Guys: do you feel effeminate for liking Ayu?

[CHE.R.RY]

Originally Posted by emiko

Honestly, as a girl who grew up in a conservative part of Cali, where all the guys listen to Rock or Rap...it kinda weirded me out at first that there were so many guys listening to Ayu.

But meh, I mean, whatever. To each his own I guess. There are lots of guys here, and trust me, not all of them are gay lol

So...seriously, I still have occasional hang ups about it, because to me, it is a bit weird, but like someone said above, there really shouldnt be anything wrong with it, and there shouldnt be that double standard...so I'm not about to say anything about it.

People listen to what they like. You can't help what you like.

LOL honestly in my area (I'm from CA too)...if a guy were to be found listening to a girly Asian singer the first thing that comes to people's minds is "pervvvv" . Like they have an Asian fettish lol.

But I can understand why it may make some men feel feminine listening to songs like my names WOMEN, HONEY, Beautiful Fighters, etc. Those are pretty girly sounding .

HOWEVER, don't let that ruin your interest in Ayu! It's just music and as other people have said most of Ayu's lyrics are universal and are about experiences male and female alike can relate to.

Besides, lots of men listen to male and female singers...they're is nothing wrong with that. We're all human after all. My bf listens to female singers without a problem...like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears on occasion, a little Ayu, etc.

[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.

[AyumiAi]

I dont see what is wrong with listening to Ayu. Im a guy. But wasnt it completely normal and half expected in North America for guys to have posters of Britney spears plastered all over their walls? So whats the difference withi Ayu. If there was a guy obsessed with another guy artist i'd find that weirder. I think i'd be more feminine for me to drool over a poster of Justin beiber of some other male idol than Ayumi hamasaki who is not only attractive but makes amazing music. Its really stupid. I'd never even though that listening to ayumi made me feel feminine until i saw this thread. Female singers also make their products marketed towards male. Otherwise Ayu would have never made things such as Sparkle or Startin in which she's wearing spandex suits that show her body off, cuz girls arent interested in that. Its the guys they were trying to attract with that kind of advertising.
Ayumi Hamasaki is for all! <3 i love ayu XP

[gallowsCalibrator]

I'm a girl, so I can't really answer the question, lol

But~ I can add that many people's ideas of "girly" and "manly" are pretty...strange. I mean, where I live, if a guy were to be seen listening to anything other than rock or rap, he's labeled as gay. It's so sad, really, because I try to see everything as the same. I love the color blue, even though it's a "boy color" and I don't care if guys wear pink, even though it's a "girl color." I think those kind of "categories" are ridiculous and stupid So, that being said, what's the difference with pop? I mean, sure, some of Ayu's songs are aimed towards women, but a guy can still listen to them; what's the difference? Many people don't even look up the translations And even if they did, again: what's the difference? And, like AyumiAi said, many of Ayu's things are aimed towards men, too Most girls who listen to Ayu watch things like the my name's WOMEN PV because they are envious of her, but most guys watch because...you know I know I don't watch some of Ayu's PVs because I feel strange doing so, but that shouldn't be. I want to sit down and watch Ayu's concerts in public, but because of the categories and stereotypes people have created, I would be looked at strangely for watching tours like AT08, which has Ayu in revealing clothes. I hate these kind of stereotypes...

One of my best friends is gay, and he loves rock. So I don't understand all these stereotypes and categories that people have made.

I commend any guy who listens to Ayu freely~ Good for you~ <3

[SPEAKERnight.]

Not really, even tho I feel girly when I listen to Girlish (bad pun, i know).

[LemonEcstasy]

I'm straight, seeing Ayumi for the very first time (AT'06 DVD) was like a dream, but 'Large rose, sooooooo cheap, anyway she's soooooooooo adorable, I will watch her concert to the very end.' Later, I was trying to start liking her music, but GUILTY came out and I was disappointed. Somehow I've started to listen her rockish album and became more opened to the other kinds of music, since I was listening to songs, that almost everybody likes.

I always use Ayu's music as a test. When I meet someone for the first time and he asks me who I am listening to, I answer 'Hamasaki Ayumi and Koda Kumi' with a big smile on my face. After a minute of laughing out loud, because of his 'WTF?' I'm trying to explain myself. Often a new friend starts asking me some stupid questions, but when the final question comes 'Are you gay?' I know that person doesn't fit with me, because of his closed mind.

If I have a phone I would use a ringtone as a test, too. Middle of the lesson, suddenly my phone starts ringing:

SO 1.2.3.4 hitotsu zutsu
1.2 STEP you sou yatte
kimi no koto o shitte ikitai no

Oops, I forgot to turn it off, excuse me.

Teacher: Um, whose song was that? (yeah, some teachers really like to discuss with me about my intrests, which sometimes makes me sick, it's unprofessional. But always somebody else starts a silly topic like 'What would you wear on the prom?', then teachers ask me and I have to close the topic with a clever answer)

It's Hamasaki Ayumi, the biggest japanese pop star (surname in the front makes her name sound weider XD)

I'm just trying to promote nice things, which aren't known. The same goes with fashion, but I buy clothes almost only in local stores, since asian ones are really expensive, people are shocked anyway, how a guy can wear green slim fit jeans?

Listening to Ayu doesn't make me effeminate in my opinion other people may think so. Watching other male artists as a fashion gurus makes me really effeminate, sorry.

Everyone wants to be stylish and look good, face it~!

[Jezebel]

I'm gay, so no.