sageoftruth said:
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.
That's very true. However, I think that's the tip of the iceberg.
I believe the reason is because Japan is heavily obsessed with consumerism, and has been for some time. But in a different way from the west.
Traditionally, Japan still has a social rule that the women marry and become housewives, and the men slave away at their jobs as the typical breadwinner.
However, both Japanese men and women of this current generation are become increasingly less interested in such a lifestyle. Men are expected to literally dedicate their lives to their jobs, to the point where it becomes an obsession. They put in crazy hours into work, to the point where they rarely spend time with their family.
Women are expected to be housewives - raising the kids, keeping the house clean, etc, but in this day and age it's not considered a glamorous lifestyle by all. This at least partially due to the recession, where it's now become increasingly harder for husbands to be the only earner in the relationship.
However, a great many Japanese women do still genuinely aspire to be nothing more than a housewife. It was only last week I was watching a programme with my GF, where a TV presenter went to various JP celebrity houses, and the wives literally just ran around cooking and cleaning, whilst the husband laid back and did sweat FA -- the show literally sold it that this is is a glamorous lifestyle for a woman to aspire to.
Another problem is that the current generation is becoming increasingly alienated from the opposite sex. More women are complaining Japanese men are too shy, and they obsess too much over work. Whilst many men are saying Japanese women are too much hard work, and they expect too much out of men. Whilst I won't go as far as labeling all as the same, many Japanese women will not so much as look at a guy if he isn't making good money.
I think several Japanese industries are taking advantage of this shift. When you see stuff such as idol groups, or fads such as host/ hostess clubs, what these industries are saying is "hey! don't waste you life getting married to someone that doesn't understand you, having kids that just become a burden, working your arse off, and never being truly happy. Instead, buy into our product instead! You don't need a husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfried! Stay single and just self-indulge in yourselves."
And I think the porn industry is one such industry that's milking this scenario for all it's worth. I think many guys are asking themselves "why work my arse off for a lady that doesn't do much for me, that I almost never see, and costs a bomb, when I can make do with porn and obsessing over idol groups such as AKB48 instead?"
It's not just guys either. Lots of women here are preferring to stay single as long as possible. Or an increasing number are looking for foreign boyfriends.
And, indeed, as you mentioned, these guys are focusing way too much on Japanese porn to the point where they're losing the ability to socialise or become compatible with the opposite sex. And trust me, it's hard enough socialising with people in Japan anyway. It's VERY hard to make new friends in this country, whether a native or a foreigner. But I think my post is long enough as it is, so I'll spare the details.
