Is Makoto Bi? or Mako-chan Never Read Plato's Symposium

Surprisingly, this misassumption pops up a lot in the Moonie world, usually in fanfics, but I've found it elsewhere. You'd think that her obsession with boys who look like "her old sempai" ("old boyfriend" to those familiar with the DIC version) would leave no doubt. But there was episode 96 in SailormoonS where Makoto goes into her thousand-mile stare and blush usually reserved for sempai-lookalikes after Haruka nearly runs over Mako and Usagi with her motorcycle. The end result is that all of the Inners are frantic with worry that "Makoto has changed her choice". (It's really a great Episode, with priceless expressions... the animators must've had loads of fun with it!)

However, this kind of a scenario has happened before; ie, Ranma, where it would seem as though Akane had fallen in love with another girl. In Japan, it's encouraged for a younger girl to find an older one to look up to as a role model... in a non-Pausaniusian way, that is. (I don't know if "Pausaniusian" is really a word, but it is now.) Basically it's not in a romantic or physical context... it's "just friends" and that's it. You're still thinking about Pausanius? Since I brought it up, I might as well explain it... those of you who could care less might as well scroll down and click "Back" right now, and those of you who are curious and haven't got a copy of Plato's Symposium handy, well, feel free to continue onward!

Symposium deals with the definition of "Love", and Pausanius was one character in it. To him, there was an earthly, or "common" love; and then there was an exalted, "higher" love. Since women were intellectually inferior to men, heterosexual love was relegated as inferior. (Hey, don't flame me for this! I didn't write it! ^_^) "Higher" love existed between old, wise men and young, attractive boys so that the old men could transfer their wisdom and knowledge. But this raises quite an interesting paradox... if the old, wise men desire good and wisdom, and the young boys are neither good nor wise, then they must be doing this out of a physical love. And if the boys enter the relationship not because they find old men attractive, but out of the wisdom they hope to obtain, well, isn't that a higher motive? Doesn't it make them better, in a sense, than the very people who are supposed to teach them wisdom? Just a nifty little thing to make you say, "H'm..." I bet you never thought you'd find a discussion of Plato on an SM page! Well, there's a first time for everything.... ^_^

"Ever Wonder Why?"