Let’s talk about fictophilia. We have discussed this concept before. I probably mentioned Akihiko Kondo, a Japanese man who made headlines by marrying a 2D character called Hatsune Miku.
Why am I revisiting the topic? I read several interesting articles about the subject, and I wanted to talk about what I learned. First of all, fictophilia is a phenomenon in which people develop strong emotional attachments to fictional characters.
Many female novel readers have what they call ‘book boyfriends’. Do you see how women swoon when a boyband walks on stage, or when they see Brad Pitt in a video?
Imagine a similar reaction, but for a male protagonist in a novel, or a popular video game. The concept does not sound so bad when I replace Edward (Twilight) with a celebrity like Brad Pitt because Brad Pitt is a real person. However, even with celebrities, people can take things too far.
They can create what psychologists call parasocial relationships, a condition where the individual forms a one-sided relationship with a celebrity. You have heard of men who think Beyonce was singing specifically to them at a concert. They fabricate a fantasy in which their celebrity crush is secretly communicating with them via subtle codes in interviews, song lyrics, etc.
Fictophilia is what happens when you take your attraction to a fictional character to the extreme. And yes, it can have a sexual component, especially where otaku (anime/manga fanatics) are concerned. You have heard stories of grown men marrying popup dolls of anime girls.
The condition takes a particularly creepy turn when the anime girls in question are teens and pre-teens. So, is Fictophilia a legitimate psychological condition? At the moment, no health organization recognizes fictophilia as a mental illness. At best, your health specialist may categorize it as an atypical sexual disorder because some of the worst victims are incapable of forming relationships with real human beings.
They are only attracted to the characters in their entertainment mediums of choice. Self-esteem is a major driving factor. Akihiko Kondo liked real women in high school, but they kept rejecting him. And then, as an adult, consistent bullying at work triggered a bout of depression so severe that Kondo went on sick leave.
He discovered Hatsune Miku during that season and the fictional girl changed his life, lifting his depression and allowing the young man to finally return to work.
Women will drool over alpha males in romance novels because the real men in their lives have either disappointed them or fallen short of their standards. That does not mean every person with an attachment to a fictional character is Fictosexual.
You should only panic if you prefer the company of fictional characters to real people. You should also seek help if you have built a shrine in your bedroom dedicated to 2D people. That is not an exaggeration. The Otaku community is notorious for building shrines for celebrities and anime characters.
If you are worried that your attachment to a fictional character is morphing into an unhealthy obsession, talk to a psychologist.
katmic200@gmail.com
Source: The Observer
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