. It really depends on the band, some bands just appeal to women more.