Weekly Playboy (9/3)Japan's otaku geeks have turned their attention away from eyeglasses and maids to focus on kegadoru -- literally translated as "injured idols," who are scantily clad pretty women wrapped in bandages and wearing eye patches, according to Weekly Playboy (9/3).
"The otaku industry is now focusing on kegadoru rather than the old staples of girls wearing glasses or surgical masks," Takabo, who calls himself an otaku idol researcher, tells Weekly Playboy.
Nonoko, who works at a popular maid cafe in Tokyo's geek sanctuary Akihabara, agrees.
"Girls who get decked out in Amaloli (cute, pink or white frilly 'Lolita'-style outfits) have started covering themselves in bandages and wearing eye patches," she says. "Many of the men who come to Akihabara often compliment us on how good our bandages look, or how cute they are. For girls hanging out in Akihabara, bandages and eye patches have become a must-have fashion item."
A female cosplayer the weekly describes only as S explains the appeal of swathing herself in bindings.
"When you're covered in bandages, everybody pays attention to you and worries about you. They also provide a chance to start talking to guys, who'll ask you how you hurt yourself, so the bandages are really, really good," she tells Weekly Playboy. "One guy into the injured woman look told me that the reason he likes it is because he loves the idea of seeing a thin woman's body wrapped in bandages because it looked kind of like bondage and made him want to protect her from harm. I think those wearing the bandages get on well with the guys who want to look after them because they don't want them to get hurt."
Psychologist Yu Yuki says the new fetish for women who look like mummies probably has something to do with fans and their mommies.
"There is a common trait among the Akihabara otaku fetishes, with the poor eyesight of the girls wearing glasses, the humility of the maids who refer to every man they deal with as 'master' and now the women feigning injury but still swathed in bandages and eye patches: all these women look as though they're weak. This makes the men want to protect the women," the pshrink says. "In our age of gender equality, the number of strong-willed women has increased. Men still want to protect and look after women, though, so they seek out those who seem to be in need of help."
Porn novelist Rei Domoto has an additional interpretation.
"The white bandages wrapped around the women's bodies have a lot of therapeutic power in terms of colors. White is a symbol of chastity and virginity," Domoto tells Weekly Playboy. "These bandages are, I think, a way for women to say that they want to defend their virginity under their own power." (By Ryann Connell)
"When you're covered in bandages, everybody pays attention to you and worries about you. They also provide a chance to start talking to guys, who'll ask you how you hurt yourself, so the bandages are really, really good," she tells Weekly Playboy. "One guy into the injured woman look told me that the reason he likes it is because he loves the idea of seeing a thin woman's body wrapped in bandages because it looked kind of like bondage and made him want to protect her from harm. I think those wearing the bandages get on well with the guys who want to look after them because they don't want them to get hurt."
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