I looked into the stories of three women in my research for this week. Although the situation was quite different for each of them, one politician, one journalist, and one activist, there was one common problem. No matter what their arguments are, there is always someone who belittles their words and actions because they are women. They are expected to equip their femininity as part of their assets, which devalues the legitimacy of their power. They are considered to be "overreacting" rather than to be critically aware.
In doing my research, I was startled by how some people still openly objectify women. I wondered whether we have to wait till those people step away from society or we can positively change their ways of thinking. Another thing I found difficult was the difference between tradition and toxic stereotypes/gender roles. In the case of the KuToo movement, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that requiring women to wear heels in workplaces shall be done "within the reasonable necessity, which is determined based on "common sense".
In our group, we talked about women's suppressed voices, LGBTQ+ rights, and language diversity. We found out that mass media play significant roles in reproducing prejudices and "standardizing" social norms for all three issues.
For the rest of Cycle1, I would like to look into problems concerning marriage. What is marriage (history and current issues)? What are the benefits of marrying (in Japan and around the world)? How does 戸籍制度 in Japan work?
References:
Justin McCurry (Oct 27. 2021), ‘It is bullying pure and simple’: being a woman in Japanese politics. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/27/being-a-woman-in-japanese-politics
三宅玲子（Nov.24,2017), 日本は性暴力に麻痺している、BUSINESS INSIDER, https://www.businessinsider.jp/post-107654
Matthew Weaver & Agence France Presse (Jun 3, 2019), The Guardian,
Shiho Fukada, Keith Bedford (Jul, 31st, 2019), BBC. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190731-how-japans-kutoo-fights-pressure-to-wear-high-heels
I. 東京レインボープライドで一番驚いたのは、単純なことであるものの、性的少数者が当たり前のように存在していた空間だ。このような環境は、現実の日常世界からは程遠いものであることも同時に強く実感させられた。東京レインボープライドの会場では、誰もが自分を表現することに躊躇いを感じていないように見受けられた。これは、前回の授業でお話を聞いたミモサの方がおっしゃっていたことにも通じると思う。「ただ普通に生きたい」「私たちだって人間だ」というメッセージを、ここ数週間を通して強く実感することができた。
Ii. 私は今まで、社会学的な理論を中心に考えるのが好きで、当事者の声を聞くよりも体系的な視点を持った方が問題の解決につながると考えていた。しかし、それは当事者の声を実感し、ことの重大性を認識した上でのステップで、当事者の声を聞く前に理論に入るべきではないと気付かされた。
Iii. 結婚にまつわる問題について調べているが、今週は歴史や理論的な部分にとらわれてしまった部分がある。基礎知識を身につけた上で、これから当事者が実際どのような問題を抱えているのか調べ、新たな視点を得たいと考えている。
DeepL translation:
I. What surprised me the most at Tokyo Rainbow Pride was the space where sexual minorities existed as a matter of course, albeit a simple one. At the same time, I was strongly reminded that such an environment is far from the real everyday world. At the venue of Tokyo Rainbow Pride, no one seemed to feel any hesitation in expressing themselves. I think this is also in line with what a Mimosa member who spoke to us in the last class said. Throughout the past few weeks, I have strongly felt the message that "we just want to live a normal life" and "we are human beings too."
Ii. I used to like to focus on sociological theories and thought that a systematic viewpoint would lead to solutions to problems rather than listening to the voices of the people concerned. However, I realized that this is a step that should be taken after realizing the voices of the parties involved and recognizing the gravity of the matter, and that we should not go into theory before listening to the voices of the parties involved.
Iii. I have been researching issues related to marriage, but this week I have been caught up in some of the history and theoretical aspects of the issue. After acquiring basic knowledge, I would like to investigate what problems the parties involved are actually facing and gain new perspectives.
D
i. In Research Notes 2, I looked at the sociological and historical backgrounds of marriage. It became clear that marriage was not about love but about economical and political benefits until the 18th century. I was introduced to a feminist theory that argues that marriage institutionally perpetuates patriarchy and gender roles. Judith Butler suggests it is another way to pursue "non-state centered forms of support and alliance", which I think is ideal but difficult to establish.
There was one thing that I thought was interesting when hearing about Yuka's research. She found out that the history of Ainu is quite different depending on the perspective you take. When, for example, it was 開拓 from the settlers' view, it was an invasion侵略 for the Ainu people. It made me realize the importance of analyzing history from various aspects.
ii. Since marriage historically started only as a way of exchanging properties between families and making it easier for states to control families, it seemed weird to me that marriage is now regarded as the culmination of love.
iii. Here are the research questions I have for now. What are the advantages and disadvantages of marriage from both the legal and personal perspectives? What are some forms of legal partnership other than marriage in different countries? What are the voices of 当事者 who cannot marry?
<Reference>
・unnamed, marriage (Apr 11, 2022), Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/topic/marriage
・unnamed, What Is Marriage? What Is a Family? (undated), Introduction to Sociology, Lumen,
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/what-is-marriage-what-is-a-family/
・Rajiv Desai (July 31, 2019), Marriage Is An Inherently Unfeminist Institution, THE SWADDLE,
https://theswaddle.com/marriage-is-an-inherently-unfeminist-institution/
i.
In the previous research, I looked at marriage theoretically, from sociological and historical perspectives. This time, I focused on the existing systems of marriage in Japan and what gives advantages to the married. There are several legal advantages, such as marital tax deductions and social security benefits. I have also looked at the system of PACS in France, which were better than パートナーシップ制度 but still dar from marriage.
Tom talked about the Ryukyu language, which had a lot in common with what I heard from Yuka about the Ainu language. I found out that the Japanese government recognizes as 先住民族 but not the Ryukyu people, which affects the degree of cultural conservation.
ii.
The survey conducted by 内閣府 in 2014 shows that 70% of people want to get married because they want to have a family. This data did not really convince me because getting married and having a family look like almost the same thing. It does not succeed in showing what about marriage/family makes people want to be in it.
This might indicate the characteristics of Japanese people following something encouraged by society without question. I had thought that people today want to marry because there are clear advantages to it, but this made it clear that it might have more to do with cultural pressure.
iii.
Although I have looked at the brief history of marriage in my Research Notes 2, I would like to look at the past 100 years, especially during and after WW2. Mina-san introduced me to Japanese wartime policy to strengthen the bond of a family under the strict reign of the emperor. The post-war era is when people moved from rural communities to towns when 専業主婦 was born. (近代家族）
Here are my questions: What happened to Japanese families in wartime? What happened after the war? How does this connect to the issues that we face today?
<Reference>
・内閣府政府統括官（Mar,2015), 内閣府、平成26年度「結婚・家族形成に関する意識調査」報告書（全体版）、https://www8.cao.go.jp/shoushi/shoushika/research/h26/zentai-pdf/index.html
・Thomas Brent (Jan18, 2022), How to get a Pacs in France and what differences to marriage, the connexion, https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/Practical/Your-Questions/Family/How-to-get-a-Pacs-in-France-and-what-differences-to-marriage
・酒井富士子（Dec 22, 2021), 「お金」で考える結婚のメリットとは？徳する制度や注意点も紹介、ゼクシィ、保険ショップ、https://hoken.zexy.net/money/lifeplanning/marriage09.html
i. I was intrigued by Yodogawa-Ku's efforts to spread the understanding of gender diversity. Making different pamphlets for different groups of people, I thought, is one of the best things a municipality can do. It is not enough to educate only children. It is important to appeal to people in various communities for rapid change. It made sense for a local government that understands various people in their town to engage in such works.
ii. Quite obviously, there were a lot of connections between Yuika's and my research. When looking at issues surrounding LGBTQ+ people, it is practical to use the concept of patriarchy. Yuka's presentation about Ainu culture gave me the idea that it is also essential to conserve cultures of all gender. In patriarchy, the masculine culture often takes over the characteristics of other genders.
iii. Both Yuika and Yuka talked about the issues from legal perspectives, which I could not include in my presentation this time. It made me realize that laws signal how much the government puts effort into solving the issues, and rules are, in the end, the fast-forward solutions to a problem. ( Except when it is unbinding or unachievable. )
iv. I was able to see that Yuka and Yuika are profoundly concerned and interested in each of their topics. Their presentations were excellent and clear, with informative slides. I should have practiced more to explain some of the concepts I introduced in my presentations. Even when I think those things were organized in my head, it was different when I had to talk in front of people.
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What I found the most interesting in the presentations was the example of problems caused by language differences in Himika's presentation. I had always assumed that all Japanese people could communicate using standard Japanese(標準語). Another thing that intrigued me was that despite the availability of good paternal leave, not many men take it. I wondered if making more laws to force paternal leaves would solve the problem or not. Even if that increases the number of paternal leaves, that may not be a fundamental solution, and it will take a tremendous amount of time for men to take them voluntarily.
I thought Himika's presentation about 方言 had a lot to do with gender issues. While she focused on the regional difference (地域方言), its problems have a lot in common with the issues surrounding the language varieties based on social attributes (社会方言), such as gender. Compared to English, I think Japanese have more gendered expressions. It often becomes a problem when translating novels or movies from other languages into Japanese. For example, female characters' lines usually end with 「〜かしら」「〜だわ」, while those of male characters end with more assertive words like 「〜だ」「〜だぜ」「〜だろ」. These types of translations sometimes take away the power of women's voices.
Patriarchy, which was my theme, was directly connected to Jain's presentation. It was interesting to see patriarchy in a specific setting.
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I was interested in Hirotoshi's presentation about the media's role in normalizing same-sex relationships. The depiction of same-sex relationships in fictional stories was one of the topics that I wanted to think about. In Japan, Stories that deal with BL or 百合 are often considered an atypical genre that readers cannot confidently discuss with others. Some fans call these BL works やおい, short for やまなし おちなし いみなし ( no climax, no story, no meaning). They call themselves 腐女子, literally translated as rotten girls. As discussed after his presentation, same-sex relationships in stories are often overly idealized or sexualized. These stereotyped depictions may potentially do more harm than good.
These problems have something in common with discussions about women's roles. Stressing prescribed roles, positively or negatively, can be a barrier to realizing equality. In this zemi, many of us have mentioned the role of media in promoting equality. I learned that stories about minorities should be made by 当事者 or with their support.
Throughout the presentations for the past few weeks, I was surprised by how a nation can intervene in people's lives and intentionally or not create social exclusions and inequalities. Since I am learning about nations' roles in other classes, I would like to pay closer attention to them.
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