CNN busts out its herbivore intern

Veggie Pride Parade NYC by sneakerdog on Flickr

“Some guys still try to be manly and try to be like strong and stuff, but you know personally I’m not afraid to show my vulnerability because being vulnerable or being sensitive is not a weakness.”

That’s former CNN intern Junichiro Hori, quoted in a CNN article on the “herbivore men” phenomenon. Nice to see that they have in-house experts in addition to their outside advisors, i.e. the great scions of Saitama high society.

Midori Saida, a 24-year-old woman sporting oversized aviators and her dyed brown hair in long ringlets, said “herbivore men” were “flaky and weak.”

“We like manly men,” she said. “We are not interested in those boys — at all.”

It’s an amusing article overall. The use of random weirdoes to speak for the broad demographics of herbivore men and Marukyu women reminded me of this instant-classic Onion piece:


Nation’s Girlfriends Unveil New Economic Plan: ‘Let’s Move In Together’

8 thoughts on “CNN busts out its herbivore intern”

  1. I like the Onion — but their actors always overdo it. It wouldn’t take much effort for them to really look believable.

  2. Let’s also give a hands up to Morgan Neill, author of that story, for tracking down that awesome source of his own intern. That’s like the Washington senators who ask their limo drivers what they think about hot topics of interest to see what “the common man” thinks of the issue.

  3. I was actually asked a question on this at my lecture yesterday. Interestingly enough, in the past 10 years mahjong comics have gotten a lot more wussy. The questioner wanted to know if this was because of the “herbivore men.”

  4. “Let’s also give a hands up to Morgan Neill, author of that story, for tracking down that awesome source of his own intern.”

    Haha. I don’t know how this gets past the editors. Maybe it’s what they’re looking for?

  5. I think Morgan’s article was a bastardized version of the Japan Times article from last month.

    Well, at least now the “herbivore” phenomenon is being hashed out in various corners of the blogosphere. The majority of what I’ve wasted my time with has read like Ryann Connell translations…ugh.

  6. Here’s another paragraph:

    ” Hori agreed economics has played a role. When he finished university, “a lot of my friends were trying to work for a big company that pays well and I wasn’t interested in that. I am kind of struggling financially and my father is not very happy about it,” he said.”

    Isn’t it bad form to report that your former intern is hurting for money?

  7. I just saw Morgan Neill report and think it was amazing. He is generaly a great reporter, sometimes I think that several colleagues of him simply cant stand the fact that Neill does lately the greatest stories.

  8. Just wanted to say I had a sighting of this article last Thursday (30 July) in the free commuter paper in Sydney – though I think it was attributed to Reuters or AP not CNN. It’s amusing to follow articles from their origins as they slowly make their way around the world. Can’t count the number of times I’m reading something – thinking I’ve read this before – to find out yes I have, in another countries newspaper.

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