A few opening thoughts
Posted by thejoseithing on January 29, 2009
This blog is meant to be a light but thoughtful chronicling of one American woman’s observations on womanhood in Japan: things I see, hear, and read about women over here; things said by, to, and about women around me.
Topics I plan to write about include
– how women are portrayed in Japanese advertising
– how cultural ideals unique to Japan complicate and obscure the woman problem
– conversations I’ve had with Japanese women about being women, and conversations I’ve had about women with Japanese men
– how women are treated in Japanese literature, my special interest (check for some good book recommendations!)
and hopefully much more. If any readers have specific questions or topics they’d like to see addressed, please leave a comment letting me know!
The Josei Thing 
Dire Sloth said
Wow! I read about you considering starting this blog on some other blog (Feministing?) and am so glad you got it up so soon!
I’d be fascinated to read some posts about the depiction of women in Japanese pop culture. Being the stereotypical Japanophile nerd that I am, I’m particularly interested in the cultural norms expressed in anime, manga, and video games, but I’d love to hear your observations on other forms of media, newspapers, advertisements (as you mentioned), popular television, news stations etc. Would you say that victim-blaming in the media is better, worse, or about the same as back across the pond?
Another idea: How are you, as an American woman, perceived differently from Japanese women? What sort of stereotypes have you had to deal with? I know that Japan is a hugely ethnocentric country with a very small foreign population, and I’ve read stories from another (male) blogger about how he tends to attract lots of attention, from the simply curious to the outright malevolent. Are your experiences any different?
Andi said
I’ll be interested to see what’s written here. My dad worked for a company that sent him overseas, we lived in Kokura, Kitakyushu for a couple of years. I went through puberty there. It was a singular experience. I learned some Japanese, but not enough for complex conversations with my Japanese girlfriends. So I often wondered what their experiences were like.
I still think of them.
homebird said
Hello,
Came over from Feministing. I remember learning about menstruation leave – as I recall you could take one day a month off with pay to accomodate – in Japan and thinking how great/dangerous that was. Does it still exist? I think it’s dangerous as it sort of says “poor weak woman, not as capable as a man” and great because sometimes it’s just so energy draining that it would be nice to stay home on the couch with a heating pad. What is/was the attitude of men in Japan about this?
thejoseithing said
Thanks to all for the comments. My topic list is certainly getting longer!
for a couple of quick answers, 1) foreign women aren’t expected to conform to the same expectations as Japanese women, so in some cases I count more as a man; 2) yes, menstruation leave exists. It’s not in my contract, but I know another foreign woman also working in a Japanese city hall who does have it in her contract. I’ll bring up these topics again later. The victim-blaming question is a bit more complicated; I’ll try to tackle it soon.
Dire Sloth said
I can’t wait for your first post! *dances in anticipation*
Magpie_seven said
Followed you here from feministing. I look forward to the blog!
Suzy said
Hello,
im looking forward to your blogging ^^
I study sociology and japanese culture and Im thinking of writing my masther thesis about “gender issues in japan”(since im not starting soon i dont know a topic yet)
So I hope to get involved into some discussions and have insight in new viewpoints
baibai
Suzy