The fact that they still use expressions like 女子力、アラサー is enough to know how misogynistic Japan is
The vice principal getting mad at the manner in which the woman served the men coffee in the teacher’s room
I’m a woman and many people, including my students, wonder why I don’t like cooking or why I do sports that are “intended for men”. Misogyny is definitely still a thing here.
“Just hoe” about the same level as this title! Hehe jk
Very, especially in the inaka. I’m a man but I teach at a girls’ high school in the inaka and am always exposed to the way women are treated and, in my case, the way they are raised to act as women should – proper, modest, subservient to men, good at housework and other womanly things, acting in the way that they’re expected to as women and doing the woman things in their jobs such as making tea for customers while the men do the talking. Some very high percentage (don’t remember exactly) of women are unable to find full-time work in fields other than traditionally female roles like teaching and childcare, the wage gap between men and women is large, and in many cases female employees are seen as a liability as they’ll just get married and have kids and become the housewife they’re supposed to and not work anymore. I always try to fit in a little talk about how things are in other places and encourage my students any time they express woman-empowerment views and opinions – it’s about all I can do, but I really want them to someday be able to experience a country where things aren’t the way they are here for them.
Most of my female friends who live here have *lots* of experiences with misogyny, from taxi drivers complaining about “woman drivers” fucking up traffic right in front of them, to their ideas in business meetings being completely ignored but then praised when a male coworker repeats them verbatim, to being told they wouldn’t understand something technical/complicated because they’re a woman, to being creeped on by men when traveling/going into places alone, and many more.
I’d hate to be a woman here.
I’m a woman with decent Japanese proficiency. Everytime I’m out in a group, the server will always look to a man before looking to me, even in a situation where clearly I’m the one who is talking/has better Japanese.
That said, I’ve seen some bits of progress recently so slowly but surely Japan will get there
Gender roles are very apparent here. From parking lots with signs “easy for women to park too” to furniture ads made specifically for women who are not strong enough to build things.. it’s in everyday life
I’m in the inaka and have been pretty lucky I guess because I don’t really experience a whole lot of huge misogynistic behaviors. My coworkers are very kind and don’t really strike me as overly rude with anything. Sometimes there will be a stray comment but it’s no more than what I would hear from some older man in America. I’m married so I might get questions about if I cook for my husband but I like to reply with in a joking matter and they don’t seem to take their own question too seriously. In public I don’t really experience anything either( but this can also be because I look Japanese and can speak it well enough to pass so I might experience less with certain biases) so no one really pays attention to me. They take my order normally, occasionally give me the bill, etc. Nothing really stands out.
Overall, I’ve been blessed to live in a very welcoming environment.
9 comments
Traditional gender roles are a thing here.
The fact that they still use expressions like 女子力、アラサー is enough to know how misogynistic Japan is
The vice principal getting mad at the manner in which the woman served the men coffee in the teacher’s room
I’m a woman and many people, including my students, wonder why I don’t like cooking or why I do sports that are “intended for men”. Misogyny is definitely still a thing here.
“Just hoe” about the same level as this title! Hehe jk
Very, especially in the inaka. I’m a man but I teach at a girls’ high school in the inaka and am always exposed to the way women are treated and, in my case, the way they are raised to act as women should – proper, modest, subservient to men, good at housework and other womanly things, acting in the way that they’re expected to as women and doing the woman things in their jobs such as making tea for customers while the men do the talking. Some very high percentage (don’t remember exactly) of women are unable to find full-time work in fields other than traditionally female roles like teaching and childcare, the wage gap between men and women is large, and in many cases female employees are seen as a liability as they’ll just get married and have kids and become the housewife they’re supposed to and not work anymore. I always try to fit in a little talk about how things are in other places and encourage my students any time they express woman-empowerment views and opinions – it’s about all I can do, but I really want them to someday be able to experience a country where things aren’t the way they are here for them.
Most of my female friends who live here have *lots* of experiences with misogyny, from taxi drivers complaining about “woman drivers” fucking up traffic right in front of them, to their ideas in business meetings being completely ignored but then praised when a male coworker repeats them verbatim, to being told they wouldn’t understand something technical/complicated because they’re a woman, to being creeped on by men when traveling/going into places alone, and many more.
I’d hate to be a woman here.
I’m a woman with decent Japanese proficiency. Everytime I’m out in a group, the server will always look to a man before looking to me, even in a situation where clearly I’m the one who is talking/has better Japanese.
That said, I’ve seen some bits of progress recently so slowly but surely Japan will get there
Gender roles are very apparent here. From parking lots with signs “easy for women to park too” to furniture ads made specifically for women who are not strong enough to build things.. it’s in everyday life
I’m in the inaka and have been pretty lucky I guess because I don’t really experience a whole lot of huge misogynistic behaviors. My coworkers are very kind and don’t really strike me as overly rude with anything. Sometimes there will be a stray comment but it’s no more than what I would hear from some older man in America. I’m married so I might get questions about if I cook for my husband but I like to reply with in a joking matter and they don’t seem to take their own question too seriously. In public I don’t really experience anything either( but this can also be because I look Japanese and can speak it well enough to pass so I might experience less with certain biases) so no one really pays attention to me. They take my order normally, occasionally give me the bill, etc. Nothing really stands out.
Overall, I’ve been blessed to live in a very welcoming environment.