How can we distinguish such herbivorous men from "traditional" Chinese men? One significant difference between them is that the herbivorous men were born in middle and late 1980s to early 1990s and raised during China's economic boom. Moreover, they are the only child of their parents.

But it is no point making a fuss about such a phenomenon. As China's economy grows rapidly, people are becoming increasingly rich, and youths have the capability to spend more money on make-up and clothes. Hence, it is partly a reflection of the improvement in people's incomes and livelihood, and most of the youths try to be "gender-neutral" just because "it is fashionable or cool" without hindering their "competitiveness".

Some Chinese scholars propose other response as well.

He Chunrui, a professor at the Gender Research Institute in Taiwan Central University has scrutinized the results of Internet surveys, and argues that white-collar male workers tend to become gender neutral in China because they are educated, and enjoy social status and financial stability. The corollary is that they do not need to exhibit masculinity to attract women.

Pan Suiming, a professor and director of the Institute for Research on Sexuality and Gender in Renmin University of China, argues that, while Chinese society in general has become more casual about sex, some young Chinese men have been "left behind" for lack of romance during their college years. He emphasizes that experiencing intimate relationships, not in the virtual but the real world, is as important as academic achievements during college years.

If gender neutrality, signified by metrosexuals, is one way of self-representation or a reflection of young men's increasing ability to pursue their own choice of values, such choices and behaviors should be respected and accepted.

Such a phenomenon is a natural result of a growing pluralistic society, and people should be open-minded toward different groups of youths as long as their behavior doesn't interfere with other people's lives.

The author is a freelance writer from Japan.