![]() Even the commentators discuss Mayu’s breasts, predicting that all of the men will be interested in her. After Mayu, an “erotic swimsuit model” arrives, there is a scene of Shohei and Shion zooming in on photos of her on a smart phone. ![]() When Taka and Yuudai are alone in the spa together, they talk about wanting to see Mizuki, a freelance writer and lingerie model/vendor, in lingerie. While the men show an array of emotions and empathy, they also participate in a more familiar culture of objectifying women’s bodies. In contrast, viewer Brent Ida told me via text that he found it “super weird” that the men would “help each other with girls that both of them wanted to go out with.” He thought Taka, despite coming off as “quite a gentleman,” lacked assertiveness when he gave Yuudai tips on how to date Ami, a shared love interest. The kindness the men showed to one another stood out to a Chinese American male viewer, who told me via email he was pleasantly surprised to see men care for rather than insult and prank one another. For example, Aya, a 20-year-old university student, pursues Taka as a love interest from day one of her arrival.Īs might be expected, this different model of masculinity elicits different responses in male American viewers. Notably, the men are not critiqued by their peers for these emotional displays, but remain attractive dating prospects. The combination of Taka’s athleticism and emotional vulnerability expands perceptions of Asian men beyond the “geek” and “tech nerd” stereotypes in U.S. Viewer Kiki Intarasuwan observed on Twitter how the Japanese men on Terrace House are “unafraid to express their emotions." Pro athlete Takayuki Nakamura gets to show off his aerial snowboarding jumps, but also cries profusely in front of his housemates, especially when one of them leaves. Some Hollywood casting directors even believe that Asian actors are “ not very expressive,” thereby limiting them to one-dimensional roles.Ĭonsequently, the emotional vulnerability and expressiveness of the men on Terrace House stand out to U.S. television- missing from 64% of all shows. In fact, Asian Americans remain relatively unseen on U.S. ![]() audiences are seeing more men express a wider range of emotions, especially crying, on shows like Queer Eye and This Is Us, Asian men rarely appear on such shows. With the show's international audience, the show's attractive and sensitive Japanese male stars are potentially broadening how American audiences view East Asian men. Professor Teja Arboleda, founder of Entertaining Diversity, Inc., has lived both in Japan and the United States he tells me that the qualities of “being loud and bold doesn't make a man more attractive” in Japan, where men are discouraged from showing off and standing out. But Terrace House humanizes Asian men by demonstrating their full range of emotions, behaviors, and talents in a context where this isn't considered detrimental to their masculinity. Studies show that Asian men are perceived as more “feminine” in comparison to other racial groups in the United States, often putting them at a disadvantage in, for example, heterosexual dating market. It has many differentiating factors from western reality TV, but watching the most recent series in the franchise, Terrace House: Opening New Doors, I was struck by how the men-from Taka, the soft-hearted snowboarder, to Shohei, the romantic jazz singer-defied stereotyped American notions of masculinity. Terrace House, the charming Netflix Japanese reality show, has captured the hearts of people around the globe. Get in the know with : We're celebrating the Netflix favorite all this week. Have you watched Terrace House yet? The Japanese reality show has inspired several Twitter accounts and memes, and earned a devoted audience with its gentle rhythms and barely-there drama.
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