Here is an interesting - and arguably rare - example of a scholar labeling herself as feminist approaching an aspect of male sexuality and identity in (what I would argue is) a supportive and male-positive way

Hot-Celebration-1524 · 2026-04-10T07:18:27+00:00

It’s important to keep in mind that Western and Eastern societies grew out of very different moral traditions. In the West, there’s a sin culture so ideas tend to be discussed in moral terms. That helps explain why Western feminists often frame social phenomena using language like “toxic,” “problematic,” or “wrong.” These are essentially modern versions of an older religious habit of identifying sin. Western thought also has a long tradition of searching for universal truths, which explains the appeal of the “Patriarchy” and other grand narratives.

Eastern societies took a different direction. They have tended to operate more as shame cultures so instead of labeling behavior as wrong, the language tends to focus on whether something is inappropriate, disrespectful, or embarrassing. This is why a feminist in Japan can address male suffering on its own, because her framework isn’t organized around wrongdoing or assigning guilt.

AdOtherwise3824 · 2026-04-10T05:05:06+00:00

I know there's some editorializing going on in the article, but I want to draw attention to this piece about her inspiration

On the train she took to school, the suited men on board, who were around the same age as her father, would browse magazines and sports newspapers with racy images of gravure idols and sexual articles. These men who were probably thought of as good husbands and fathers at home, or as valuable members of society, were openly reading this kind of material on their commute. It was something that Japanese society accepted as normal. It sparked Shibuya's interest in male sexuality.

It appears she saw something that I think most people would react to with disgust, and responded with curiosity. That is the difference between the average reddit feminist and someone trying to do good in the world. Instead of going "ew, what pervs, men are evil," she went "why is this so normal?" and then *gasp* actually looked at the history and formed a non-pathological theory around it.

IngoTheGreat · 2026-04-10T16:15:12+00:00

This article is horribly translated. Japan has little to no tradition of circumcision. What they refer to as "circumcised" in this article is actually the ability to retract the foreskin to expose the glans.

I know Japanese people. They are usually shy to discuss topics like this, but many don't even know what circumcision is at all. There is no shame in Japan over not being circumcised; about 90% of Japanese guys aren't.

The stigma is in phimosis, and phimosis is poorly understood everywhere, not just Japan.

SpicyMarshmellow · 2026-04-10T15:45:02+00:00

I'm from the USA, and have spent about 3 weeks in Japan. There's a lot to say about how different the culture feels there. And among many things that I noticed is women's attitudes towards men and male sexuality feel completely different.

It's one of those things that's difficult to prove isn't just in my head. It's just a vibe. Women seem more at ease around men. They seem less aggressive and entitled. Less fearful and suspicious. I can't prove or quantify it. It's body language, facial expressions, willingness to interact, etc. They are also less self-sexualizing in public, which I see as respectful to others, especially to men (if unsolicited dick pics are disrespectful, then wearing revealing clothing in public is disrespecting everyone).

And it's only noticeable as a sort of lifting of burden. The type of thing you realize in retrospect. That you were more at ease, and then you realize how different it felt to be around them.

Two concrete observations I do have:

It is true that porn magazines with full frontal nudity on the covers are openly displayed on shelves in convenience stores. Something that a culture which finds male sexuality shameful and threatening would not do.

At a small arcade in Osaka, there was a claw machine with boob keychains. And as I was passing by, it appeared to me that there was a couple at the machine, and the girl was trying to win one of those keychains for her boyfriend. Something I would never expect to see in the USA. And I don't mean the claw machine itself. I mean the girl responding to it the way she was, and the guy seeming comfortable in the situation.

It's difficult to tell how much of this is difference in gender dynamics, and how much is just general gender-agnostic difference in public behavior. Americans are insanely confrontational, competitive, and egocentric, and this expresses in every aspect of being around people in public. Japanese are exactly the opposite. Japan has a strong cultural respect for privacy, too. People's personal lives are respected as their business, and it's less acceptable to be openly prying or judgmental, which makes a more accommodating environment for things like sexual products (it was pretty wild seeing the sex toy sections at department stores like Don Quixote right next to luggage or kitchen items, without so much as a curtain). But some amount of it is clearly difference in cultural attitudes regarding gender. In my limited interactions with women while there, and what I observed around me, it really felt like Japanese women view men more sincerely as actual human beings, instead of the ideological artifacts that American women largely regard men as.

Hell, Japan basically has two Valentine's Days. On Feb 14, women give chocolate to their romantic interests. On Mar 14, men respond by giving chocolates in return. Women initiating as a cultural norm!

Specific_Detective41 · 2026-04-10T04:48:45+00:00

She's a good example of what feminists should aspire to be like. Instead of being bigots and blaming men.

onefreeshot · 2026-04-10T09:24:41+00:00

Very refreshing to see empathic curiosity towards men. I'd say even more so given it comea from a feminist, but that would probably? reinforce the idea they're all terrible. No surprise though, it is heavily influenced by the culture, education and type of person.

Sidetracking a bit, food for thought the homosocial aspects mentioned in the article. I think largely the ability to "get/have a gf/wife" is an unnoticed pressure for each man within such a group (and really for women too in theirs). Depends on what brings the men together of course, but one can start feeling like they belong less and less (to the group itself and to a general "men's" group) if the others end up with a partner and you're lagging behind. I think this might be too relatable to me and so maybe I'm creating a pattern which is not necessarily there though.

I guess another thing that made me think was being bald as another source of shame. And really the reason is there's a lot banter between a friend and I and he's balding (while I guess I didnt luck out on the genes which grow a beard) so that's become a source of jokes (started by him, which made me believe it's okay to joke about it) and I wonder, could it somehow still nag him in the back of his mind. Like we make jokes but could it be a source of "feeling less" but having to tough it out or cope about it with humour.

Maldevinine · 2026-04-10T05:35:18+00:00

In the article they got the captions for the images back to front.

That was a very interesting read though. I didn't realise that Japan had a thing about circumcision or that it had such a long history.

AutoModerator · 2026-04-10T00:37:01+00:00

Thank you for posting to r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates. All new posts are held for manual review and may take up to 48 hours to be approved. Please don’t message the moderators, we’ll make sure to review your submission as soon as possible. If this is your first post, be sure to review our rules to ensure it meets our criteria.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

Title	Here is an interesting - and arguably rare - example of a scholar labeling herself as feminist approaching an aspect of male sexuality and identity in (what I would argue is) a supportive and male-positive way
Author	multihome-gym
Upvotes	100
Comments	31
Date	April 10, 2026 12:37 AM UTC (4 months ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/comments/1sh7g8k/here_is_an_interesting_and_arguably_rare_example/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/here-is-an-interesting-and-arguably-rare-example.1577583 https://theredarchive.com/post/1577583

Comments