This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 67.68.199.242 (talk) at 02:57, 25 February 2003. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 02:57, 25 February 2003 by 67.68.199.242 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)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.
See also the film Bishonen.