Quote:
Originally Posted by Kumabjorn
It surprises me to see that shame would be an incentive NOT to read something. The West is sometimes descrbied, albeit with a broad brushstroke, as a culture of guilt. Whereas the East is described as a culture of shame.
Yet, on the subways in Osaka and Tokyo (rest of Japan too, at least on trains) you can see middle aged men with some of the most kinky Manga imaginable, lots of S&M, bukkake scenes, young girls watching yaoi Manga. The culture of shame feels nothing about openly showing that they are viewing hard core pornography, yet the culture of guilt would feel shame about reading HP and Hunger Games?
Doesn't add up.
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I think it goes back to religion. In the west we are taught that certain things are wrong etc. and traditionally that has imparted a guilt about sex and such things. In the east however such topics are more open in some ways. I mean India had the Kama Sutra and the Chinese had pillow books etc. centuries ago while the west was being taught to feel guilt about things that are all too human. Feeling guilty about reading YA books is taking it a bit to an extreme though I agree. And some books are condemned, reviled etc. by people who often don't even read them themselves.