In the first semester, I researched dialects & diversity and school uniforms & diversity, then I found these connections, they both are the tool of showing their identity. Both dialects and school uniforms have a standard style, which is always for the majorities, but there are some who feel uncomfortable with this. I feel the same way when I think of job hunting, I wanna let my hair color free that I want but when you do job hunting, your hair is supposed to be dark hair and neatly tied. Moreover, here is the story that made me feel so uncomfortable and let me down. It was an extremely hot day, and I was cooling off in an air-conditioned room. Then I saw outside of the room, and there were people who were wearing suits, the color was black, all of them neatly tied their neckties. I was like “Are you crazy?” “What is the exact reason to dress up formally even it’s extraordinary hot day?”. I also saw a person who seemed like doing job hunting on the same day. They were also wearing suits with black jacket, walking in the sun. I understand there are some rules on your closing, but it made me really upset and think about the diversity of clothing especially in the workplace and on job hunting. Then, here are some research questions that I came up with.
・What is the history of shukatsu fashion?
・Are there recent changes around appropriate clothing?
・How do people think about their dress code?
(257 words)
This week, I focused on the stories from 当事者 both in doing job hunting and workplace.
First, I looked into the story from non-binary person who was doing job-hunting. They said that the first thing they were confused about in job-hunting was the gender section on résumé. There were only “man” and “woman”, so they had no choice but to add a circle “woman” every time. But as soon as they did that, they felt like they’re disappearing.
Second story was about trans-man. When he tried to start job- hunting, people around him were worrying about which company they would apply for, but the first worry for him was whether to wear a men’s suit or a women’s suit. He had been questioning his gender for many years, and he barely made the decision. In the end, he decided to wear a women’s suit and work as a woman because he didn’t want to fail in the first important job in society. He was afraid that if he shortened his hair, the interviewers would find out. He strongly believed that the hair is literally the way to show their identity, so he decided to have his hair got long and tied to one, which is called “就活ヘア.” I also looked into the voice of a woman who works wearing pumps. She argued that the trouble with wearing them is they’re hurting. Some people, especially those who have never worn pumps, tell you to change them on the way, but why should only women have to go through all those troubles?
These 当事者’s voices means a lot to me and made me recognize how important the rules of clothing when doing job-hunting or at workplace are. Does it really matter to protect the traditions which were made many years ago?
I also came up with those questions.
How we got to this situation (clothing for both situations).
Who will be inconvenienced by the rules?
How many LGBT people experience problems?
What is the actual voice of the company side?
(338 words)
「希望の格差」という言葉が強く印象に残った。また、環境の要因によって、貧困家庭に低学歴が集中しているという事実は衝撃的であった。学童は、年齢を超えた独自のコミュニティができ、社会性が身につくという点に加えて、近い距離で子供たちの危険をキャッチできるというメリットが挙げられた。共働き世帯の増加も相まって、学童の需要が高まっている一方で、学童の運営にはまだまだ課題が多く残されていることも発表で触れていた。資金が足りず、ボランティアスタッフの活動にも限界があったり、場所の確保が困難であったりすることなどが挙げられる。これに対して私は、学校側からの支援が一番需要と供給を満たすのではないかと考えた。受け身姿勢の教育システムが問題視されていることを鑑みると、学校のプログラムの中に学童の補助を組み込めば、より実践的な学びをする機会も増えて、どちらに対してもメリットが生まれる。
また、Shioriの発表を聞いて、SNSが「マイノリティー」と表現される人々の居場所になっていることを再確認した。「マイノリティー」という表現が示しているように、その存在は、「多くの人」の対義語とされ、まだまだ「多くの人」にとっては身近ではないことは否定できない。しかし、だからこそ、多くの人が使うSNSを使ってその存在に気づかせることが意味を持つことが重要である。また、その彼らに対して、周囲はALLYになることでサポートする姿勢を示し、今までの価値基準や固定概念に関してより柔軟に考える人が増えるのではないかと感じた。また、SNSを使用して発信をすることで、炎上してしまうというリスクを伴うが、その炎上でさえも色々な考え方や意見を持った人がいる証であり、意見交換や意見表明の表現が過激化された結果だと考えると、これもまた多様性の一つであると考えた。
The term 'hope gap' left a strong impression. The fact that low educational attainment is concentrated among poor families due to environmental factors was also shocking. In addition to the fact that schoolchildren create their own community beyond their age group and develop social skills, the advantage of catching children's dangers in close proximity was mentioned. While the demand for schoolchildren is increasing, coupled with the increase in dual-earner households, the presentation also touched on the fact that there are still many challenges in the operation of schoolchildren. These include a lack of funds, limited volunteer staff and difficulties in securing places. In response to this, I thought that support from the school side would best meet supply and demand. In view of the problems with the passive education system, incorporating the assistance of schoolchildren into the school programme would increase opportunities for more practical learning and create benefits for both parties.
Shiori's presentation also reaffirmed that social networking sites have become a place for people described as 'minorities'. As the expression 'minority' suggests, their existence is considered a synonym for 'many', and it is undeniable that they are not yet familiar to 'many'. However, that is why it is important that it makes sense to make them aware of its existence through social networking sites used by many people. I also felt that the people around them could show their support by becoming ALLY to them, and that more people would think more flexibly about the value standards and stereotypes they have been used to. In addition, using social networking sites to communicate involves the risk of being inflamed, but even the flames are proof that there are people with various ideas and opinions, and considering that this is a result of the radicalisation of the exchange of opinions and the expression of opinions, I thought that this is also a form of diversity.