valkyrie

i know that people have strong opinions on the boobskirt, but after the horrible way johnny was treated for his costumes and general presentation during his career, yuzu winning gold at sochi in a costume designed by him felt like poetic justice tbh.

yes, using feminine as a positive descriptor is what i mean. male figure skaters in general in the west are usually negatively associated with being girly or gay (neither of which are bad things), so it makes me happy to see someone who is basically the face of the sport at this point being praised specifically for embodying femininity, which a lot of male skaters are afraid to do. it’s a good thing for boys who don’t fit neatly into perceptions of what masculinity is to be able to see that there’s a space where it’s fine to express themselves as they are and succeed. obviously this is just considering a western perspective though and kind of ignores the japanese views that have been talked about, but i don’t think these two approaches are necessarily mutually exclusive.

i think it's fine for people coming from different cultural contexts to interpret aspects of yuzuru's skating as feminine, though, especially when it's being celebrated. i mean, there's nothing actually wrong with men performing (what's perceived as) femininity or doing girly things, either.

the beginning with eric is too cute

the obvious solution is for everyone else to change to wakababy too i also liked "about the costume: it's a bit of a risk"

i actually saw that post too, so i know exactly what you're talking about. it was interesting, though i did feel like it was relying a bit too much on using historical evidence to make conclusions about modern japan, without really looking at popular opinion nowadays. iirc the op of that post wasn't japanese themselves (?) which is why i'd really like to hear a japanese person speak about contemporary views (and how they're informed by the historical tradition) on the topic!

it's interesting that you say you found yuzuru to be more masculine, because i personally thought he projected a pretty androgynous image that made him really suited to prince. i'm curious to hear a japanese person's opinion on this stuff accounting for japanese perceptions of gender presentation though, i feel like i'm kind of limited by my own frame of reference.

i honestly wouldn't ever use the word 'restrained' to describe any of yuzuru's programs, lol, even the quieter ones. i don't necessarily think culture-specific social rules are/need to be reflected in performances the way you're saying, or that they're indicative of a skater's capabilities in terms of how they can interpret different kinds of music.

japanese people aren't inherently more restrained or suited to certain types of performance styles than anyone else though. you can say that you think lgc didn't suit yuzuru specifically, but that's nothing really to do with his race or nationality...

being real for a second, i love lgc, it’s my fav sp. but i don’t really think “i need to keep doing this over and over until it’s finally perfect” instead of making peace with it and moving on is the healthiest approach in the world, lol. i’d rather he starts fresh with something new. but maybe this is why i’m not a two time olympic champion and he is

as long as my dream for a fan dance ex also comes true

this is a recycle free zone

i'm trying not to freak out about javi's name looking like it might fit on that list, lol. i REALLY didn't expect him to be there. also i need those clear files and i'm absolutely gonna end up overpaying for them on yahoo auctions or something

honestly, whenever there’s an attempt at making fs appealing to boys by totally denouncing associations with femininity and trying to frame it in a macho way instead... it’s so off putting and reeks of overcompensating. i’d rather they not try to get anyone interested at all if they’re gonna do it like that.

me too... i’ve already had to stop myself from trying to plan the easiest journey to grenoble just in case

hasn't done much good for me...

i mean it's probably fine to do stuff like that every once in a while when you're taking good care of your body otherwise and it won't have much of a visible impact. i don't think an olympic athlete could compete on a mcdonalds diet or maybe he really did just win the genetics lottery... and/or is an alien

all the exercise and lack of a crappy diet probably doesn't hurt...

please don't put ideas in my head

ohh, i'll go check the thread out! and i think that premium seats might be a bit out of my price range after the money i'll need to get to and stay in japan anyway... haha...

oh nooo, is the tickets thing the same for worlds? i was planning to take a shot at going next year but if they really don’t let foreigners buy all-event tickets...

since yuzuru mentioned wanting to use more japanese music, and he likes gaming, i'd really like to see him skate to the okami soundtrack an amaterasu inspired costume would look so good too

i can't believe i'm de-lurking for this of all things lol but it's common to call any kind of soda "fizzy drink/juice" where i'm from at least... so yuzuru is not alone in his odd turn of phrase!