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| Some western anime and manga fans use the term bishounen to refer to any handsome male character, although this usage is, strictly speaking, imprecise. | Some western anime and manga fans use the term bishounen to refer to any handsome male character, although this usage is, strictly speaking, imprecise. | ||
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Revision as of 21:24, 23 October 2002
Bishounen (literally, "beautiful boy") refers to a specific Japanese aesthetic concept of the ideally beautiful young man. The prefix bi- 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 to refer to any handsome male character, although this usage is, strictly speaking, imprecise.