In class we’ve talked about how gender relations vary
by culture, and this article focuses on a current gender issue in Japan. This article
discusses a highly controversial event that took place in early February in
Japan in which a young woman who is in an immensely popular Japanese “idol
music” group, AKB48, was seen leaving the apartment of a young man. AKB48,
along with many other “idol music” groups in Japan, requires that their members
to uphold a pure image which includes no smoking or dating or any trouble
making of any kind. Therefore, in response to this transgression of permitted
behavior, she issued a YouTube video in which she gave a tearful apology to her
fans and shaved her head, and later gave another apology live at a concert.
Responses in Japan to this controversy and her extreme
actions have varied, with many people being shocked and surprised. However,
many people have also stated that they agree what she did was wrong, and also
that her apology and response was appropriate for her misdeeds.
I find this article and controversy fascinating in
many ways, as I had no idea that these groups “idol music” groups existed nor
did I have any knowledge about their outright strict adherence to principles of
purity for their members. According to the article, the groups’ appeal lies in
the fact that they are accessible to fans and fans can exert great control over
the groups. The author states that ““to maintain this illusion
of control, members of the group can't do anything to show they are independent
from fans—which includes dating.” Immediately when I h but how accessible is that idea
of total purity?
This article also uses this controversy to explore
current gender relations and issues in Japan, as well as to emphasize the
growing conservative ideologies in Japan regarding men’s and women’s roles and
rights. The fact that women and men are held to the same standard regarding
purity rules but men are punished less often and less severely demonstrates how
societal expectations based on gender greatly in Japan. This controversy
brought historical Japanese Geisha culture to my mind which valued purity and submissiveness
for the purpose of entertainment. Are these Japanese pop idols a modern
development based on Geisha culture perhaps?
After initially reading this article, this seems like
an extreme case (which it is) that would never happen here in the United
States. However, when I think about past and current pop music culture,
musicians in the United States have been held to nearly-impossible standards of
purity and perfection for decades. When a truth comes about that defies our
expectations of them and shows them to be flawed (aka human), we respond
severely as well with criticism and rejection (Brittney Spears, Miley Cyrus,
Demi Lovato, etc). In this case as well as in the Japanese case, who is to
blame: the musicians, the music industry, or general society for enforcing such
strict and impossible-to-achieve standards for our idols? Is this a worrisome
sign for Japan’s future gender relations? The Harp, Loke and Bachmann reading
from January 28 which discussed Sarah Palin in the media demonstrated how standards
of femininity are both established and reinforced through the media. What does
the fact that these apology videos are released widespread throughout the
media, particularly on YouTube, mean for conceptions of femininity in Japan?
It's really difficult to see something like this and maintain any sort of perspective. Seeing this woman react to a malfeasance - that we might totally reject - in a medium that is so available to the public, offers an insight into Japanese culture that we cannot possibly understand. It certainly offends our American sensibilities to think that this woman should suffer this sort of shame for enjoying a sexual relationship while she's in her twenties, but without totally understanding the context of the role this group (AKB48) has within Japanese culture, it's impossible to understand why her relationship warranted such a reaction. I guess I'm reluctant to react completely to this because I'm not familiar with the relationship AKB48 has with the general Japanese public. Back when Brittany Spears' was the major pop icon in America, there were plenty of kids and parents that were especially drawn to her as a figure because she talked about her virginity publicly. If her perceived 'innocence' had been disproved by the paparazzi, I'm sure people would have been upset. Perhaps, AKB48 occupies a similar place within Japanese culture.
ReplyDeleteThe young Turks (eventually) discuss this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP_g3LYUQOw
This story is exactly a reason why sometimes I feel Japanese are perverted. Although I am not a feminist, I still feel this is outrageous for a 20-year old girl. The reason why AKB48 management company want them maintain virginal pure image is because doing so will keep these girls available and accessible to those male fans. In this way, women, rather than “humans” that can share equal right with men, are considered as commodities. Behind the geisha culture you mentioned, I would like to add a background to this story. In Japan, there is an “otaku” culture that is pretty popular nowadays. “otaku” is a term to describe those men who would prefer stay at home rather than hang out with friends. They are very dissocialized that avoid contacting different people and rely on Internet to satisfy their needs. They love girls who are “萌え(moe)”, which means extremely naïve, young, adorable and lovely. Thus, AKB48’s company aims at these “otaku”, constructing a team with teenage girls from 17 to 20 to satisfy their sexual fantasy.
ReplyDeleteBesides, it is also a stereotype for turning girls into a kind of human toys. Actually, the majority of Japanese women are well educated. They are polite, professional and even more competitive than men in some area. Due to the unequal sexual culture, they are always suffering more pressure from society than men. In addition, they are also victims of the clash of modernism and traditionalism since the trend of modernism requires them competitive at work, while traditionalism, suggesting them should be submissive to men, constrains their ability to obtain equal right both at work and at home.
You may mean "hikikomori." "Otaku" are people who are really into one specific hobby, which is stereotypically anime or manga, but can also be something like model trains or cars.
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