I recently saw one on the cool website What Japan Thinks.
It caters to polls and surveys relating to Japan.
So the questions below were actually asked of Japanese folk by 'goo' a pollster group in Japan.
At first I thought that the survey's question(s) was a little outlandish...
1) When do you wish you could be reborn as a boy?
2) When do you wish you could be reborn as a girl?
But then, most polls that don't have a yes or no answer are always going to get outlandish results.
Feel free to visit the survey results HERE.
Just know that a total of 650 women were asked question #1, and 409 men were asked question #2.
Okay, it's not a huge sampling of Japanese opinion, but it's not exactly a small sampling.
So, while I would avoid making a blanket statement regarding the answers provided in this survey, at least as far as these 1059 Japanese people are concerned, these answers represent their opinion on what would make them wish they were the opposite sex.
Now... this does NOT mean that these people wish they were the opposite sex of what they are, only that there are some things, that make them think - even briefly - that things might be more interesting or easier if they had been born differently.
It's NOT a look at the Japanese psyche and saying "ommigawd, Japan is full of transexual-wannabes!" - because that's not what the survey results offer.
Sometimes it is more convenient to be a man, if you are a woman and more convenient to be a woman if you are a man.
For example (here he goes - once more into breach) - as a man, it might be more convenient if I was a woman so that I could get a seat on the train.
But, conversely, it might be more convenient for myself (as a woman) to wish that I was a man so that I wouldn't have men rub all over me while I stood in the train because no on will ever offer me a seat.
Well... that was fun. Shall we try a few more? Let's.
As a man, it would be more convenient if I was a woman so that I didn't have to work.
If I was a Japanese woman, I might wish I was a man so that I could work and not have to wash the filthy underwear of my husband, have to clean the house everyday, look after the kids (at all) and not have to lie there pretending he knows what he is doing in the sack.
Where would it be more practical to be a woman in Japan? I have no freaking idea. Oh well, this is all make-believe - you know, if one's wishes could come true...
I wish I could be a Japanese woman so that I don't have to pay a cover-charge at a bar or club. Hmm, that's true, though hardly earth-shattering.
Anything else? I wish I could be a Japanese woman so that I could feel what it's like to have someone cheat on me while I stay home and look after the house. Well... that's not very nice. No man would ever wish for that. Trust me.
I wish I could be a Japanese woman - no... I can't think of any legitimate reason why a Japanese man would want to be a Japanese woman. Do you really want to know what a 'period' feels like? What childbirth feels like? What sexism is like? No.
Hey... I am sure there are quite a few Japanese women out there who can REALLY explain why they might wish they were a man, but I wonder if there are any Japanese men who can - without saying they wish they were a woman so that they could be a lesbian (no one came up with that wish! I did!) - honestly give me a reason - a real real - as to why they might wish to be a woman.
Seriously... the answers given in the survey are pretty lame. I wish I could experience different fashion. Really? Let me buy you a dress and call you Keiko. Just eat the bloody cake - you don't need to be man to eat fricking cake. hairstyles - you want a variety of hair styles? It's called gel, mousse and hair paste. It's called a haircut. You don't need a Moe (as in The Three Stooges) or Pete Rose. You don't need a vagina and tits to get your hair styled. Pampered in a salon? I thought we were asking men? Dude, just take a trip to a more liberal country and go to a salon. Men go to salons here in Canada all the time and enjoy the pampering. I've not, but that's only because I enjoy not being pampered. Why would I want a diaper put on me (Pampers)?
Okay... women... can you offer any insight on why a Japanese man might want to wish he was a Japanese woman?
Superficial things like make-up or fashion or haircuts - a guy can do all that, if they really want. Maybe get free drinks at clubs, but that's such a waste of such a powerful wish!
Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?
Somewhere eating a cake after styling my long (and getting longer) hair,
Andrew Joseph
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