General Yuzuru Chat

[Perelandra]

35 minutes ago, Fay said:

Guys, this is Japan. Highly respected and appreciated heterosexual male actor-dancers can well excel in playing onnagata parts. So the boundaries of what is permitted to males might be ever so slightly different 

 

 

Fascinating and aesthetically beautiful film. Thank you for posting 

There was an article about the differences between Western and Eastern cultures about the concepts of masculinity and femininity. Sorry cannot find the reference. 

The article wrote that male Japanese nobles were educated in certain feminine behaviours, as these represented values such as mercy, were seen as being cultured and well educated. The article was very informative and explained these concepts most excellently.

[rockstaryuzu]

1 hour ago, Perelandra said:

As someone old enough to have been a teenager and adored guys from the New Romantic era bands and those that emulated the look, read vampire novels by Anne Rice and that sort of thing, men wearing lace cuffed fencing shirts, velvet frock coats/ embroidered waistcoats and guyliner are masculine styles. Just different type of masculinity compared with someone wearing sports clothes or jeans and t shirt. There's barely any difference in how Yuzu has been styled for his photo shoot and the new romantic style of the 1980's (or the 1780's for that matter, hehehe) just a slightly different perspective as to what makes one thing masculine and another not. 

He's wearing a bit more than just eyeliner but yes.

[ZuCritter]

On 8/8/2023 at 4:31 PM, Fay said:

Guys, this is Japan. Highly respected and appreciated heterosexual male actor-dancers can well excel in playing onnagata parts. So the boundaries of what is permitted to males might be ever so slightly different 

 

 

Exactly. And, as @Perelandrapointed out, the conclusions we draw about people say everything about us and our cultural conditioning and nothing about them. And the conditioning varies tremendously, both between and within cultures. Those of us in the West could probably have a lively debate about whether the costumes for Swanyu and HYK or the costumes for LMEY and Glamorous Sky are more "gay." (I belong in the latter category, which probably signals something about my age.)

 

The way someone dresses or moves may be meant to convey something about their gender identity or sexuality or nothing at all. Personally, I think Yuzu delighted in confusing the heck out of us -- especially because his private life is none of our damn business.

 

[Perelandra]

1 minute ago, rockstaryuzu said:

He's wearing a bit more than just eyeliner but yes.

Apologies, forgot the lip gloss swoons

[Fay]

25 minutes ago, Perelandra said:

Fascinating and aesthetically beautiful film. Thank you for posting 

There was an article about the differences between Western and Eastern cultures about the concepts of masculinity and femininity. Sorry cannot find the reference. 

The article wrote that male Japanese nobles were educated in certain feminine behaviours, as these represented values such as mercy, were seen as being cultured and well educated. The article was very informative and explained these concepts most excellently.

You mean this, don’t you? 
https://doramaticbites.tumblr.com/post/171551859613/to-the-japanese-hanyu-may-not-be-gnc

[Perelandra]

3 minutes ago, Fay said:

You mean this, don’t you? 
https://doramaticbites.tumblr.com/post/171551859613/to-the-japanese-hanyu-may-not-be-gnc

Ah yes, well done and thank you for finding the article. It was most illuminating and interesting, because some ideas are constructs of the society in which people reside, knowledge about different cultures is enlightening. 

"O brave new world, that has such people in 't!” The Tempest, W. Shakespeare

[rockstaryuzu]

18 minutes ago, Perelandra said:

Apologies, forgot the lip gloss swoons

And the gleaming eyeshadow! It really looks nice, too. I'd buy that colour.

[rockstaryuzu]

1 hour ago, micaelis said:

In following all the angst and extasy over Yuzu's marriage I think one thing should not be forgotten when speculating how this might affect his skating. that being that while figure-skating is for some skaters a sport (primarily the jumpers like Nathan and Ilia) for others it is an art (Jason the prime example here), figure-skating for Yuzu is a religion, an absolute that requires a total commitment.  As such I see Yuzu's marriage as something he needs to fulfill his mission.  Coming from a close-knit family and aware of how the shared love of his sister and parents is a reality that illuminates his skating he sees now with his parents getting older (they're hardly ancient right now but those times are coming) Yuzu has decided he needs to create his own family to replace what inevitably will occur particularly if his sister should marry and his parents retire and look forward to their final years.  Indeed, they will still be a vital part of his life but Yuzu is looking down the years when the situation will be different.  He needs to create his own family in order to continue his skating mission.  It's the insights he's gained over the years from his experiences with his family that have so enriched Yuzu's humanity during these many years of his being married to the ice. That marriage can only be continued by having a family of his own making to replace that which while viable now will become dated as his parents age and his sister makes her own independent life.  I think nothing will strengthen Yuzu more than his becoming a father.  Being a father as well a husband will enrich his skating even more because he will now have a living and loving investment in the future by creating a new generation of Hanyus

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say skating is his religion, but it's s definitely his life,  in the sense that it's how he lives and makes sense of the world. And that's probably never going to change no matter who comes along.

 

[rockstaryuzu]

1 hour ago, Fay said:

Guys, this is Japan. Highly respected and appreciated heterosexual male actor-dancers can well excel in playing onnagata parts. So the boundaries of what is permitted to males might be ever so slightly different 

 

 

I know that, which is why I question my own perceptions of Yuzu all the time.

[Fay]

1 minute ago, rockstaryuzu said:

I know that, which is why I question my own perceptions of Yuzu all the time.

And that’s what everyone should do before they jump to any conclusions about anyone, generally.  

[rockstaryuzu]

25 minutes ago, Fay said:

You mean this, don’t you? 
https://doramaticbites.tumblr.com/post/171551859613/to-the-japanese-hanyu-may-not-be-gnc

Embodying wa is as good a description of Yuzu as I have ever heard 

[rockstaryuzu]

8 minutes ago, Fay said:

And that’s what everyone should do before they jump to any conclusions about anyone, generally.  

Which is why I never really reached a definitive assumption (I  don't think I can use the word 'conclusion' ) until now. 

[yuzupon]

48 minutes ago, ZuCritter said:

especially because his private life is none of our damn business.

This, so much this.
I am just thankful that he is willing to share everything he has shared with us so far. I already feel beyond privileged. He keeps his private life private. For everything else of his that he has shared, I feel obliged to respect this decision to keep some parts of him away from the public. It’s the least I could do.

[Sombreuil]

I think the reaction of certain parts of the fandom comes partly from those who came to the sport from the ‘idol’ perspective, which I don’t fully understand but believe carries with it a sense of almost ownership of performers and something akin to hysteria when they change tack or show signs of maturing, like getting married, and partly from the Peter Pan lobby who became infatuated with baby Romeo and never quite came to terms with the tough character behind that performance who was already growing up and preparing to travel thousands of miles away from the comfort of home to dedicate years to honing his athletic and artistic abilities in the environment he thought would be best for it.  All that perfection on ice didn't magically appear - he said himself it took hard work and sacrifice of normal teenage/ 20s pursuits to achieve.  And several times he has told tv presenters and film crews on advertising shoots that he’s an athlete not an idol.  As such he has a private life and a right to keep it so.  He’s not a reality tv star or a member of a royal family who give up/ never have the privacy the rest of us enjoy.  He’s very sensible to draw that line in the sand, he did it from the start and would be mad to stop now.  We should all respect that - I think most of us do.

 

[Beatrice]

2 hours ago, Fay said:

You mean this, don’t you? 
https://doramaticbites.tumblr.com/post/171551859613/to-the-japanese-hanyu-may-not-be-gnc

 

1 hour ago, Perelandra said:

Ah yes, well done and thank you for finding the article. It was most illuminating and interesting, because some ideas are constructs of the society in which people reside, knowledge about different cultures is enlightening. 

"O brave new world, that has such people in 't!” The Tempest, W. Shakespeare

 

Quote from the above linked article:

"I also found that in Japan, ‘femininity’ in the realm of the arts, especially high art – belongs to men."

 

Well, this was not solely an aspect of Japanese culture.

Apropos Shakespeare and European theater culture:  Let's not forget that for many centuries, the female roles were performed only by men dressed up as women !!!