PSA On Clumsiness - It's Not Cute. It's Annoying. Why Do People Think It's Cute?

[Twintix]

I am clumsy. Stupidly clumsy.

I always drop things, my clothes tend to get stuck on door handles, I knock things over, I slip, I trip over nothing and I constantly lose track of what I was doing. I remember one time when I had a trampoline and decided to do a front flip. Right in the middle of the flip, I forgot what I was doing. In the air. Resulting in me falling down on the trampoline face-first.

...OK, so the trampoline part was kinda funny, but regardless:

Why do people think this behavior is charming, endearing and adorable? Because let me tell you something: It's not. It's irritating. Especially to the clumsy one in question. My co-worker can relate: He constantly forgets things and has to ask others what they wanted him to do again and again. People told him they thought it was cute. He disagrees; He thinks it makes him look like he has short-term memory loss.

So why do people think clumsiness is cute? Have they ever actually met a clumsy person or are they basing their opinions on the Hollywood-type of clumsy that isn't really clumsy at all? I mean, of course people can have different preferences, but I don't really understand why people find tripping and dropping plates is adorable.

Explanations and counter-arguments are welcome. For discussion value, of course.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, a perfect character is annoying, so people cleverly come up with not-flaws such as being endearing clumsy, and nobody sees through this at all. It also adds instant character, in theory.

 

[Queen Michael]

I dislike it the most in manga. It's usually part of some affected "cuteness." No. Stop that. You're a grown adult, for Pete's sake.

 

[KissingSunlight]

I forgot who said it. "It is a tragedy if you tripped and fall. It is a comedy when you see someone else do it."

I understand why you don't think it's funny, because you are embarrassed. To onlookers, if you are not seriously hurt. It is funny to them.

However, in all seriousness, do you suffer from a medical condition that makes you clumsy? If you don't know, maybe you should get a medical checkup.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

As long as you are genuinely clumsy and not doing it purposefully in an effort to try and look cute[footnote]in other words, it happens only once in a while and not all the time or during convenient situations as seen in anime.[/footnote], a little bit of clumsiness can remind a person that you are human and capable of making mistakes, which makes them feel more comfortable about their own mistake making.

Basically, you make them feel better about themselves, whichever way you prefer to look at that.

Messing up in-front of your SO[footnote]significant other[/footnote] every now and then for example can most certainly be an endearing quality, it reminds them you aren't perfect, so they in turn don't feel like they need to be perfect for you to enjoy their company.

 

[sageoftruth]

Well, some of that blame probably goes to the writers of said cute characters, for using their clumsiness to put them in a variety of *ahem suggestive positions and situations.

 

[sageoftruth]

I dislike it the most in manga. It's usually part of some affected "cuteness." No. Stop that. You're a grown adult, for Pete's sake.

On that note, I wonder if some of the real women in Japan who are trying to capture the "kawaii" look actually feign clumsiness to keep up appearances.

 

[Queen Michael]

I dislike it the most in manga. It's usually part of some affected "cuteness." No. Stop that. You're a grown adult, for Pete's sake.

On that note, I wonder if some of the real women in Japan who are trying to capture the "kawaii" look actually feign clumsiness to keep up appearances.

Oh, definitely. I mean, there's bound to be someone who does that among all the millions of women in Japan. The question is just how many.

 

[Dizchu]

Messing up in-front of your SO every now and then for example is most certainly an endearing quality, it reminds them you aren't perfect, so they in turn don't feel like they need to be perfect for you to enjoy their company.

100% agreed. "Cuteness" is a non-threatening attractive trait, clumsiness generally gets interpreted to mean that a person isn't threatening or "superior". Sure, when it's artificial it stops being "cute" and becomes annoying, but when it's genuine there's an endearing quality to it.

In fact, I find people that exhibit no flaws and never make any "mistakes" to be intimidating, and therefore unattractive. Some people find mild intimidation attractive, but I don't.

 

[sageoftruth]

I dislike it the most in manga. It's usually part of some affected "cuteness." No. Stop that. You're a grown adult, for Pete's sake.

On that note, I wonder if some of the real women in Japan who are trying to capture the "kawaii" look actually feign clumsiness to keep up appearances.

Oh, definitely. I mean, there's bound to be someone who does that among all the millions of women in Japan. The question is just how many.

This conjures up images of women in a gym, standing in front of mats and practicing falling over repeatedly, or perhaps setting up dummies so they can practice stumbling into people. It would really be something if such a practice actually exists. Of course, they could just try to act clumsy on the fly, rather than train for it. I think I'll hit the net and see if I can find anything.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

Hm. Do lots of people find it cute? That's just weird to me. To me it might result in more situations where you might laugh with a friend about some silly mistake you made but that's not really cute or adorable or anything in my eyes.

It seems kind of demeaning but maybe people find it cute the way they find kids making mistakes cute.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I dislike it the most in manga. It's usually part of some affected "cuteness." No. Stop that. You're a grown adult, for Pete's sake.

I think there's the crux of it; maybe the whole "clumsiness is cute" thing comes from a desire to give adult characters some kind of childish charm or innocence. One I'm not fond of either, but at least that explanation sort of makes sense.

It gets even worse when it devolves in a "Manic Pixie Dreamgirl/guy" situation in which the clumsiness devolves into manic dysfunctionality. Yeah, I can do without either of those.

 

[happyninja42]

I am clumsy. Stupidly clumsy.

I always drop things, my clothes tend to get stuck on door handles, I knock things over, I slip, I trip over nothing and I constantly lose track of what I was doing. I remember one time when I had a trampoline and decided to do a front flip. Right in the middle of the flip, I forgot what I was doing. In the air. Resulting in me falling down on the trampoline face-first.

...OK, so the trampoline part was kinda funny, but regardless:

Why do people think this behavior is charming, endearing and adorable? Because let me tell you something: It's not. It's irritating. Especially to the clumsy one in question. My co-worker can relate: He constantly forgets things and has to ask others what they wanted him to do again and again. People told him they thought it was cute. He disagrees; He thinks it makes him look like he has short-term memory loss.

So why do people think clumsiness is cute? Have they ever actually met a clumsy person or are they basing their opinions on the Hollywood-type of clumsy that isn't really clumsy at all? I mean, of course people can have different preferences, but I don't really understand why people find tripping and dropping plates is adorable.

Explanations and counter-arguments are welcome. For discussion value, of course.

I think it's more the reaction of the clumsy person that people might find cute. If their expression and verbal reaction is done in a way that is cute, it will give an impression of cuteness. I personally don't think this happens very often, as most people I see who are accident prone tend to just look embarrassed. My usual reaction is to feel empathy for them and the potential pain they experienced, and ask them if they are ok.

Though your theory about it being a Hollywood thing probably does have some merit to it. It's sort of an offshoot of the Adorkable trope. People feel attracted to the clumsy person, and want to make them better by loving them, and showing someone cares about their plight at being vertically challenged. It's specifically presented in a way in most movies to try and endear you to the clumsy person, so they ramp up the cinematically cute aspects of the situation, in an unrealistic way.

I have a friend I've known for about...damn, 20 years now, or at least 15, and he's VERY accident prone. He in fact, almost castrated himself at work, by stumbling back onto a shrink wrap machine, wrapping a stack of computers, in a way that was dangerously close to crushing his genitals into the frame of the machine. There wasn't anything cute about it, it was pretty scary and I rushed to shut the machine off to help him. He is still clumsy, and at times I will laugh at him if he is clumsy in a fairly amusing way, but it's still not cute. For example, a few days ago, he stumbled over his own sock while stepping back from his computer, tried to catch his weight on a nearby object, and ended up stumbling into the couch and sitting down as the final result. As far as slapstick comedy skits go, it was pretty amusing to watch that series of actions, but it wasn't cute.

 

[DementedSheep]

Because people find weak pathetic things "cute". "awwww look how non-threatening and inferior that things is", clumsiness comes under that. It is a fucking insult disguised as a compliment.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

I...don't believe I can properly explain it, but it depends on context most of all.

Someone fucks up when there's an important meeting happening or trips and spills hot coffee all over you?

Not cute.

Someone trips on their own feet and makes an adorable mewling noise and troubled expression when lifting themselves up?

Cute.

There's just something endearing about someone who's a little absent-minded or clumsy when it's in a relaxed setting. It comes off as being reflective of a less than serious personality or, alternatively, a bit defenseless...it evokes a kinda protective instinct? Like, ya wanna help 'em out.

You know, like a beagle puppy that falls on its face because it stepped on its own ear or something.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Being clumsy isn't cute - Its the reaction of the clumsy person in clumsy acts, apologizing in a cute way, or getting a nice rosy tint to their face as they apologize.

How do I know this? Because I am a massive, clumsy dude. Any movement made by me is as graceful as a train wreck and about twice as disruptive, and the string of profanity I spew in every direction has certainly never endeared me to anyone.

 

[JohnZ117]

I dislike it the most in manga. It's usually part of some affected "cuteness." No. Stop that. You're a grown adult, for Pete's sake.

On that note, I wonder if some of the real women in Japan who are trying to capture the "kawaii" look actually feign clumsiness to keep up appearances.

First "fake" geek girls, now "fake" clumsy girls?
O.t., out of curiosity, Twintix, would you rather people find you cute or annoying for your clumsiness, because it seems like you think it's one or the other.

 

[DefunctTheory]

I dislike it the most in manga. It's usually part of some affected "cuteness." No. Stop that. You're a grown adult, for Pete's sake.

On that note, I wonder if some of the real women in Japan who are trying to capture the "kawaii" look actually feign clumsiness to keep up appearances.

First "fake" geek girls, now "fake" clumsy girls?

To be fair, 'fake schoolgirls' are a thing in Japan. Doesn't seem like too much of a stretch, because come on.

It's Japan.

 

[happyninja42]

I dislike it the most in manga. It's usually part of some affected "cuteness." No. Stop that. You're a grown adult, for Pete's sake.

On that note, I wonder if some of the real women in Japan who are trying to capture the "kawaii" look actually feign clumsiness to keep up appearances.

First "fake" geek girls, now "fake" clumsy girls?

To be fair, 'fake schoolgirls' are a thing in Japan. Doesn't seem like too much of a stretch, because come on.

It's Japan.

It doesn't have to be "Japan", it simply takes acknowledging that there are people in the world who are calculating, and willing to put on false fronts in social situations to get something they want. I don't think anyone in the world would disagree that such people exist. Nobody seems to question the existence of fake guys, who put on pretenses in social situations, so I don't see why the idea of a woman doing the same thing is so shocking and unbelievable. So the possibility of a "fake" clumsy girl, is totally plausible. Though I doubt there are too many of them, and that the vast majority are simply people who are in fact clumsy.