Monday, December 8, 2008

Gender in Japan




In Japan still exist stereotyped gender roles and gender-based discrimination at work, at home and in a community. It is assumed that men should be breadwinners and work outside the home, while women remain at home doing housework and raising children. Because of these stereotypes, not only women but also men are put in a difficult situation where they are expected to work for very long hours and give up quality time they could otherwise spend with their families. Traditional Japanese values discourage women from working outside the home. It is thought that wife’s employment would lead to marital adjustment problems, that it would harm children’s development.

The sumo tradition is very old. For religious reasons women are traditionally not allowed to enter the sumo ring. In the late 1990s, when the Osaka Governor was a woman-Fusae Ohta, she was not allowed to enter the sumo ring to present the governor’s prize to the winner of the Sumo Tournament. Even though it is a governor’s duty to present the prize, she was not allowed to enter the ring, only because she was a woman. A male deputy governor took Ohta’s place when presenting the award.

More on female Governor of Osaka go to:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E1DE103DF935A15750C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1

I think that in Japan should be developed a system that will allow both men and women to work less and have a better quality of life. I think that both father and mother should spend more time with their children.

The pictures I put up demonstrate how we tend to stereotype males and females. Female→usually associated with pink or red colour; long eye lashes and seduction. Male→blue colour; bigger in stature. Second picture is a symbol of Kappazushi-sushi bar.

1 comment:

visual gonthros said...

Can you hotlink the site you provide?

Where does the information you provide in the first paragraph come from?

While I do not disagree with your ideas, I wonder if the photos of the cute male/female mascots really illustrate gender discrimination...