Quote:
Originally Posted by Darklord_bg
I assume you are referring to me here. I never said the harem genre was feminist, but it is definitely anti-male. Think about it - there are plenty of positively-portrayed and received female characters in harem shows, even though I admit that there are many that are submissive. However, there are almost no male characters in harem shows that have positive qualities, despite being nice, and that are popular with the fans. Come on, one of the most popular phrases on a harem show forums is "[insert male lead name] must die!" How is that not anti-male?
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Have you never heard of the Insertable Harem Guy concept? Viewer displacement?
Jealousy, even?
For that matter, despite all his negative qualities which you point as evidence of anti-male tendencies, why is it that the Total Loser still gets the girl in the end? Heck, make it gets the girls with the plural even. I can spin it just as easily as you do to point out that this validates that the man -- no matter how pathetic --
is still the gravitational center in which these exaggeratedly extraordinary girls revolve around, the sun to their stars, the center of their universe, thanks to no effort on his part. All because he is a guy, and somewhat "kind" (sometimes not even that). The girls become shallow -- more shallow than the guy -- for liking him, and their extraordinary talents and characteristics are only there to enrich
his life, making them more attractive to
him. They are characters, but their purpose is service to another. All their dreams, their motivations, their individual personalities are tailored to
his needs.
Replace "him" with "the viewer" as necessary, in line with the Insertable Harem Guy concept. If one expects real life women to serve him with such fervor, and to maintain such a façade of perfection, then it becomes a sexist attitude.
Although, a caveat: I treat the harem genre for what it is: fanservice. Sexism in fanservice is a different issue than the inherent sexism shown by that rather disgusting picture of the Battleship boardgame, the latter of which tends to be far more harmful.