“This is how I see myself”: a Japanese man became 11 years younger through an effort of will

While the world community is amazed at a 39-year-old Japanese man who said that from now on he will be 28 years old “because that’s how he feels,” Russians are surprised – but in a completely different way. It turns out that this behavior, which has already been called a “new trend” overseas and, by a well-known analogy, was given the name “trans-ageism,” is not new at all. Although it seems stupid to many.

Conversations about trans-ageism as a new trend were sparked by a 39-year-old Japanese citizen, an office clerk who calls himself Jackie in the Western manner. He has already explained to curious people on the Internet that he was pushed into the abyss of transageism by his boss, who made an incorrect remark to him: “How can you not know this at your age?!” And the offended subordinate decided to transform himself to that age when he still had the right not to know what his boss demanded – and mentally rolled back 11 years ago, now he is 28.

“We are discussing this in all seriousness,” says Michelle, a Russian-speaking resident of Los Angeles. – Surgical rejuvenation has just gone out of fashion, one half of the city is on strike, the other is suffering from Covid, a new Covid lockdown is being predicted, so the idea of ​​“mental rejuvenation” is gaining popularity. Well, it’s convenient: according to my passport, I’m, say, 45, but I feel like I’m 25, and if you please, everyone should take me into account and judge me not by my passport, but by how I feel today. Moreover, today I want to go to a party and I feel 18, and tomorrow I will have a hangover and I will feel 100. Very convenient!

In the USA, indeed, even TV in recent days has been asking the question whether to support trans-ageists or not? The reason was the case of a fashionable online influencer overseas, whom manufacturers entrusted with advertising of popular beer. But she advertised the beer as a woman, and the next day she announced herself as a 14-year-old girl, which shocked advocates of a complete ban on alcohol before the age of 21. As a result, beer producers suffered: respectable Americans abandoned the drink, which is served to minors. At the same time, the same Americans are happy that 60-year-old Pavel from Toronto, who suddenly felt like a 6-year-old girl, was taken from his wife, children and grandchildren by a compassionate couple and adopted. Now the pensioner’s name is Stephanie and he plays with dolls live on his social network page.

Runet users react to such news with humor: “In this case, I’m already 65, retire!” There are a lot of jokes on the topic, but the only surprise is for one reason: why?! It turns out that in the online spaces of the CIS countries there are many trans-age bloggers, mostly male.

“Apparently, this is the influence of countries like Thailand and Japan, where slender men, if they can’t pump themselves up, then pretend to be young ladies, and also make money from it,” believes Veronica Kim, a psychologist with a fashionable specialization in “online deviation” today – oddities, things that happen to us when communicating virtually with the world.

But to the question of whether trans-ageism has a great chance of taking root, as trans-gender people did before it, whom the world today calls upon not to discriminate on any grounds and to respect their self-identification, so far only a psychiatrist can answer.

“In general, this is not news, every second woman in our country reduces her age from a couple of years to a couple of decades – both in words and in deeds, rejuvenating herself through aesthetic medicine and surgery,” says psychiatrist Boris Zernov. – But if trans-ageism appears as a massive phenomenon, we will deal with it. Because when a person sees himself not as who he really is, and behaves differently than nature intended, this is actually dangerous both for him and for those around him. And the first thing you need to check is its adequacy. And if the case is not severe, but simply someone at 60 wants to behave and dress like they did at 30 and communicate with young people, then this is not a “new trend”, but a fun as old as the world, caused by the fact that we are all afraid of old age and leaving for another world, which is natural. To summarize, issues related to age identity require an individual approach. Today, in the medical and scientific spheres, such a phenomenon is not considered, since it is not a problem. But, of course, both medicine and the law will become more active if unscrupulous people begin to use the term “trans-ageism” for selfish or criminal purposes, such as, for example, violating the age limit or unauthorized communication with minors.

Indeed, how convenient: I wanted “forbidden”, I felt 21+. And I’m tired of working at 80+ and having juniors look after you.