Today I was reading my school's campus newspaper and there was an interesting article from a girl who had spent a semester as an exchange student in Japan.

The article had some statements that I found pretty surprising. It said that (I have the article with me here so these are exact quotes):



"If a woman with a PhD and a man with a Master's Degree worked together in an office, the woman would still be expected to pour him tea"

There was a bit about "Maid Cafes", where girls dressed in short skirts and curls "call you master, and feed you by hand"

The girl describes how every other girl at her school, when asked what they were interested in, replied "money" and that the mother of the family whose home she was staying in told her to not marry for love but for money/financial gain.

She "asked her Modern Japanese Culture teacher, Yamaguchi Sensei, if girls were allowed to wear pants, even though the weather was very cold outside. 'Aren't there any feminists who refuse?' [she] inquired. He didn't understand that, at all. He said 'No, they like to wear skirts... they're girls!' "

"In 2005, women only held 10.1% of jobs in Japan, according to the International Labour Organization." [That's a 9 to 1 men:women disparity in the workforce!]



Don't get the wrong idea, the article isn't completely negative - there is a lot of content about all the things she loved about Japan, including a story about her visit to a Zen monastery, which sounded amazing. However, these few negative things really stuck out when I was reading the article... is it really that bad for women there, and is that a big factor holding back the success of Japanese female MMA?

Hey LMW,

I will try and give you an ellaborate insight to the what I have learnt.

It's not 'bad' for women in Japan, it is thier culture and thats what they live by and understand,

The part about the Women with PhD and the Man with a Masters:
In an office, it all depends on how they are ranked within that workplace, if the women had a position even slightly higher, then she would be seen as a sempai to the male (Sempai is simply someone above you in tallent, time, age, rank etc. it depends.) And she would not be expected the slightest to pour the male a Tea although she may offer. This goes for anywhere anytime. Two given people may even be the best of friends but if at any point in time, one person is higher of rank, that friend would be sempai to the other.
A good example of this is the Comedy group 99 from Mechyaike. There is Okamura and Yabeshi, they met in highschool and Okamura was the sempai of the soccer team, therefore, Yabeshi ALWAYS treats Okamura with respect even though they have been together for MANY years.

Also, please take this note into consideration: In Japan, it is not normal or expected for Men to do things such as hold doors for ladys or help pick up dropped coins for example like it is expected of us males in western society. This is simply a cultural normality, nothing wrong or disrespectfull.

The part about girls main concern being 'Money':
This IS somewhat a concern in 'todays' Japanese society, not too long ago it was a very bad problem with many girls doing incredibly stupid things for money, I have seen a doco on this also as seing it with my own eyes, Many Japanese women will live in a small room and eat 300Y meals just so they can afford thier shopping fix. This IS a problem, it's undeniable. No matter what people think.

BUT, this problem is mainly general around more plastic areas like Tokyo or Osaka, there are many societys in Japan where it's all not so superficial.

Also, not all Mums are like that, but they will expect the male to have a good job and a very tidy presentation. For EG. My mrs parents loved me because I met with with a solid job and well presented myself, on the other hand, my sis inlaws bs got fired etc. and isn't invited into family dinners and so on.

'Maid Cafes':
Are not a common Japan-Wide thing, mainly in Otaka areas with alot of nerds frequenting, its not normal at all to go to a maid cafe lol, and its all really quite stupid, the girls choose that job (for the money like previously said) and its rediculouse how they play games and hand feed patrons. Please DW about this garbage. It's considered 'kimoi' (gross/wierd) by the 'normal' Japanese.

School uniform being Skirts:
Hey, these days, the skirts are getting a little longer then before when they were stupidly small, And in addition, almost everygirl will wear small shorts or leggings underneath. In the winter, girls are permitted thick leggings, which they consider to be warm enough. I guess from our western view it is extremely sexist. But over there, again, just cultural and a normality.

The part about 10% of females holding jobs:
This ones rather simple aswell, at quite a young age, most women retire to becoming house wives and are happy with that, they work quite hard and are expected to cook and prepare freshly made breakfast lunch and dinners. along with all washing etc. (These days its really easy with like Daimaru or other large local stores selling prepared fresh meals to bring home to the family)
BUT, yes, males are much preffered in most work places as apposed to female. Also, in Japan, its far too strange for women to work in any kind of labour making many jobs unavlable to them.

Well,

I really hope I helped your understanding of Female roles in Japan! Any questions pleeease feel free to ask, If I don't know, I will get my mrs to Answer for you.

Cheers,

billy

you are lol

LOL awesome

No Thankyous, followups?

Ok..