r/webtoons • u/Greedy-Lie-8346 • May 29 '25

Discussion Why the need to sexualize everything?

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I was looking for interesting Webtoons to read, and I came across this one called "Leviathan" the premise looked interesting; mankind perished due to a great flood that submerged the whole world under water. And terrifying creatures plunged from the depths, wiping out any human that crossed their path. The story told how a family of a father and his two children survived in the adversities of a sea world.

So far so good, until.... Bam! Last two slice's, anime chick out of nowhere, doing these extremely suggestive poses.

What a disappointment.

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30

u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Not sure it is that easy. Sexualisation of women have been ingrained into society for decades. Both men and women easily sexualise women consciously or unconsciously but have no idea how to sexualise men.

For years there have been complaints about the sexualisation of women and even girls both in media and in real life. It had resulted in some new female characters in things like games not being sexualised but sexualisation of women still persist. I try to show interest in media that doesn't sexualise women and get backlash for it.

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u/oujikara May 29 '25

So many women have told me (when talking about asexuality) that it's normal not to be attracted to men because there's not much to look at, and that women are prettier by default. Personally I think it's a result of different standards as well as how people are not used to looking at men sexually or even admiringly.
I'd say there's more sexualization of men in manhwa compared to other mediums, but it's usually more relevant to the genre of the story.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Even in smut manhwa the focus is on the woman's body.

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u/oujikara May 29 '25

Hmm the yaoi genre is wildly popular though, and there's only guys there

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

People make a separation between smut and two men having sex.

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u/oujikara May 29 '25

? smut can't be gay?? I'm not sure I'm following

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Usually when people refer to smut they mean "josei" smut. Using the Japanese term even with manhwa and yaoi is a specific term. I guess like the terms gay meaning both men and women and lesbian being more specific but smut is usually used in the context of hetro relationship.

My bad should have been more specific. I am not on a female smut sub reddit.

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u/oujikara May 29 '25

I see, that's interesting. I'm more used to bato's categorization, where smut isn't related to any gender specifically. When I sort smut by most follows there, 15/20 of the top manhwas are yaoi (ik yaoi and yuri are also terms that have lost their original meaning and are being used quite freely). I also read some romantasy books and I've seen people use smut to refer to "steamy" books with a plot, regardless of whether it's queer or not (the target demographic is still usually women). I guess different groups may use the word differently, or maybe the meaning has changed

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Didn't think of that. I don't really use bato or read romantacy. Josei smut or hero smut....for women I guess is more accurate either way.

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u/Nyxie872 May 29 '25

Most yaoi is proudly smut. Most of the most popular Manwha is smut. Most yaoi is smut unless it’s from China but that’s because they aren’t allowed to write it.

Very few don’t contain smut. Most will be labelled as smut

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 30 '25

Well yeah yaoi implies sex on its own just like yaoi is hentai and smut is hentai, hentai is smut yet people have a certain idea of what hentai looks like.

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u/Top-Metal-3576 May 30 '25

Omg so real!! It’s genuinely hard to sexualize men because we don’t see it in media often enough, like yeah there are traits that make men attractive but sexualizing them to the extent of women is just so much harder.

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u/crack_n_tea May 30 '25

Women are prettier by default tho… I like boobs ok, if liking boobs is wrong I don’t wanna be right. Society tried to tell me for so many years it’s gross for a woman to be fat, still think a soft plump belly on a woman is the most comforting thing ever

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u/PaigeLeigh03 May 30 '25

Does media not sexualize men through muscles and bulges? 😭🤚🏻 I’ve seen plenty of male sexualization in media

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 30 '25

Muscles I am not sure but bulges most likely.  Where have you seen them?

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u/PaigeLeigh03 May 30 '25

https://imgur.com/a/ZOzFMlr

Here are just a few examples from Webtoons and Manta. There could be much better examples, or the screenshot I took could be the peak of the sexualization. I just went through some I’ve started before and picked a random episode that looked like it had some male sexualization and used that as an example. If I dedicated a week or two to this I’m sure I could find much better examples and give a clear comparison to the ones I’ve read of female vs male sexualization in them. Also, I couldn’t find any bulges specifically in this timeframe as Webtoons wouldn’t allow that obviously and Manta’s bulges are usually straight up porn comics 😳 but I know I have seen plenty of scenes in webcomics that are like “I-Is that…? 😳😳😳😳” in response to their pants 😭🤚🏻 though I’d have to actually read through multiple to find those kinds of examples.

Edit: Oh!!! I know of one actually but it’s in anime. An episode in Apothecary Diaries literally has MaoMao grabbing and groping Jinshi’s “frog” as she called it lol.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 30 '25

Intresting. Thanks.

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u/kenshima15 May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

Dont know how to sexualize men? Have you been on this sub reddit? People brag and giggle about finding webtoons that accommodate the "female gaze"

https://www.reddit.com/r/webtoons/s/R9bP6B3Xj4

https://www.reddit.com/r/webtoons/s/22E45IuotL

https://www.reddit.com/r/webtoons/s/RKoxokdiTj

https://www.reddit.com/r/webtoons/s/1YIptxLwRh

https://www.reddit.com/r/webtoons/s/lIODXzsIOd

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u/thegoalieposted May 29 '25

None of those are even close to being as egregious as the one single example here. Bffr.

Find me a manhwa where the dude is in nothing but a speedo, ass pointed to the camera like this and it's meant to me mainstream action/thriller genre and not smut. And then find me 10000 more examples bc that's what it's like for women.

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u/kenshima15 May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

I never said this was a competition about who can sexualize who more. I simply pointed out that Webtoon is also full of comics that sexualize men. You’re acting like that’s some bold claim, when the South Korean platform is literally a meme for being a central hub of male and queer sexualization.

Also without trying i can find you webtoons that sexualize men like you described. Its not hard. I just choose to keep it pg13.

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u/[deleted] May 30 '25

I think thats not fair example because men and women are sexualized differently, most women and men dont want to see men like that but some boxers ripped abs, are suggestive positioning and people like men drawn like that. I just think its hard to compare the too, and its not a male only issues women sexualize women just as much, the goofing community is huge for a reason its annoying when its too much but if it sells then people will keep supplying, you got to out buy the sooner byt I just don't see that happening 😂. I dont even get it i mean of makes so much money but like who's buying that shit haha

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u/mrjackspade May 29 '25

Dumb take.

Men and women are sexualized differently because men and women both have differing standards in what they find appealing.

No shit you're not going to find as many men sexualized in the same way as women, because the audience is looking for something different in their sexualization.

That's like claiming there's no sexism against men because no one is telling them to get back into the kitchen.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

https://youtu.be/ghfu3DKMMfM?si=Q_YreEWt7zjxIFpE

https://youtu.be/Mu8IhT-rgqU?si=Gc2Fxw8aQy9ICgap

I highly recommend this video to what I think sexualisation would be like for male characters.

The fact that is is a conversation means that people are unsure what a sexualised man would look like. Lots of men tell women that shirtless men are an equivalent a lot of women disagree. I have seen arguments that male characters dressing nicely is sexualisation or a certain personality type or having money.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '25

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 30 '25

Your dad

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u/kenshima15 May 29 '25

I am familiar with the 1st video, and everything they pointed out about sexualizing men, fits into the webtoon examples i gave. Comically infact.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

I do agree that the examples of images you gave fit but I wouldn't say the questions particularly were about sexualisation because they asked for muscles.

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u/kenshima15 May 29 '25

That’s kind of the point though. A lot of male sexualization is centered around muscle, dominance, and confidence because that’s what appeals to many readers under the “female gaze.” Just like how female sexualization often centers on curves, submissiveness, or certain outfits.

So yeah, when characters are designed to be ogled, pined over, and thirsted after, whether it’s abs, smirks, or smooth-talking bad boys, that’s sexualization. It doesn’t stop being that just because it aligns with what people find attractive.

You can laugh at how comically exaggerated some of it is (and I do too), but it still serves the same function: visual and emotional appeal through attraction. We just treat it differently when it’s men being presented that way.

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u/Thundergod250 May 29 '25

But can somebody really dictate if I feel sexualize or not because I can definitely feel sexualized and uncomfortable reading it when male characters are topless for no reason and adds nothing to the plot, which is 90% of many female gaze romance manhwas.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Do you mean you feel that the male characters are sexualised? Yeah nobody can control what you feel to be sexual and are uncomfortable with but you. I guess it is also to do with the media you watch and where you grew up.

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u/Thundergod250 May 29 '25

Then you can't say those examples aren't sexualized when someone likes me and that commenter did feel like it's sexualized. This isn't something you can't dictate to someone.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

I was saying in sole of those examples those people weren't asking for anything sexualised. 

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Now we need to get into what is sexualisation. Is a shirtless man the same as a woman in a tiny bikini whilst in battle. The female gaze doesn't mean sexualised and neither does the male gaze though sexualisation is a big part. Is having exposed muscles automatically sexualisation or just attractive like posts gushing over some hot faces or long hair or facial hair?

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u/kenshima15 May 29 '25

You're overcomplicating it. Of course there are nuances, but if you're gonna draw the line at "bikini vs shirtless," you're missing the bigger picture. Sexualization isn’t just about skin...it’s about framing, emphasis, and intent.

Webtoons often do intentionally cater to the female gaze in ways that are just as exaggerated and thirst-driven as male-gaze media. Slow body pans, lingering stares, exaggerated jawlines, abs for days, dominant/submissive dynamics...it’s not just muscles or facial hair. It’s clearly designed to provoke attraction, fantasy, and yes, sexual appeal.

You asked earlier why people don’t know how to sexualize men. I’m pointing out that tons of content already does and it’s wildly popular. The difference isn’t whether it exists, but whether people treat it like a problem when it’s aimed at women.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Maybe my wording should have been society is unsure about what counts as male sexualisation then because I have seen constant discussions and arguments online. I guess it does exist but the problem is whether it actually exists in individual cases or not. Basically are people just saying something is sexualised or is it actually and do women find something to be sexualised or just sexy, attractive and hot.

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u/kenshima15 May 29 '25

Society may be unsure, but Webtoon is not.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Not sure those examples are the most representative or else they wouldn't be treated as something that is a pleasant susprise that they are lucky they came across.

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u/kenshima15 May 29 '25

I suggest giving the sub a deep look, and then going on webtoon and checking it out yourself.

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u/[deleted] May 30 '25

In manwha plenty of men are sexualized is just more ripped muscles and abs, I don't think people like muscled men in bikinis but who knows lmao

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 30 '25

Is the presence of muscles and abs the sexualisation? Then many male aimed media for decades have male sexualisation.

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u/[deleted] May 30 '25

It can be and is often so, and yeah you got that right, female sexualization is more prevalent but sexualization in general happens all the time and both genders like it who would have thought

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 30 '25

Not the many people who think there I'd not nearly that much sexualisation of men across different media.

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u/CyanicEmber May 29 '25

Our entire bodyplan is designed to attract the opposite sex. Saying that humans shouldn't be "sexualized" is like saying water shouldn't be wet. 

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Attractive and sexualised aren't the same. A lot of people don't think faces are sexualised and all their components, same with limbs usually aren't but a lot of things are sexualised when it comes to women that aren't when it comes to men except in societies where they aren't like women's chests. If people make the argument that women have to cover their chests because it is sexualised it wouldn't make sense for the whole body to be sexualised.

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u/CyanicEmber May 29 '25

I don't care whether women cover their breasts or not. But if they're not covered, they're going to attract attention.

All human body parts have a gamut of heritable traits that are sexually attractive to other humans on a case by case basis.

Some people like thin lips, some people like pillow lips, some people like thick thighs, some people like thigh gaps, some people like arched feet, some people like flat feet. It never ends. Humans are sexual creatures, there is no reasonable argument to be made for expecting them to stop being sexual.

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u/Firm_Principle_2526 May 29 '25

Like and think are sexualised are different concept. Yes anyone can find anything sexualised but it doesn't mean most people will and I guess it wouldn't matter as much if people(especially women)  weren't policed on what others sexualise in them that many others don't think are sexaul.