Critical mass achieved

[lordshipmayhem]

Apparently, according to this article in the Mainichi Shimbun, the female otaku population have hit critical mass, enough to be given their own unique name:

Otome

(in English, "maidens". Kind of fits, ne?)

They even have their own street, an alleyway in the Higashi Ikebukuro district of Tokyo, chockablock full of manga stores selling shonen ai and yaoi tales. And the age range of the otome frequenting this laneway: from teen girls in junior high to women in their late 40's.