by Misa Fukutome

Since the Internet became easily accessible for the majority, looking for partners has also become a common activity. The demand on what is written on the profile is also something important, because despite all the suspicion there is something that you always look for in a person’s profile that makes you want to meet him or her in person. In class, there was an opportunity to write our own hypothetical profiles. However, at first there were questions about where the profile would be displayed, in a Japanese, internationally or on any other country’s website. This triggered a realization for me, below there will be two types of profiles one made for a Japanese website and one for a Swiss website.

An ad on a Japanese website:

Age: 21

Height: 163cm

Sex: Female

City: Kyoto

Nationality: Swiss/ Japanese

Self-Introduction: I grew up multicultural, mainly lived in Switzerland until I came to Japan 4 years ago. I enjoy sports very much, also cooking brings me joy. Currently I am a student and am looking for a man who is around the same age and does not mind a strong personality but out going.

Of course there are a lot of reduction in this profile, however the emphasis in the profile is made on the fact that I do not have much Japanese in me. Also, the demand I have for the other is not very clear because in reality I am not expecting to be dating a Japanese so it was hard to set a demand. Now what does the profile for the Swiss website look like?

Age: 21

Height: 163cm

Sex: Female

City: Zurich

Nationality: Japanese / Swiss

Self-Introduction: I have black long hair and have a fit body. I love sports and I like keeping in shape. I love cooking and relaxing. I have a bright personality, out going and am independent. I am looking for a partner who does sports and enjoys sharing ideas and point of views.

As mentioned before, this profile is brief, but still there is a change in tone. The profile focuses on the looks and the order in putting nationality; in the Japanese ad, I put Swiss before Japan and in the Swiss one the other way around. This is because, in Japan, it is more likely to get attention if you are “gaijin,” an opposite. In Switzerland, “half” are considered exotic not only that but also as Asian beauty. The conclusion would be that there is not only the person looking for a curtain race or skin tone but also people selling their own skin color or race to attract the other.