Why do so many people on the internet like to characterize Japan as sex-crazy?

[SuperUberBob]

Why do people think Asians can't drive?

Oh they can't. That's not a stereotype. I lived in Asia for 4 years and one of my biggest peeves is Americans who complain about other American drivers. My family has no idea how good they have it.

-----------------------------------------

Japan and most of Asia from my experience is sexually repressed. College-aged Chinese girls who have had sex are in the minority in the schools I've taught in.

Of course if you go to the right places in any major Asian city, you can definitely see where the stereotype comes from.

 

[Weaver]

Becuase Kanamara Matsuri is a huge celebration in Japan and is totally normal?

The Kanamara Matsuri is centered around a local penis-venerating shrine once popular among prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted diseases. It is said that there are also divine protections for business prosperity and for the clan's prosperity; and for easy delivery, marriage, and married-couple harmony. There is also a legend of a sharp-toothed demon (vagina dentata) that hid inside the vagina of a young woman and castrated two young men on their wedding nights. As a result, the young woman sought help from a blacksmith, who fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon's teeth, which led to the enshrinement of the item.

Here's one of thousands of pictures you can google

Spoiler

More to the point: I know Japan is a functioning society that isn't full of sexual deviants. However, they aren't doing themselves any favours via the media they export.

 

[El Danny]

This is the country where you can by dirty knickers from vending machines. I'm sure Japan isn't full of sex-obsessed perverts, but it's certainly earned its reputation.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Becuase Kanamara Matsuri is a huge celebration in Japan and is totally normal?

The Kanamara Matsuri is centered around a local penis-venerating shrine once popular among prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted diseases. It is said that there are also divine protections for business prosperity and for the clan's prosperity; and for easy delivery, marriage, and married-couple harmony. There is also a legend of a sharp-toothed demon (vagina dentata) that hid inside the vagina of a young woman and castrated two young men on their wedding nights. As a result, the young woman sought help from a blacksmith, who fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon's teeth, which led to the enshrinement of the item.

Here's one of thousands of pictures you can google

Spoiler

More to the point: I know Japan is a functioning society that isn't full of sexual deviants. However, they aren't doing themselves any favours via the media they export.

...

Did I just read about a folktale about a woman who got an iron 'marriage aid' to banish a vaginal demon?

...

Christ.

 

[Bertylicious]

I always assumed it was from their conduct during the second world war. All that terrible business in China and Thailand and everywhere.

Also I was watching the original Bubblegum Crisis (massive shoulder pads for the win!) the other day and that did feature a running incest gag with a 15 year old lad desperately trying to see his sister naked. On the other hand they had a gay man in a central, authorative, role who has a normal, friendly, relationship with his straight police partner so it's all swings and roundabouts.

 

[Amir Kondori]

There is the train groping, the used panties being sold in vending machines, tubgirl, hentai, hentai games, strange pixelated porn, waifu, pillow women, mouse pads with boobs, and many other things I am forgetting at the moment.

 

[Talvrae]

It might be exagerated... but how many contry sell dirty girls underwears in a distributing machines?

 

[The_Echo]

So... how about it. Why does everyone think they're all sex-crazy when that's definitely nowhere near the extent which everyone thinks?

Americans are fat. The French are rude. Germans are angry. The Chinese are strict. The Irish are drunks.

Cultural stereotypes. That's your answer.

(Though this perception is NOT helped by the cultural-dissonance on how both the West and East view sexuality).

Though you've summed it up a bit there yourself.

Japan has an annual penis festival [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanamara_Matsuri], and hentai has made its presence known globally. Not to mention the myriad of anime [http://sompreto.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/one-piece-nami-new-world.jpg] and video game [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120724095248/tekken/en/images/c/cd/Ttt2cgiChristie.png] characters whose designs are... less-than-modest.

When this becomes the majority of what one sees from a country, one might think that country is thinking with the wrong head.

 

[GabeZhul]

In footnotes: The west is very closet-prude. We don't talk about sex, we shun it, we treat it as something dirty that you are not even supposed to think about until you are at least 20.

Japan? It's like that, except squared. They are so repressed it's not even funny, and their anime, manga and, especially relevant in this case, the hentai industry are their scarce few outlets that reach the west, which we then latch onto as a way to say "yes, we consume this weird shit, but at least we are not as weird as the people who made this must have been". The rest just snowballs down from there.

As such: An extreme outlet for an extremely repressed society -> The rest of the word doesn't know the circumstances (like that tentancle-porn exists to circumvent censorship regulations and such) -> The world takes everything at face value -> Inaccurate and extremely silly stereotypization.

Factor in the west's enduring animation age ghetto as well (thinking that drawn animation is for kids, a sentiment that is often still going strong even today), which when combined with some early mis-marketed hentai movies in the 80s set the bar for the public consciousness about Japanese import, and you can see how the whole thing started.

Not to mention, today you can also count the lopsided, self-driving effect of the stereotype: People looking for weird and freaky porn often search for Japanese because the stereotype makes them think they would find what they need. This creates a market that Japanese AV studios can use, so they make weird shit for this audience, which in turn reinforces the stereotype.

In the end there is no single reason, but there are quite a number of factors

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

I know a girl living in an apartment in Japan, whose had all sorts of experiences with the sex-crazed culture. For example, it's so hot out that she can dry her clothes in minutes if hung outside, but she had to stop doing it because twice all her underwear was stolen by some pervert.
Also, all the kids in her English class would should "oppai!" (boobs) at her whenever they saw her. And she said she tries to avoid public transport as much as possible, because you will get groped.

But apparently even worse than the perverts are the racists. Japan is full of racists, especially outside the major cities. The kind that stare at you and cross the street to avoid you. She said it's very alienating.

I don't really know why their culture might be especially like this, though she said in her experience it's due to a severe lack of discipline among children. The kids she deals with are 12-15, old enough to know better, but when they act out nothing happens. All the proper teachers are really timid and afraid to punish children, and it's illegal for a temporary teacher to do any disciplining. So they grow up without properly learning right from wrong. That's her theory.

Spoiler: I personally like this one

I personally like this one:

 

[Entitled]

Japan and most of Asia from my experience is sexually repressed. College-aged Chinese girls who have had sex are in the minority in the schools I've taught in.

Why the hell exactly do you keep track of the virginity of the college girls you have taught?

 

[SuperUberBob]

Japan and most of Asia from my experience is sexually repressed. College-aged Chinese girls who have had sex are in the minority in the schools I've taught in.

Why the hell exactly do you keep track of the virginity of the college girls you have taught?

Are you dense enough to think that I actually poll my students or something like that?

Given that sex outside of marriage is illegal and morally condemned in China, it's not a huge stretch.

 

[SuperUberBob]

Japan and most of Asia from my experience is sexually repressed. College-aged Chinese girls who have had sex are in the minority in the schools I've taught in.

Why the hell exactly do you keep track of the virginity of the college girls you have taught?

Given that sex outside of marriage is illegal in China, it's not a huge stretch.

Is that a double entendre? lol

No idea how you drew that impression.

Just out of curiosity guys, how common do you think these vending machines are?

Because I've lived here for years upon years. I've hung out in seedy parts of Shinjuku. I used to live in a red-light district. I've never seen them. I've never heard a Japanese person mention them.

They've been banned for some time now.

 

[Talvrae]

This is the country where you can by dirty knickers from vending machines. I'm sure Japan isn't full of sex-obsessed perverts, but it's certainly earned its reputation.

It might be exagerated... but how many contry sell dirty girls underwears in a distributing machines?

Just out of curiosity guys, how common do you think these vending machines are?

Because I've lived here for years upon years. I've hung out in seedy parts of Shinjuku. I used to live in a red-light district. I've never seen them. I've never heard a Japanese person mention them. They may have existed at one time, but attacking Japanese people for them now makes about as much sense as attacking Americans for the E.T. video game.

Incidentally, El Danny's "it's certainly earned its reputation" comment is particularly worrying to me. After all, far more Americans are involved in the meth industry than Japanese people are in the used panty industry. If it's okay to call Japanese people sex-crazy because you once heard a story about panty vending machines that you don't have any idea of how true it is, can we call all Americans meth-heads? Somehow I don't think that would be permitted.

Honestly I don't know... I personally I think the whole japenesse being sex crazed is exaggerated... All I was saying is story like that don't help the reputation

 

[Angie7F]

The point isn't sexual harrassment, it's that it's such a big issue and the only way they have of combating it is to rethink public transportation on a nationwide level. Is that what it takes?

Yeah, when you need to talk up "no groping" sections in public transportation, something's wrong.

It's nsort of like advertising that your restaurant's food is now spit free.

I think we have women only trains because unlike in other countries where many people commute by car, A high percentage of the Tokyo population take the train.
And it gets PACKED!

In a way, segregating women in women only train carriages prevents men from being accused falsely of groping women.
It is not like this in the non-metropolitan parts of japan because people drive cars.
Simple as that.

 

[Something Amyss]

In a way, segregating women in women only train carriages prevents men from being accused falsely of groping women.

Well, that's kinda bass ackward. Not only does volume apparently lead to harassment, but now it sounds like "won't someone think of the poor men?"

 

[Quadocky]

It bugs me a lot. I had a hard to trying to get this question out, but seeing jokes on this site and Cracked, as well as a few of my ignorant friends spouting has spurned me once more to try to ask the question, hopefully in a manner that is to be taken seriously, considering the subject matter that will be brought up. (I have my doubts about that, even on the Escapist...)


So... how about it. Why does everyone think they're all sex-crazy when that's definitely nowhere near the extent which everyone thinks? (Though this perception is NOT helped by the cultural-dissonance on how both the West and East view sexuality).

Part cultural dissonance, and part nerd history wise, many western otaku's first exposure to anime include what amount to porn.

It kinda just grew from there with an unfortunate stereotype.

 

[Something Amyss]

If it's okay to call Japanese people sex-crazy because you once heard a story about panty vending machines that you don't have any idea of how true it is, can we call all Americans meth-heads? Somehow I don't think that would be permitted.

It's fair to say we are a meth-obsessed nation, though.

There's an interesting language shift there, though. You go from Japan as sex-obsessed to ALL Americans. One of the people you quoted even specifically said it's not every Japanese person, so that shift is not necessary.

Comparing apples to apples, yes. We are a meth-obsessed nation.

 

[Qvar]

Americans. Classy? Classy is word I'd ascribe to brits, I associate America more with the stumming of banjo strings... and gunfire, lots and lots of gunfire.

Why do you assume that he ISN'T brit? Maybe because he has a... 'guy' in a brit-style suit avatar, hm?

 

[sageoftruth]

It bugs me a lot. I had a hard to trying to get this question out, but seeing jokes on this site and Cracked, as well as a few of my ignorant friends spouting has spurned me once more to try to ask the question, hopefully in a manner that is to be taken seriously, considering the subject matter that will be brought up. (I have my doubts about that, even on the Escapist...)


So... how about it. Why does everyone think they're all sex-crazy when that's definitely nowhere near the extent which everyone thinks? (Though this perception is NOT helped by the cultural-dissonance on how both the West and East view sexuality).

Speaking as someone that lives in Japanese society, it's a really hard issue to explain.

Sex is everywhere in this country. I mean, seriously, everywhere.

I can't tell you how shocked I was with the number of porn stores in this country, particularly in bigger cities like Akiba, Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, etc.

To cut a long story short, I'd say it's what you coined at the last sentence - it's because their idea of sex, sexuality and sexy is completely different to the west. For instance, a great many Japanese women wear short skirts. They don't wear it so much because they think it's super sexy. The do it because it's the social norm. And yet, all of us western men go wild over it, because very few women in the West wear skirts the way they do. And yet, unlike the west, they don't often show their cleavage so much. It's just totally different.

I will say that Japan uses sex to sell products MUCH MORE than the west. I'm not saying the west is conservative, but seriously, just look up some of the adverts from the highly successful group AKB48.


I mean, seriously, this is just a candy advert!

In Akihabara, about 30% of stores are selling AKB48 gear. There are some stores, which used to be video game stores, which are now completely dedicated to selling DVDs and photos of AKB48 members. I mean, I know you have famous singers in the west like Beyounce, Justin Bieber, One Direction, etc, but do you see stores on the highstreet dedicated to photos of them in bikinis or shirtless outfits?

Perhaps its also the fact that Japan has the second biggest porn industry in the world.

It's ironic that Japan has been having a decreasing birthrate for around 3-4 decades now. From what I've heard, Japanese couples don't actually have that much sex.

I don't know if I'd call it ironic. I think I know what you were getting at, but the wilder your porn gets, the less appealing real sex appears by comparison. Most men can't tell their wives to put on a weird costume and strap themselves into a crazy bondage device.