[Uemarasan]

In Ayu concerts in Japan, you see groups of typical, straight Japanese men attending as avowed fans. It seems that Japanese men, just as much as women, see no shame in subscribing to a female idol. In fact, it's a pretty normal occurrence. Have you seen All About Lily Chou-chou? Sure, it's fiction, but it's a realistic depiction of Japanese culture.

If I might make a generalization, and anyone is free to disagree with me or take me to task, but this negative perception towards any possibly "feminization" of a man's tastes or what a man likes or does seems to be more of a stigma present in Western cultures (or where the Western influence is strong) than anywhere else (I've seen it happen in the US, the UK, Australia, and where I live, etc.). Men are supposed to have tastes that conform to certain stereotypes and anything that moves away from that macho path is looked upon with derision. However, I do notice that "femininity" in men is slowly being seen less as a threat to traditional maleness as society becomes more open-minded regarding the treatment of women and even the GLBT community.

Ironic how it's in Japan, wherein male and female are still so clearly delineated in career and domestic roles, that tastes in music, clothing, etc. lack that rigidity.

I would hope we would one day live in a society wherein we wouldn't be so contained by gender expectations and restrictions so that we may live as we want to, without judgment.

Besides, straight men who listen to Ayu are HOT. Hot, hot, hot.