| Revision as of 09:32, 25 January 2004 edit141.150.73.50 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 04:22, 26 February 2004 edit undo141.150.143.214 (talk)No edit summaryNext edit → | ||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
| Some western anime and manga fans use the term bishounen (or more playfully 'bishy') to refer to any handsome male character, although this is technically incorrect. Bishounen who are old enough to be considered men are properly 'biseinen.' | Some western anime and manga fans use the term bishounen (or more playfully 'bishy') to refer to any handsome male character, although this is technically incorrect. Bishounen who are old enough to be considered men are properly 'biseinen.' | ||
| ] has even been used by Americans fandom to describe some androgynous women, espeically ] (crossdressers) in anime and manga. This is mainly due to lack of common positive slang in America for an attractive woman who seems handsome than beautiful. ] from ] (Brother Dear Brother) would be considered the Bish Girl archetype. | |||
| ------ | ------ | ||
Revision as of 04:22, 26 February 2004
Bishounen (美少年. literally, "beautiful boy") refers to a specific Japanese aesthetic concept of the ideally beautiful young man. The prefix bi- (美) specifically refers to feminine beauty (bijin, lit. "beautiful person", refers to a beautiful woman.)
The bishounen is typically quite slender and not very muscular, with a tapered chin and effeminate or androgynous appearance.
The aesthetic of the bishounen began as an ideal of a young homosexual lover. It is perpetuated today in anime and manga, especially shoujo (girl) anime, shounen-ai, and yaoi.
Some western anime and manga fans use the term bishounen (or more playfully 'bishy') to refer to any handsome male character, although this is technically incorrect. Bishounen who are old enough to be considered men are properly 'biseinen.'
Bish' has even been used by Americans fandom to describe some androgynous women, espeically okama (crossdressers) in anime and manga. This is mainly due to lack of common positive slang in America for an attractive woman who seems handsome than beautiful. Lady Oscar from Oniisama E (Brother Dear Brother) would be considered the Bish Girl archetype.
See also the film Bishonen.