It's not so much I'm uncomfortable with challenging what's considered masculine or feminine (I have cross-dressing guy characters myself and what have you) as much as I'm sick of people who can't draw.
Allow me to elaborate. Yes, I know there are men who totally look like women. But when ALL the guys someone draws all look like flat-chested women, it seems to mean they aren't capable of drawing any sort of masculine characteristics (if you're drawing dudes with curvaceous hips*, you don't know how to draw). It's reasons like this are why I don't really like yaoi; they almost always ALL look like chicks. If I wanted chicks, I'd read yuri.* 8|
Or let me put it this way: I'm a tomboy, kind of a big one and I've been mistaken for a boy before. I just don't find guys who're more girly than I am to be attractive. 8/ Cillian Murphy is totally hot to me, though.
*...I feel the need to draw that now.
**God knows there could be less cliche, fetish-y, pandering yaoi/yuri. My kingdom for yaoi or yuri I don't sigh and roll my eyes at.
"I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love."
@Mink: AMEN, Finally someone agrees that girly men are just not attractive Like you said, if I wanted a guy who looked like a girl I would start dating girls... though I'd date anyone if they had an attractive enough personality.
^Yeah, this. Least if I dated a girl, they'd have boobs.
Speaking of, anyone remember that guy in Cowboy Bebop who got experimented on and grew boobs? Man, as a kid, I was like, "MY BRAIN DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" but eventually decided he was still cute.
...I'm going to start referring to my sexuality as 'liking humans'.
Also, despite the fact I actually do like girls, very few games where you pursue a girl appeal to me. One of the few I do like is Magical Diary. I love Ellen, man. Totally.
"I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love."
Slightly off-topic, but I actually think it's the plump girls that don't get any love, at least in Western media. Guys with a bit of pudge are much more likely to win over some hot girl than the other way around. (Of course, this is probably because Hollywood is mostly controlled by men.)
Back on-topic, I think Jareth, the Goblin King from Labyrinth (and his memetic crotch) is a good example of manservice. Of course, most people on this board would probably call him "girly," since he is played by David Bowie, but I can assure you that plenty of ladies think otherwise.
Ugh, it is absurdly hard to find a good picture of him. Grr.
Also, another favorite of mine: hot dads that are really good with their kids. I would love to see a single dad as an "obtainable" character in a VN, with an older OC of course. Hmm...
Hmm....Guys I find attractive.....Well, a handsome face and nice body never hurt anyone. But besides that I like guys who are nice and actually care about what you're talking about ( and don't just zone out or ignore you) I don't think it matters what a guy looks like, it's his personality that counts. Anywho~! This picture ( which I tried to show yearlier but it didn't show) made me squeel like crazy when I first saw it! Ah~! I love Tokimeki!
Okay actors I find attractive....Brad Pitt ( Not now, more like when he was in Meet Joe Black) Leonardo DiCaprio ( again, back when he was in Titanic) and....HMMM......Oh! The guy who played Rochester in Jane Eyre~! (2006 verison!!!!!!) I'm sure theres more...Going to have to think....
@IonicMomo
Yuck! Sorry, but I don't find David Bowe attractive in the slightest! Single dad would be interesting....Or what about a handsome father figure? >;]
Mink wrote:
Speaking of, anyone remember that guy in Cowboy Bebop who got experimented on and grew boobs? Man, as a kid, I was like, "MY BRAIN DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" but eventually decided he was still cute.
Hey, I remember that guy. I thought he was cute too.
IonicMomo wrote:
For me, it's not about skin; a guy can be completely covered and still be insanely attractive to me. I don't know if any of this has been mentioned, but I like guys with relatively narrow frames and long legs in tailored suits. I've always found that a turn on, in fiction and in real life. I also really like Western period dress, whether it's Revolutionary era, Victorian, Edwardian, Jazz age, or whatever else, and I think this is one of the reasons that period dramas and their male leads are so popular among certain types of women. (Mr. Darcy, case in point.)
This for me too. I'd take a man in uniform over a shirtless dude any day.
Also, when analyzing these period-based fanbases, don't forget to factor in... the mutton chops!
"It is [the writer's] privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past."
— William Faulkner
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Mink wrote:Nah, I hate kids. A guy having children is a total turn off to me. Unless he's Hotch, who's awesomeness overshadows the 'having a kid' thing.
I don't hate kids, nor do I hate men with kids, but dead-wife-syndrome turns me waaaay off. As Bioware's writers had once said, they gave the men a grown kid and a (dead) wife because girls just love a family man. And the only clean way for a man to be a single father in romantic fiction is kill off the wife, and of course he still loves her, and will talk to you about her to no end, and if he loves you its because you are like the dead wife and he will say so. I wanted to stab things when I found out Thane in ME2 was a single father. And as predicted, it was what defined him as a character. He was an alien assassin. He had so much more going on for him. COMPLETELY RUINED HIM FOR ME. Can I get into single fatherdom? Absolutely. I can totally understand this character and respect ... Can I get into twenty times? No. This is not a trope I want. I want some no-strings-attached fanservice like the guy's LIs, too! That's my mini-rant. ^^;
@Sapphi: Mutton chops ... sideburns ... that's like dialing sexiness to 11 for me. Do want.
Nope, for me it's kids period. Adult kids? Still a no, because it's still someone's kid I'd have to deal with at some point. If I don't want any of my own, why would I want to deal with someone else's?
For the record, though, when I was a kid I didn't like other kids.
"I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love."
I have always been a David Bowie girl myself. Not because of Labyrinth, though, I am a fan of his music primarily. I also really like Atsushi Sakurai.
Also, as far as artists who draw super hot mens? Tomomi Kobayashi for one. VERY easy on the eyes, lol. Probably because many of them look like (sometimes almost exactly like) aforementioned Sakurai (she's a fan too).
I despise the dead-wife-syndrome as well. Give me a young and pretty well-dressed guy, preferably one with minimal "MAN-PAIN". Aliens are cool, if they are like Ziggy Stardust aliens.
I was just using Labyrinth as an example of female-oriented fanservice with which people might be familiar. I was never a huge fan of the movie myself, but I do like Bowie's music (which likely makes him seem more attractive to me), and I probably wouldn't have liked Labyrinth at all if I didn't. My favorite character of his in terms of style/attitude probably the Thin White Duke. (Of course, all of this is just fantasy, I would never want to involve myself in a relationship with anyone that resembles those characters.)
I wasn't referring to "dead-wife syndrome" and the thought hadn't crossed my mind...though now that others have brought it up, I can see why that would be the more frequent trope. Actually, I was thinking divorce, as that's much more common in our culture than death by childbirth or what have you. But more importantly, I was just thinking of a love interest that's good with kids (and I do like kids), that clearly has priorities other than himself, has some life experience and maybe knows what he wants out of a relationship, etc.
Muttonchops, yes. I also have a thing for cravats, and the idea of untying them. (Even though it's probably not that different from a tie.) And a lot of period men tend to behave more gentlemanly yet have a cutting and subtle sense of humor. I don't know, I just really like that sort of thing.
This topic...I love it. I keep laughing at all the fanservice examples (and certain hi-jackers) in this thread.
-w-; Yeah, appearance just doesn't cut it for me either. I mean, I find it hard to like a guy just based on looks. Usually.
A noted exception to this was when I went to this Cuban bakery and the guy had tan-nish hair and really blue eyes and wore an apron...I couldn't stop staring at him XD. And I was with my dad too!
I admittedly like guys who can take care of children (like maybe their nieces, nephews, work in a day care XD) But if they have kids...well, as a young college sophomore, I can't say I like that. Yet. And cooking is a plus. And showing your passion for something, another plus. Also guys who can talk like Alan Rickman. You'll never get to that level, but you get points if you can remotely sound like him, ahaha.
Like you said, if I wanted a guy who looked like a girl I would start dating girls... though I'd date anyone if they had an attractive enough personality.
