How to disarm Traps

I didn't really have anything planned for my blog this week but seeing as how often it's been brought to my attention this week I figured I should just write an article on Traps. By Traps I don't mean kind of things people seem to think I have set up in my room but the kind guys never want to have to encounter - normal guys at least, some people have really odd tastes. This is the definition of what I mean by Trap taken straight from Urban Dictionary right down to the spelling mistake. Click the word trap for TvTropes' take on the term.

Trap
A man who likes to dress up in women's clothing and make-up. He even thinks he's a woman at times, also acts like one and has an odd phobia of not wanting to showing his naked body. Out of shame? We can only guess, but he definetely has something 'extra' to hide you know where.

"Watch out, it's a trap! h"

I'm not quite sure who came up with the term since the internet is a cesspool of new information that is constantly being spawned by faceless computer users. It probably came from 4chan though, almost all memes come from there. Personally I don't really have anything against people with such hobbies. Heck, if I ever make a friend out of a convincing enough example then I'm definitely going to have fun withholding information when people ask about the "girl" I just talked to. I'd put that on my bucket list but I doubt I'll ever meet one that's convincing enough to slip past my sensors.

However, it does become a worrisome thing when it becomes a trend as mentioned on a recent article from Sankaku Complex. Apparently men in Japan are starting to think that it's fashionable to wear skirts according to the article and judging from several comments made on the article, it seems that it is more widespread than the article would have you believe. That's right people! You can now add Japan to that category that Thailand is known for (I apologize If I offended people of either nations but it is considered a fact by most of us on the outside). I have and probably will never understand fashion. When I was a kid, I always thought fashion was people looking for newer ways to look good but now I know the error in that misunderstanding. I have never understood fashion and most likely never will despite the fact I do know what looks good on people and what doesn't - fashion clearly isn't trying to find only things that look good. Here is that article on the rising population of traps in the land of the rising sun.

Sankaku's article on the fashion of japanese men wearing skirts

On top of that here are some more articles from Sankaku related to that one:

The Trap making game show

The Trap magazine

Trap Cafes

Girls like Maids?

Lol. I really do not kid around when I say to my friends that I know about stuff that they're better off not knowing about - mainly because I enjoy seeing shocked faces, I really get a kick out of that. On a side note, I really wonder if it's such a good thing that this doesn't surprise more than it does. I know that Japan has really weird stuff going on so this isn't really the weirdest I've seen.

So why is it I'm writing about it on my blog where anyone of my normal friends are just a click away from knowing all this? I may not get a kick out of it since I will not see their faces but there are four reasons:

1) I just read that Sankaku article myself
2) I already got my kick when I told a friend who is into Megan Fox that she used to have a dick on Wednesday. Whether that's true or not, I don't care. It's just funny.
3) I just read chapter 35 and 36 of Onidere. Immediately knew as soon as the character intro panel showed up.
4) I really had nothing else to blog about.

Now onto the bit where I add in my own personal experience into this post - how to disarm a trap. What right do I have to give such advice? I almost never fall for a trap. In all the manga, anime and encounters in the real world I almost always know whether it's a guy in drag or not. In fact, the number of times I've fallen for traps don't even need all the fingers on my hand for counting - all of them from anime btw. How is that possible? I have the ability to differentiate traps and girls from one another.

How did I come to possess said ability? Through years of reading manga and also from the way I recognize people around me. I'm not sure why exactly but since I was little, I've always recognized people I know through their body shape - possibly because I was very shy when I was a kid. I still don't like maintaining eye contact with other people. It's advanced to the point I can recognize my friends and family by footstep, hands, scent and presence. That last one is a little hard to explain but basically everyone has unique feel to them that I feel through a method I'm still not sure of how I perceive them. Then there's my intuition of knowing when something is off that is unusually reliable despite my hesitance in trusting it. Together with the genre savvyness that I've gained through manga, I have an eye for anatomy. Unfortunately that eye does not help my art skills when I try to draw people. And no I have not named this pseudo Sharingan-esque skill, mainly because I suck at naming things.

Here's how to identify a trap. Most are applicable in both manga, anime and real life:

1) Traps like to use an amount excess of make-up and wear clothes that are able to hide their figures.
2) Traps will try to hide their Adam's apple using scarves, chokers etc.
3) A flat chest but a bra being present.
4) Position of breasts may look off in real life if present.
5) Jaw looks straight. Easy to tell when light is shining on them.
6) A thick scent that is either musky or perfumey. Easy for me to tell because girls have a lighter air about them - exceptionally good nose.
7) Hips look parallel to torso only slightly wider.
8) Traps always get praised as a beauty exceeding real girls in manga. Don't know if this is applicable in real life but possible in some cases.
9) People are keeping their distance away from trap and staring or trying to look away. Could just be the person's image though. Emo's are not applicable to this rule.
10) Voice sounds fake when speaking or is too deep for a girl. Traps will always have girl's voicing them in anime unless the casting director deems that they want to go for realism.
11) Shoulder position. If there's only a slight incline when relaxed then the shoulder muscles are built up.
12) Nails will most likely be well manicured or painted to the point where it looks unnatural.
13) Heavy footsteps compared to a girl. Pay attention to shoe size as well.
14) An exceptionally evil friend will egg you on to talk to a pretty girl that you don't know. Not always a trap but expect a nasty surprise. Unfortunately this really does work cause my friend immediately guessed it right when I showed him that maid trap in the last Sankaku article based on me just showing him a video of a "girl", he says he wouldn't have known if someone else was trying to show him it.

That's it for my post on how to disarm a trap. Expect a review on one or two new Gunpla that my dad bought in Singapore on his trip there for next time. The choices I have before me are a 1/144 HG Trans-am Raiser, 1/100 00 Raiser Designer's Ver. and a 1/100 MG Infinite Justice Gundam. Most likely the lat since I already have a 00 Raiser and that I can't trust my youngest brother to build an Master Grade. Also, up with Senjogahara Facination and the Fate/Stay Night movie has been confirmed to be following the Unlimited Blade Works route and that it will premiere on 23rd January 2010, which is probably why Studio DEEN has been cutting corners in animation for their current works.

So until then keep in mind that if it sounds and looks like a girl, there's still a chance it could be a guy. Skirt chasers beware!