Friday, November 27, 2009
Restaurants They're not metrosexuals; they're herbivore boys
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 2:45 AM
NPR aired a story yesterday about Japanese 'herbivores," young men who have forsaken macho stereotypes. They even openly eat desserts with great pleasure!:
The changing tastes of Japanese men are quite literally what take up his days. He works for an Internet service provider and operates Sweets Club, an online group for men who like desserts. Set up in January, it already has about 1,000 members who congregate — online and in person — to debate the virtues of different brands of strawberry shortcake. It's something that Sekine says would have been unthinkable 20 years ago.Put through his paces with an impromptu taste test, Sekine praises peach gelatin as fresh-tasting. He is not so keen on coffee gelatin with cream — a macho dessert if ever there was one — labeling it "retro." He believes his dessert club shows that young Japanese men are asserting their individuality, reflecting a change in values from Japan's booming 1980s.
"Back then, lots of men liked desserts, but it was considered uncool. Cool men had to like alcohol or spicy food. I've discovered my father likes eating dessert, but he never showed it in the past," Sekine says.
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