Forum - View topicWhat's the point of traps/crossdressing male characters?
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Vzk
Posts: 8 |
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A lot of Japanese virtual media has boys looking like girls, in both regular and ero kinds. I can't understand what's the target audience for such material.
Most men like women and most women like men. The majority don't care for a combination of both genders. Also:
Umm, sorry but (true) heterosexual men DON'T like anyone with a penis, no matter how feminine they look. |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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And you don't think there aren't closet homosexual/bisexual otaku out there looking for a socially acceptable way of expressing their desires? Also, I have been told that for some of it, especially when the rest of the cast is female, the "trap" is actually something that some otaku relate to subjectively, as in, "I wish I could be more feminine and could relate to other girls." And finally, don't forget how much these shows run on angst and "the forbidden," which gender ambiguity can provide. Besides, you never see their genitalia, or even any nudity, so it can all be left to the imagination. What matters is the cuteness. The moe factor. All of these are possibilities. I actually asked this question in a news feedback thread, and these were some of the responses I got. |
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Vzk
Posts: 8 |
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What about Boku no Pico and that other trap hentai from the same designer that came out last year? |
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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I would totally do the protagonist of Kampfer even though he has a penis sometimes.
Ewww. Actually, why even bring up hentai? Last edited by egoist on Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:50 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Good of you to keep us informed on what "true heterosexual men" like. Can't have us getting all confused, can we? - abunai Methinks he doth protest too much. |
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naninanino
 Posts: 680 |
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Isn't that gender bender? The topic as I see it, is about crossdressing. That's different. |
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egoist
Posts: 7762 |
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Gender blender?
The kind of trap you can't help but fall into! Cross dressing can't possibly be pointless. It's often a plot point, and even very meaningful sometimes (ala Wandering Son). Now, traps, oh traps. Reminds me of how much I liked that girl/boy from Gankutsuou, but still kept liking him/her even after I found the truth! |
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Rukiia
 Posts: 1897 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
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I take it that you missed the whole "Boys love Bridget" (from Guilty Gear) deal. Many straight guys still "loved" the character despite his true gender. |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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I think the question is still a valid one. The number of cross-dressing males in anime seems to have increased recently. Noitamina has had two shows back-to-back with cross-dressing, and more if you count the two Moyashimon releases. I, too, have wondered where this sudden interest in cross-dressing has come from? Is it reflective of something happening in Japanese society?
Let's see if we can all avoid stereotyping and just address the OP's question. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Maybe sexuality isn't quite as black and white as you think it is. I know my Psychology 101 professor at one point went over homosexuality vs. heterosexuality during one class, and noted that while men defined their sexual preference almost exclusively as one or the other, a practical analysis showed a remarkably constant distribution along a sliding scale between the two. On a personal level, since these are fictional characters we're talking about, the labels of "male" and "female" are of little practical consequence, which means the visual appearance is a more exclusively significant determination of whether or not we find them attractive. |
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EmbraceMe
 Posts: 2017 Location: Growing old and jaded. |
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What's the point of it? Well... It helps me question my sexuality.
Well, since egoist pointed out crossdressing, I guess I'll talk about traps. They're probably just there to add to the moe factor (which still works when the true gender is revealed). Traps can also be taken as crossdressing. |
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egoist
Posts: 7762 |
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Japanese girls? They're Noitamina's main audience, aren't they? And both Princess Jelly and Wandering Son are from there (also some in Black Butter). Probably not Japanese boys, since they're mostly after cute little girls and/or incest between siblings and tentacle rape. If I had to divide the fandom: Traps: aimed at males. Cross-dressing: aimed at females. (Primarily.) |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Egoist, I don't think there's an actual distinction between a trap and a cross-dresser, just one is a slang term. For example, take Mako-chan from Minami-ke or Mizuho from Otoboku, both shows with a more male audience, but the characters are initially established as male and we're aware of their true identity when they dress as females, so the term trap doesn't have any meaning beyond male cross-dresser.
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egoist
Posts: 7762 |
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Huh? If they reveal their identity at first then it's by default not a trap. Unless, of course, they actually get real boobies somewhere along the road, then it's a double trap; because zero multiplied by two equals two.
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Vzk
Posts: 8 |
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Then they aren't straight after all. The normal reaction would be that they no longer get attracted to it. |
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