The Flower Boy Mania

Flower boys got popular in South Korea thanks to doramas (Asian word for soap operas) like Boys Over Flowers or Flower Boys Ramen Shop. They are a big trend in Asia, especially South Korea and Japan. Here in the West, though, they are often referred to as metrosexuals but, make no mistake, these boys are more than men who like to look good!

More than metrosexuals, these boys look and often act like girls. Some of them take advantage of their naturally soft facial features, like big eyes and plump lips, and manage to look exactly like a girl - and not a boy wearing a skirt and make-up. They even put on acts, like singing and dancing to girl group songs, to make it extra appealing, like SHINee's Key or Super Junior's Heechul.

Hated in the West?

In Western countries, these boys are often seen as gay by males and undesirable by a lot of females. However, the immense popularity of K-Pop (South Korean pop music industry) has earned these boys a lot of fans. Super Junior's Kim Heechul, BIGBANG's G-Dragon or SHINee's Lee Taemin are seen as sex symbols in an oversexualized culture where males are supposed to look manly and strong rather than fragile and feminine: we already have women for that. However, the appeal of such men as the ones I've listed above is undeniable: they smell good, they look good and they are delicate, yet they can also display a more masculine side in different occasions. Like when Taemin removes his hair extensions and trades the pink skinny jeans for a typically male attire, fans call him TaeMAN.

Why is this attractive to women?

I have asked several women of various ages here in Portugal what they think of boys like Lee Taemin, his band mate Key or Super Junior's Lee Sungmin. While most of them looked at the pictures with some amount of disgust, others actually said that they found those boys rather appealing, as they can be soft and beautiful, like a woman, but display manly behaviors at the same time. The fact that these males are unafraid and unashamed to embrace their sensitive and feminine sides is attractive and makes us women wonder just how strong they truly are underneath the polished surface.

Western men, however, remain skeptical about this trend and often use very nasty and unflattering words to describe the flower boys, like "p*ssy" or "f*ggot".

Many men and women alike still fail to understand what could possibly be attractive about boys who look and dance like girls and are labeled as gay. For me, personally, it is the fact that they're not afraid to explore their sexuality and sex appeal, even if that grants them unpleasant stares and commentaries. To me, there is nothing sexier than a man who is brave enough to be so open about his inner goddess, in a world where stereotypes, like weeds, attach themselves to gorgeous flowers.

Source:

Yahoo