is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

slang term used to describe a person, typically a woman, with a

mental health disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. The term may refer to fictional characters who exhibit traits of mental illness or to participants in

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

-inspired fashion

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...

Etymology

''Menhera'' translates to ''mental healther'' and originally referred to users of ''mentaru herusu ban'', a

2channel , also known as 2ch, Channel 2, and sometimes retrospectively as 2ch.net, was an anonymous Japanese textboard founded in 1999 by Hiroyuki Nishimura. Described in 2007 as "Japan's most popular online community", the site had a level of influe ...

discussion board about mental health. The term ''mentaru herusu'', meaning mental health, was abbreviated by discussion board members to ''menheru'', and users became known as ''menhera''.

History

The term ''menhera'' began to spread past the ''mentaru herusu ban''

board in the early 2000s, where it began to connote any person with a mental health condition. Later in the decade, the term grew more closely associated with women, especially those who demonstrated traits of

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive, long-term pattern of significant interpersonal relationship instability, an acute fear of Abandonment (emotional), abandonment, and intense emotiona ...

. ''Menhera'' was further popularized by Ezaki Bisko, who in 2013 created a ''Menhera-chan'' character which typified the subculture and the ''yami-kawaii'' fashion aesthetic.

Characteristics

In fiction

In a scholarly review of the ''menhera'' trope in fiction, researchers Yukari Seko and Minako Kikuchi distinguish between three subtypes of ''menhera'' woman: the sad girl, who experiences acute loneliness and alienation, the mad woman, who may exhibit unhealthy obsessive behavior towards their love interest, and the cutie, who embodies the fashion subculture associated with ''menhera''. The authors noted that all forms of ''menhera'' may engage in some degree of self injury.

In fashion

''Menhera'' communities are associated with the ''yami-kawaii'' (''sick-cute'') fashion subculture, a variation of the ''

kawaii ''Kawaii'' is a Japanese cultural phenomenon which emphasizes cuteness, childlike innocence, charm, and simplicity. ''Kawaii'' culture began to flourish in the 1970s, driven by youth culture and the rise of cute characters in manga and anime ...

'' aesthetic characterized by medical motifs such as pills, syringes, and bandages.

Analysis

In a ''Business of Fashion'' feature on the ''menhera'' community and the ''yami-kawaii'' aesthetic, some commentators argued that these subcultures emerged due to their shock value, while others suggested that these trends raised awareness towards mental illness and

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in Japan, where such subjects are often taboo. The latter sentiment was echoed by Elizabeth McCafferty of ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' magazine.

References

{{reflist Japanese subcultures Japanese fashion Japanese popular culture Japanese words and phrases Female stock characters in anime and manga Anime and manga terminology Psychological fiction Fiction about mental disorders Social phenomena Anti-social behaviour Behavioral addiction