You prefer Non nice-looking guy?

They say the trend of Japanese women's prerequisites for a partner has changed from "Sanko" which means three high levels (high income, high educational background, and high height) into "Santei" which means three low level (low posture, low risk and low dependency). Such prerequisites might be changed by times and social background, but I may say always women like "nice looking." However, such basic desires are starting to change recently. Here is the Japanese article (web translated). They said, "The time of IKEMEN-worshiping is over." IKEMEN means nice looking guy; IKE means nice, MEN means face (it could also mean man in one). ViVi, which is the very popular girls fashion magazine, conducted a questionnaire on "What type is your next boyfriend?" To my surprise, over half of the answers were "I prefer B-otoko to IKEMEN." B-otoko means B class and also Busaiku otoko (ugly guy)...wow.

One lady said, "I am not such a feminine type and it is difficult to show my weakness or affection to my BF. I have to have a cold attitude to a guy who even likes me, it's a kind of my shyness." She said usually guys had to leave because of her attitude, but only B-otoko, B-guys tried to communicate with her without giving up. (She says her type is this comedian.....oh, impossible for me.)

Other answers are... -When nice-looking guys are nice to me, I wonder, "Will he know how to treat woman like this?" For me, a nice-looking guy is out of my romance. They just make me nervous. -Nice-looking guys tend to sulk easily because of their pride. But B-guys are tough. So that friendship can be warmed easily. -Nice-looking guys know they are cool, so when they dress, they seem narcissists to me. But when I see B-guys dressed, it makes me smile, it's pleasant for me.

One beautiful lady was dating a B-guy, and her evaluation was "UP" because people thought she didn't pick the guy based on appearance. I wrote before, actresses tend to choose comedians. The same is true of this matter. B-guys are not popular because they are B, B-guys try to complement this missing part by attitude, so that they would be comfortable to be for women. I understand this well.

However, I am still suspicious of the trend "the anti-IKEMEN guys." This morning, Johnny Depp came to Japan, and over 2000 women went to Narita to see him. (His fashion was...ok?) Depp, Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, in Japan Satoshi Tumabuki, Hiroshi Tamaki ( of Nodame) etc. -- they are of course popular here. Women enjoy those beautiful guys as dreams and prefer B-guys in real life. What do you think?

By the way, in old Japan, a round face and thin eyes like like this face were the standard for beautiful women. Our standard for beauty may change in the future. Come to think of it, there is no accounting for taste. I don't know my handsome is your handsome. Anyway, my friend said the gap between nice-looking and non-nice is so much bigger than others. I want to ask foreign women about this. :-)

Comments

[Digger]

My preference might not be smart...but I am attracted to good-looking guys. I think it would be hard for me to date someone who was not "attractive". But maybe I'm not being smart! Good-looking guys are often not good boyfriends.

My sister is different from me though. As long as the guy is nice and normal looking, he's OK. Still, her last boyfriend was not really good-looking.....and he turned out to be a jerk! So some B-class are bad, too. ~_~

[justpassingby]

Personally, I prefer average or "rougher" guys. Speaking honestly, I don't like ugly guys as I DO have to look at them. For this reason, I LOVE pretty boys. Whenever I see a guy who's pretty (feminine) I scream/screech my head off. lol. but I have never wanted to date them. For me they're kind of like porcelain dolls. I wanna look at them, touch them, maybe play with them, but never kiss them,etc. They're just not my type.

[stuz]

hey guys.. i totally agree with your opinion n view (or whatever the correct word for it is), but seem like you're taking it a bit too grave and re-iterating over a precious entry by mari about sanko.. maybe it's just me, but i read this one reading between the lines as myself being japanese (guy) but seeing jp women getting hooked up european guys"hey, why do that then happen?"... looking forward to mari's feedback on this..

[kiwi789]

You mention B-guys try to complement this missing feature by attitude. You only get 'attitude' by going out heaps and trying to pick up women, probably by reading books on how to manipulate women. And if the guy is remaining cool and calm then the stakes are low for the man, which either mean they've picked up alot, has someone to go back to, or they visit prostitutes.

Watch out for those charming men!

Better is to get an average guy who is great with men, who treats you nicely - but screwed up time after time when he was trying to court you.

[langtry]

Mari:

When it comes to men, I prefer goys who aren't too "pretty" or handsome. Guys who are "ikemen" guys think they are handsome, and think that you should be happy to be with them because they are good-looking. Often, their conversation skills were lacking, and their manners, how they treated the women they were with, was much worse than they guys who weren't as good looking. "Busaiku otoko" guys have to work a little harder at getting your attention, and they learn to do so buy making you laugh (hence why so many women like comedians), being interested in what you have to say, and treating you like a princess.

As more Japanese women are able to do things and achieve status for themselves (and not through whether or not their boyfriend is "sanko"), they are less likely to put up with a man who doesn't treat them well, and therefore want a "santei" guy who thinks they are great?

[stuz]

わー nice to hear.. i have a cag/keg (樽) instead of a six pack, it cost me a fortune building it up down at my local pub so happy to hear that some prefers b-otokos .. :p

[Mari]

easy going, humore sense, positive attitude, warm heart, those are priority for me but I like nice-looking guy.

[Gabriel]

I agree with Chris' comment. Perhaps to be pleasing and not say anything drastic, they answer in an ambigious way in order to save face and not appear to be outside social norms. あいまいな答え.
Adding to Brenda's note, as a guy, I think most Ikemen in Tokyo look like Rod Stewart wannabees. Just look at the Men's egg magazine.
Generally, as women focus more and more on their careers and become less "traditional" in their roles in the household, they will perhaps look for a male with more sensibility and compassion. Most males in Japan look for cute girls who obey them and will cook and clean for them. This is not good.

[Brenda]

Hi, Mari!

In Tokyo, I definitely prefer "average" guys. The ikemen guys are too pretty--they look like hosts or teenaged girls! I don't like comedians, but farmboys and fishermen types. (But I also *love* sumo wrestlers!)

In the US, I definitely don't go for ikemen as a partner. I like to look at handsome actors like Johnny Depp, but for a boyfriend, no. I want a guy with intelligence, a sense of humor, who is easy-going. In that order. Looks are not number one on my list--or number ten even!

--Brenda

[manda]

I have problems because young guys already think I'm too much smarter than them (I'm about to enter grad school...think Sumire, if you've read 君はペット). I guess I'm from the new generation of women in the US who have made people think there is a "boy crisis" (we do a lot better in school than the boys).

So I want a guy who can appreciate that I'm smart and not have it bother him, nor my career. And I want him to be smart and motivated too. Basically I want him to accept me. It'd be nice if he looked ok and could cook, too, but I think the accepting me part is paramount. XD

[bshock]

Of course I can only answer from the perspective of a U.S. male, but for a long time now men have often considered the "girl next door" more genuinely desireable than fashion models. Plain girls seem more accessible, and usually are. But then most men don't consider themselves to be such valuable commodities, and so we're happy with any woman who takes pity on us.

[Sera]

Hard to say Mari! :P

Johnny Depp's fashion at Narita is ugly! Yuck! Even though he is very handsome.

I like men who are handsome, but it's what inside that counts. He has to be nice and a good person, which is more important. But you have to be attracted to him, whether or not he is handsome of just average.

Does that help? I can try and explain more if you'd like. :)

[Chris]

I think sometimes people answer questions to make themselves look cool.

If a girl answers "I prefer B-otoko", then perhaps she wants to show herself to be not just about appearance. But when she goes to the airport to scream at Johnny Depp, then we see what you she really thinks...