lifestyle

Common misconceptions about the opposite sex in Japan

46 Comments

Recently, the website Cobs Online (http://cobs.jp) conducted a survey of 633 female and 222 male users, asking them some of the most common perceptions that men and women have toward each other in Japan.

Japanese girls assume that guys…

  • …like big breasts (30%). But actually, “shape is more important than size.”
  • …like skinny girls (25%). In fact, “skinny model types are too fake. Having natural curves is more womanly.”
  • …want to treat girls (22%). But really, “I’m not going to shell out money for somebody I don’t care about.”
  • …dislike highly educated women (20%). Seriously, though, “smart people are more interesting to talk to.”
  • …like younger women (19%). To be honest, “that depends on the person; it’s definitely not true of all guys.”

Japanese guys assume that girls…

  • …like name-brand items (38%). In fact, “there are lots of girls who have no idea about famous brands.”
  • …think it’s natural for the man to always pay (33%). Get real: “That kind of thinking burst along with the Bubble.”
  • …can’t decide anything on their own (32%). Seriously, “there are very few women who depend on a guy that much.”
  • …want to quit their jobs after getting married (27%). Duh: “Women have dreams just like men; that idea is dead.”
  • …are always neat and clean (24%). Actually, “I’m a pretty messy person, so it’s always awkward when people assume I’m a neat freak.”
© Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp)

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

46 Comments
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What a bizarrely written article. Stats followed by out-of-context solitary quotes.

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This article is written badly. Is the percentage stated those who don't hold that belief, e.g. "Japanese girls assume that guys like big breasts (30%)" means that 30% of guys don't like big breasts? Or does only 30% of guys like big breasts?

It's very unclear, and as such completely useless.

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Wat

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And the data is so Flawed. Japanese population of male female is around 50/50.

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yeah not the greatest article. I love big breasted, young, skinny, high educated women, and treat my girlfriend when ever I get the chance. maybe what they found out is that everybody has different tastes in people. welcome to reality!!! great article.

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Frungy - There is nothing unclear about the article or data. I don't know how you could be confused.

This article is written badly

Oh dear. The irony...

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If 30% of women think guys like women with big breasts, then 70% must think the opposite. So why didn't they write:

Japanese girls assume that guys…

like small breasts (70%). “I like women who look like a 17 year old boy.”

This is the worst-written article I've ever read on here.

It has the intelligence of a Rikki Lake Show guest introduction.

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Which percentage refer to which assumption is clear, but the problem with this article is how the data is presented. As other posters have said, it could have been done better.

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Yeah, like I rely on COBS for all my news.

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I guess this flies in the Japanese media, but it needs more meat for overseas news consumers.

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Doing research is just so flipping hard you know. So, why not just report on half-a$$ and half-baked nonsense because the readers....well, are not all that smart you know, so they will eat it up anyhow. Come on JT. TRY harder! We are not that stupid! Report on real research done by real researchers or don't waste our TIME.

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I guess this flies in the Japanese media

Actually the original articles have more meat to them.

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“that depends on the person; it’s definitely not true of all guys.”

LOL! That phrase can fit into any of the questions that were asked.

I just wasted 5 minutes of my day reading this junk.

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Umm... Sorry, but I'm with the majority here. From the standpoint of how to present statistical data in a format that's easily accessible to the layman (or anyone who reads English, for that matter), this article is . . . how do I put it nicely? lacking?

Doesn't mean that nothing can be taken from it, but will the final impression accurately reflect the data? I'm left to wonder if, for example, 30% of women polled mistakenly think all men like big breasts, or if the women polled feel that 30% of all men like big breasts.

Also, where is the contrasting data to put the numbers into some sort of useable context? It's hard to walk away from this article with any impression that the examples listed are "common" in any way when the numbers only reflect an average of 1-in-3 to 1-in-5 women polled thinking a certain way. Only 30% of women thinking a certain way doesn’t really have much of an impact if the remaining 70% felt, say, the opposite, i.e., ”70% of Women Polled Know Just What Men Like!”

Now THAT would be newsworthy.

If the article were to, say, provide at least a cursory breakdown of the other numbers from the survey, it might not be so muddy. For example, if 30% of women polled thinking men like big breasts was followed by 29% of women polled thinking men preferred posteriors, then the article might be on to something about common misconceptions.

Instead, we’re left with a vague and hastily thrown-up article that leaves readers with nothing else to comment on other than the sloppiness evident in posting such a piecemeal article at all.

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…can’t decide anything on their own (32%). Seriously, “there are very few women who depend on a guy that much.”

…want to quit their jobs after getting married (27%). Duh: “Women have dreams just like men; that idea is dead.” …are always neat and clean (24%). Actually, “I’m a pretty messy person, so it’s always awkward when people assume I’m a neat freak.”

Men are so naive...LOL.

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I cannot believe I read this.

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Here's a newsflash:

Men like younger, symmetric, shapely women with decent sized firm breasts.

Women like older powerful wealthy men with status.

I think they discovered this shocking breakthrough back around when the wheel was invented.

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we are all stupider for having read this article.

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Totally agree with this article. I'm a man and big breasts, skinny "like model" young women are not necessarily the rule. And like the article men says, “I’m not going to shell out money for somebody I don’t care about.”

…want to quit their jobs after getting married (27%). Duh: “Women have dreams just like men; that idea is dead.” I certainly hope girls think that way, because I really dislike the idea "you are the man so you put the food on the table, while I am the woman and I am supposed to stay home and cook it".
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…can’t decide anything on their own (32%). Seriously, “there are very few women who depend on a guy that much.”

I hear complaints by JP women that I have dated that they feel they cannot decide something without asking their date etc and cannot be themselves.

…think it’s natural for the man to always pay (33%). Get real: “That kind of thinking burst along with the Bubble.”

if you don't pay, you are not getting any. that's a global standard.

…want to quit their jobs after getting married (27%). Duh: “Women have dreams just like men; that idea is dead.”

LOL! well there is no account for fiction in this article.

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it's all the package deal, just because you like one or two parts of her body, doesn't mean she's your ideal person. just because she doesn't have the kind of appearance you like, if you have good chemistry, then she can be your ideal person.. this survey is silly..

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Japanese girls assume that guys…

…like big breasts (30%). But actually, “shape is more important than size.”

I have to say that - like most chaps I know, I prefer bigguns to the fried egg. But a smaller, well-presented B cup is preferable to a navel-grazing whopper once the supporting devices have been removed.

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…are always neat and clean (24%)

I suppose this could be rephrased as "24% of Japanese guys don't have sisters."

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I laughed at the neat and clean one. Some of the messiest/disorganized people I know are female, myself included.

“skinny model types are too fake. Having natural curves is more womanly.”

I'd believe if it I didn't see most boys dating/pining over the skinny model types.

This was a silly survey, but kind of entertaining all the same!

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"Doing research is just so flipping hard you know. So, why not just report on half-a$$ and half-baked nonsense because the readers....well, are not all that smart you know, so they will eat it up anyhow. Come on JT. TRY harder! We are not that stupid! Report on real research done by real researchers or don't waste our TIME."

Now come on moderators: you deleted this post TWICE, but it is NOT off topic, otherwise the other posts are too. What!? You can't take a little criticism?

Moderator: This is not a story. It is a report on the humorous results of a silly survey, nothing more. Focus your comments on what the respondents had to say and nothing else.

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i rather prefer the readers' comments than the article..........

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I'm confused. For example in the statement,

…like big breasts (30%). But actually, “shape is more important than size.”

Does this mean that 30% of the women who responded thought that Japanese guys like big breasts, or that only 30% of guys like big breasts?

Assuming the first, is this really an incorrect statement? I assume that they must have polled the guys as well to get the real answers, so it would be interesting to see the actual answers.

Also, how is 30% even "most japanese girls?" It doesn't seem like a majority at all.

Well, it was interesting to read, but I assume that the japanese version was a lot clearer. I would be interested in a link to the original japanese version, or a clearer translation!

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Hermione, the survey question for that response probably went something like:

Men like breasts that are: a. 80-pound behemoths (each) b. Big c. A handfull d. Barely there e. Non-existant

If the question was posed like that, you could have 30% of the responses actually be the majority depending on how many of the other choices were selected.

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Men suffer from testosterone poisoning or at least 70 percent of them. They all seem to have only one thing on their tiny little minds.

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Men suffer from testosterone poisoning or at least 70 percent of them.

Interesting the 70 percent figure. Is that from your own, personal research, or do you read a lot of medical texts? ;)

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a navel-grazing whopper.

Not seen that on the menu at my local burger joint for a long time.

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I think the assumptions are rather close to the real majority. The last one though 'always neat and clean' I am not sure. I saw a program about a wife who didn't bathe for a whole week and she worked outside of her home. The husband discovered by finding 'mysterious white flocks' coming out of her hair!

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kyushujoe, you are right the number is closer to 100 percent. Testosterone poisoning makes men too aggressive and lacking in logical thought. There are treatments for this condition guys. Soon you will be thinking with your brain other than your "pair".

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'tis a basic biological urge - probably the closest thing humans have left that could be called primitive "instinct". Guys have an internal drive to procreate as often as possible and with as many mates as possible. That way the gene pool is strengthened through diversity. "Civilization" put the kabash on those heady free-wheeling days of "See it, do it" so now guys are frustrated due to repression. WE WILL NOT BE REPRESSED ANYMORE! ;D

Interesting to read all these reports about J-men turning into herbivores, yet Yuri still thinks they're way too aggressive.

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Why not use an equal number of men and women in the survey? Maybe they just took whoever responded.

Anyway, as a man, I love Japanese women more than any other because:

Most of them are all natural. No shaving. No tattooes. No piercings. The whole world thinks it is necessary to shave off all hair from thier bodies. I think body hair, in the rigth place :), adds all the character. Most dont have fake breasts either. And I agree the figure is more important than the breast size. There is an AV star named Akari. Cant find a last name. Tiny breasts, but she is sooooo beautiful and lovely. Japanese women have very healthy looking skin texture and color. Probably because the Japanese diet is so much better than McDonalds. I love those deep brown eyes.

I have seem some Japanese girls online that I dont know how they could be more beautiful and attactive. The trouble is....I just dont know them.

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I need to stop pulling on your guys legs. Men and women lead very different lives in Japan and the government wonders why the birth rate is falling. People these days expect to find the perfect mate, fact best we can hope for is not perfect and compromise by both is needed. Suppose the ideal man for me would be one that can get along with me and overlook my flaws.

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Japanese girls assume that guys…

…like big breasts (30%). But actually, “shape is more important than size.”

What does the 30% refer to? Is it that 30% of girls asked had that opinion of guys preference? (In which case 70% didn't, so it's hardly a majority who have that misconception)

Or does the 30% refer to the % of guys whose answers conformed to the stereotype?

Anyhow, seeing as no percentages are given for the answers which give rise to the apparent misconceptions (“shape is more important than size.” is presumably the comment of only one respondent and how many others agreed with him?)it's difficult to say what the misconceptions were.

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Men suffer from testosterone poisoning or at least 70 percent of them. They all seem to have only one thing on their tiny little minds.

And you've never noticed women competing over some cute guy ? As obsessed as any group of males ... sometimes even more.

Oh, and clearly guys have LOTS of things on their minds ... although sex obviously takes priority under certain circumstances. But hey - men, women, sex ... they go together. If a guy meets an interesting girl, well, industrial design and foreign trade law isn't going to be at the top of his priority list. Would you WANT it to be ?

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Another minute I'll never get back.

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Girls are just better at making it look like they're neat, heheh.

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Oh, I got one. I was speaking with a Japanese woman and when I mentioned that I usually bought more candy than needed for Halloween so that I could eat the leftover candy, she was surprised that I liked candy and sweets in general.

Yeah, Japanese women (and to be fair, many men I think) think that men don't like sweet things. Big misconception. Maybe many men are embarrassed to admit it, but many of us do like it quite a bit.

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…like younger women (19%) - Okay this study is obviously a fraud. Would have been more credible if they said 80%.

I don't see many 40 year old guys chasing after 60 year old women. It's usually 20 years the other direction.

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I think the only truth here is the neatness thing. The messiest people I've ever lived with(not including my wife) are all female. I've lived in basements with 4 guys and I've shared bigger houses with an all girl crew and I got to say guys get the dishes done more regularly and the rug stays cleaner longer. It's not just Japanese girls, it's across all races and cultures. Mind you, these are single girls I'm talking about, not married or moms.

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Culturechange--women in Japan go to great lengths to shave off LOTS of body hair from their arms, legs, backs, and faces (the sides near the ear and jawline). Such services are widely available and used. And the bikini line. Just about the only thing they DON'T shave is their actual groin, because that would give the impression to other women in the bathhouse that they're promiscuous.

And they eat a lot of McDonald's. And Saizeriya. And Mister Donut. Speaking of misconceptions about the opposite sex. Some women have nice skin and many don't. There are oodles of dermatology clinics in Japan, so the diet can't be keeping everyone's skin lovely. Kind of the same for any woman. Diet plays very little into skin apart from hydration, or else I wouldn't have had fantastic skin as a teen.

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I definitely agree that there are many misconceptions about the opposite sex. But really every person is different so I still feel like even generalizing it in terms of sex is still a LARGE generalization. Also the data is really messed up, the difference in the number of people per sex is much too large, and there are no age groups, etc.

Also about the discussion over men's prioritizing of sex over other matters, well that's simple natural isn't it? However, there is logic behind what most of society abides by. The human population is large enough where we dont need to reproduce every second we get, and that also holds true in terms of diversity(even with Japan is still dominated largely by Japanese and close bloodlines, the technology has developed enough where we can actually vaccinate a woman with her partner's blood so that they can have a child.). There are also the ideas behind stability and likeliness of children to make to adult hood behind a married couple. (That being said it still really depends on the people involved in the relationship.)

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Was there an option for woman who is a hot, rich, mute, nymphomanaic who owns a liquor store?

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