The alien-ness of chinese culture.

My parents are back from their trip in Asia, predominantly through China and Hong Kong. I asked them to bring me back a chinese Maxim, and they did.

Now, for those who are unfamiliar with Maxim magazines, theres a line of text that runs across the top of the front cover of the magazine, above the word 'Maxim.' Here in North America, the bar usually reads "Sex · Sports · Beer · Gadgets · (insert something here)." Sometimes its slightly different, but generally speaking, most of the magazines begin with Sex, Sports, Beer and Gadgets. The idea here is that the magazine focuses on those topics. If you pick up a Maxim, you should expect to read about Sex, Sports, Beer and Gadgets, in that order of importance.

Okay, so back on the topic at hand, I got my chinese Maxim, and I noticed the bar that runs across the top reads "Fashion · Tiger · Gadgets · Train · Girls · Grooming." What the fuck is that? We know the target demographic is teenaged - 25 yr old males, so what does this say about the priorities of young chinese men? Fashion, not Sex; Tiger, whatever the hell that means, not Sports; Gadgets - okay; Train? What the hell? Girls - is this another way of saying Sex? Grooming - hand in hand with fashion, I suppose. Can chinese guys aged 18-25 be any more effeminate? That list of priorities reads like something out of a womens' magazine.

For fuck's sake...