Japan’s Latest Crooked Teeth Trend, According To New York Times

By Moye | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 18 Comments

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8a crookedLOL Japan’s Latest Crooked Teeth Trend, According To New York Times

Oh, New York Times. Where would we be without your hard hitting and insightful reporting on Asian culture? According to this article from a couple weeks back, crooked teeth, or yaeba, is the hot new trend among women in Japan.

Japanese men are said to find this attractive: blogs are devoted to yaeba, celebrities display it proudly, and now some women are paying dentists to create it artificially by affixing plastic fronts to their real teeth.

Whoooa, them Japanese folks are crazy! Not only are they born with imperfect teeth (like us!) but they also pay for dental surgery to make them even more crooked. Say whaaaaaaaaaat?

The NYT leaves no stone unturned in their cultural investigations, so of course they head to the ultimate source for all things Japanese: Michelle Pham. No, seriously. Michelle Pham, YouTube star, Vietnamese American make-up guru and…Japanese expert? Oh, right. She blogged about it, which makes her the go-to person when it comes to reporting on Japanese beauty standards.

I have nothing against Pham. Her Youtube tutorials are mesmerizing to watch. I also like to see how girls transform themselves with layers and layers and layers of make-up. But it bugs me that a prominent newspaper like the New York Times took it upon themselves to report on a new “trend” in Japan where girls have dentists glue things to their teeth so they look like vampires all because one site wrote about it and other blogs picked it up.

I’m not saying this doesn’t happen. It does. The whole yaeba thing has been happening for a while. There’s a whole blog dedicated to it. Some “reporter” even got it done for the sake of journalism…or at least this video.

My issue is that the NYT devoted an entire article without actually interviewing anyone from Japan or go into the cultural differences in their dental hygiene industry, where the yaeba look came from, why some Japanese men find it appealing and oh, I don’t know, someone who wasn’t Michelle Pham or some professor at a Manhattan university? Maybe all the Japanese people they reached out to knew this whole subject was pointless.

If that’s the case, kudos to my people. We’re too busy selling “Make a baby with J-Pop stars” apps and stuff.

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http://thylacine.livejournal.com/ ErikaHarada

I guess at least the NYT compares the supposed trend to western trends where gap-toothed women are seen as being attractive?

In any case though I think yaeba/gap-tooth/braces or whatever fetish is creepy because it seems to say that women should look like young girls to be seen as being attractive…
A_Lee

The whole yaeba thing is pretty well-known. It’s called “tiger-teeth” in Chinese, and it’s one of those stereotyped-factoids about Japan.

Sample conversation in Taiwan:

“My daughter has some crooked teeth, look!”

“Well, it’s not so bad, it just tiger-teeth”

“I suppose she can always find a nice Japanese guy to marry, hahaha..”

Lots of Japanese celebs have it, I think it’s supposed to give a more youthful, naughty (ko-akuma) appearance. Can’t really comment on NYT or Pham, but American media likes to drag out Japan every now and then to laugh at the weirdness.
Takuma

I am confused. Why ask Pham about Japan’s Yaeba…Honestly crooked teeth bother me but that’s because of years of having a dentist parent. Somebody explain it to me! I currently assume that a longer canine (pointed) tooth might be considered cute but…anyway I don’t understand after years of brainwashing.
http://angryhapagrrl.wordpress.com/ Bunni

No. Just…no. I’ve been hit on by Japanese guys with yaeba and it’s just not cute at all. What’s even worse is that their teeth were the color of Corn Pops. *shudder*
moye

@Bunni I’m pretty sure the yaeba thing is for girls only. Also, you say Asian men are scared of you, bully you and now they hit on you. Is there no in between?
moye

@Takuma That’s what I don’t get either.
http://angryhapagrrl.wordpress.com/ Bunni

@moye I’ve been through all three. When I was younger I did get hit on by Asian guys, but I was in Japan at the time and I had a much nicer tan. I’ve been bullied for most of my life, but recently, more often in activist circles for me being proud of my hapa-ness. Nowadays I just remain oblivious to dudes hitting on me because I’ve been with my Russian boyfriend for over 2 years. I do have creative ways of telling them to “fuck off” (namely acting like a dude).
N

@moye@Takuma

On the other hand, why is straight/”perfect” teeth automatically seen as attractive? It is not because of years of constant brain-washing by the media of what a ‘beautiful smile’ looks like?
Keith Oh

@N@Bunni@moye Seriously. Bunni, I read through your blog and you seem to have a serious axe to grind with regards to asian men. The cake was when you linked an article how Mcdonalds charges men less in China. You then go on to write how glad you were that you never dated a guy from East Asia. Generalize much?
Takuma

@N @moye not going to disagree with that since I will be the first to tell you that I’ve been brainwashed into straight teeth is attractive. Either way, it is something I do not understand.
moye

@N@Takuma I personally think it’s attractive because it’s healthier. And it’s probably better for cleaning your teeth, which help prevent gum disease or something. Either way, I’m sure part of the reason why the dental industry has done well is because of health reasons.

Then again, I’m not a dentist.
http://www.erniehsiung.com/ Ernie H.

Off-topic comments have been deleted. Please keep comments on threads directly related to the subject. Thanks. -The Moderator
moye

@N@Takuma I don’t mean pointy teeth = bad teeth. I meant getting into and cleaning the spaces between teeth and targeting the gum areas. It’s easier to clean your teeth if they’re even and aligned. There could be other problems from crooked teeth, like jaw misalignment, overbites, pain, etc. Dentists aren’t just people who clean teeth; there are orthodontists, oral surgeons, etc.

Of course straight teeth are associated with the “perfect smile” but I don’t think it’s all brainwashing.
N

@moye@Takuma

But you said you think straight teeth is “more attractive because it’s healthier” and at the same time – questions why Japanese men find crooked teeth attractive. It sounds more of an image thing than a health thing.

Yes crooked teeth ‘may be’ harder and require more efforts to maintain, but it doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy. I just there’s no reason why a ‘perfect smile’ can’t be one that involves crooked teeth.
N

@moye@Takuma

Moye, that’s exactly what I’m getting at -

Straight/white teeth does not equate to healthy teeth. Health of teeth is a maintenance issue – that’s no reason to think pointy teeth = bad teeth.

The only reason that people associate straight teeth = healthy teeth is the image of the ‘perfect smile’ that is entrenched into our memories ever since we are little.

I thought Dentist earn most of their money by doing routine cleaning and a smaller part removing rotten teeth (which I imagine largely the teeth at the back of the mouth where cleaning is harder and which is easier to become unhealthy).

And my dentist definitely told me to stay away from the teeth-whitening products which are actually unhealthy for your teeth.
moye

@N Okay.
VănMinhNguyễn

Don’t ALL men from any country fin Yaeba attractive?
A_Lee

@Ernie H. Your blog, your rules. I look forward to the consistent and impartial application of these rules.

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