Hey everyone! I have friends who are Japanese returnees. It seems like they are more attuned towards the country they come from. While I did intensive Japanese, a lot of them are studying Japanese for returnees which is a different subject. I was wondering if there are any returnees here and how are their overall experience in returning in Japan. I am also interested in learning more about how the current state of gender factor into this as I hear period apps are emerging in Japan. This is surprising to me since I assume period talk is generally taboo (Little Miss Period movie is an exception I guess??)!
Edit: I see a lot of people saying that Japanese women talk about their periods a lot. That’s good to know. I rarely go out of my bubble so this information is new to me. I also don’t go around the areas that much due to health related issues. Thank you for sharing!
6 comments
Period talk is not taboo. I’m male and most Japanese girls I’ve met casually talk about being on their period or 生理痛。Maybe it’s just the younger generation though.
Are you talking about high school life or college life or getting your first job here or coming back in the middle of your career? Those are all really different circumstances.
It’s well documented that kids who come back to Japan after living many years abroad often feel like they don’t fit in, either for a short or long time. Of course language skills could be one factor.
Returnees are, unsurprisingly, often more “attuned” to the country they came from if they spent a significant amount of time growing up there. This is not particularly surprising.
> I am a interested in learning more about how the current state of gender factor into this as I hear period apps are emerging in Japan.
Wut? That took a quick turn. Also as u/aoechamp says I am not sure the topic is as taboo as you think. What do you base that on?
Anyways, not really sure what you are asking…
Shit I hear women talking about their periods on the train. Not that uncommon at all.
Japan is kind of a rigid structured society where men hold the basic power and it can be difficult for women to carve out a path for themselves beyond being a housewife. So Japanese women will go abroad and have their minds blown by a society that affords them more opportunities, and more open-minded men who support that. Then they come back to Japan and may struggle with trying to reintegrate into a much more limited system for them.
Is it taboo in Japan? I feel like women here are much more open than women back in England. It is, after all a completely normal thing that happens each month.
Not a returnee (foreign-born Japanese) but not surprisingly I feel more attuned to where I spent most of my formative years. At the same time I might lack the finer nuances gained from growing up in Japan.
Period talk is definitely not taboo here unless you’re a dude and ask your coworker “That time of month?”. That’s a good way to get slapped with a compliance violation