I wonder about that, Ken. I think both *hikkomori *and *taijin kyofusho *involve social withdrawal, with symptoms more like what we would term agoraphobia. The account of Nisan, Toru and Ken (not Ken Steele!) sounds more like an inability to maintain or to seek a social/romantic/intimate relationship, with fetishism in their sexual predilections rather than any kind of phobia. These guys both have other relatively social interactions such as jobs and participating in panel discussions.
But even more disturbing is that the typical fetishes in this disorder are 10-12 year-old prepubescent girls (even though they're cartoons), despite the assertion by at least one of the people interviewed that he doesn't view child pornography. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 10:16 AM, Ken Steele <[email protected]> wrote: > Mike Palij wrote: > >> An interesting if disturbing article in the NY Times on certain >> Japanese social trends, entitled "Love in 2-D". See: >> >> >> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/magazine/26FOB-2DLove-t.html?ref=world&pagewanted=all >> >> Perhaps a topic for legitimate multucultural discussion. >> >> -Mike Palij >> New York University >> [email protected] >> >> > 2-D love seems similar to the cases of "hikkomori," the withdrawal from > social interaction. > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. [email protected] > Professor > Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu > Appalachian State University > Boone, NC 28608 > USA > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
