Thread: Gender Differences in Spoken Japanese

Originally Posted by Ichigokarate

I noticed that when i took Japanese, a female using boku (I) instead of Watashi or atashi, was considered a tom-boy...yet in so many Japanese females songs, they use boku. Although I haven't heard a man use atashi..Atashi is used by females, and watakushi is like another watashi..even though they all mean I, it can be kind of confusing if you listen to Japanese music..It was for me!

"boku" and "kimi" are standard-use in pop songs. One: because both are incredibly easy to fit into meter and rhyme schemes and Two: because they represent a relatively gender neutral identifier.

ie. you hear a lot of "boku-tachi" (we) ... any party including male members is referred to by the male pronoun (karera - they, including 1 male or more, bokutachi - we, including 1 male of more). Thus the general "we" in songs is "bokutachi" (since it's referring to everyone, male and female)

Songs sung in "boku" form are easy for both male and female listeners to identify with and sing in kareoke, since the pronoun is used by both genders without a huge stigma attatched (it bends slightly toward the masculine for girls, and sounds a bit childish/polite for adult males... but the distinction is far less than the other pronouns and people, especially young people, tend to play fast and loose with it's usage).

"Ore" wouldn't work as a neutral identifier, as it's generally too harsh and masculine-sounding. "Watashi" tends to sound femenine. There ARE "ore" songs and "watashi" songs... but they tend to be sung in kareoke exclusively by their respective genders and are written from an obviously male or female perspective.

Originally Posted by Shodokan

Does calling someone a blue boy still mean he's gay?

No. I'm pretty sure it's obselete. I've never heard it myself and an internet search only turned up a few references to the term from the late 80s/early 90s.