So I've been bragging a bit about my run-in with celebrity. I showed the picture around, mentioned how beautiful she is and even used her name in one of my lessons today. I also noted what a good smell she has, but that's where things got dicey. Everybody seems to have an unusually strong reaction when I mention that I liked her smell: the guys think it's hilarious, but most of the women don't. In fact, over half of them uttered the word 'hentai' immediately.
The words that stand out under the English translation for 'hentai' are perversion, kinky, pervert. I think this is a bit strong. In fact, so much so that today when a junior high student accused me, I formally posted my objection and tried to see if in fact へんたい(hentai) is being accurately translated. I described 'pervert' as 'like a grown man liking little boys and girls' and my JTE confirmed that hentai has 'about the same' Japanese meaning.
This bothers me, somewhere between a little and a lot. How can I possibly be accused of perversion for saying that I like how a girl smells? And, more importantly, how is a woman's scent put in the same category as child molestation?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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5 comments:
I think it's perfectly fine for you to think Kurara Chibana smells nice.
The mind is dirty if one's thoughts are.
So, go ahead and be comfortable with the fact that you think Kurara Chibana smells terrific because I think she definitely smells great even though I have never met her in real life.
Yo, I bet she smelled nice. But if everyone is freaking out, I'd keep those choice of words to yourself. Must be a cultural thing.
It's definitely a cultural thing, and how is one to know what a small group of women on a small island off of a small island think until one makes such a statement and experiences the reaction Dave is receiving?
Don't give it too much thought, man. Consider that, as perfume and deodorant aren't considered normal personal products, mentioning something as 'intimate' as smell is bound to catch a few people off guard. Add to that the vagueness of Japanese terminology - or the simplification of it - and you've got a misunderstanding.
But this all bothers me, because why would people wear perfume/cologne (let's add skimpy clothing,too) if they didn't want people to notice. I would say telling them that nice smelling women in America is normal, but I'm afraid of how the simple message might be interpreted.
I hope it's a cultural thing. That's how I wrote it off yesterday and that's how I'm writing it off today. I also began questioning if 'hentai' has the same terrible stigma in Japan that 'pervert' has in America. I know the latter word is almost never used in my daily life in the U.S.
My 'likeness of smell' came up twice today and both times seemed pretty light-hearted, so maybe it's not as big a deal as I thought. I guess it's okay so long as the single girls don't get word of my hentai-ness.
(And just another note, one of the first women who called me a hentai was wearing a strong scent today. Yes, of course I commented on it (and she said thank you).)
Perhaps they interpret a comment about a woman's smell to be sexual. (Maybe if you translate the comment into Japanese it has that meaning.) It makes sense that the men would find such a comment funny. But if the women appear to get offended, you should stop.
Or make sure to specify that the woman's perfume smells nice. Although that still might make her uncomfortable because she will assume you're hitting on her.
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