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how bad is sexism and prejudice in Japan? -
06-12-2007, 04:04 PM
I'm a female, which in many ways will not be to my advantage moving to Japan. They view males as the superior gender in Japan (actions speak louder then words; I hear with a woman pursuing a career there is what is known as a "glass ceiling"). I'm also a foreigner which will not prove to be to my advantage.
Granted with the trouble Japanese have had with foreign countries in the past (U.S. during WWII and China) I can understand to an extent. However I'm just wondering how judgmental Japanese will look at you regarding these topics. Lucky me, I fit under both categories so the odds are kind of against me. I know for the most part, Japanese is not a melting pot; they tend to be homogeneous group of people. Foreign is different, and people fear what they don't understand, which is probably a large reason of why prejudice and sexism exist. Traditionally women haven't played the role of working outside the house, helping to bring income to the home (at least not in Japan) until recently. Some Japanese are probably more set in their ways then others regarding this change (I know Japanese have many traditions in their culture, some being a daily part of life, which they view as sacred) 
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06-12-2007, 05:03 PM
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06-12-2007, 05:13 PM
Quote:
"I'm sorry, but i must have given you the impression that I actually care about your opinions"
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06-12-2007, 09:12 PM
That's a personal issue that is between you and the person you're romantically involved with. You set boundaries based upon what the other person is comfortable with. If you love them, you won't do something that makes them feel uncomfortable. Even if the idea is appealing to you, you have to keep your partner in mind and what he/she likes and doesn't like.
It doesn't really have anything to do with what I'm talking about. I'm asking how bad sexism and prejudice is in Japan, because these will both be real issues for me. This is because one I'm a female and traditionally Japanese men do view the female as the inferior gender. Two I'm a foreigner and they have a fear of foreigners which I believe is probably where the prejudice against them stems from (that and in the past they have had bad experiences with people from other cultures). I'm wondering how true this is or this just stereotyped. Granted I know it will vary from person to person in Japan. I don't like people thinking one gender is more superior then the other. It leaves the other gender with hurt feelings, makes them feel inferior, and just having that belief is extremely controlling behavior. Yes I know that doesn't change the reality of the way things really are. However it makes it really frustrating when there is this stereotype against women that we're somehow less capable and/or inferior as a human being simply because of our gender. I mean how many times have you seen a white, American male viewed as inferior? I know life isn't fair but that really provides little solace for the people who have to struggle with this stereotype because it affects them in a very real way. Guys are better with some things than women are and vise versa. That doesn't make either gender inferior; it just makes them different. It doesn't make either gender "weaker" it's just some characteristics are more prominent in the male gender and other characteristics are more prominent in the female gender.
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06-12-2007, 09:16 PM
I can't imagine that would be true. O__O
I thought Japan loved women. I thought japanese men at least loved women just a little. [ ♥<-- Jordan's heart! \(Ò_ó)/ ]
Follow me on TUMBLR "Well if a chick has a problem with the way I conduct myself I'd draw the bitch a map to the nearest exit and stamp "fuck off" on her forehead." - Pot Roast
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06-13-2007, 12:30 AM
Okay I never said that Japanese men don't love women. I don't know why everybody is taking this the wrong way. I'm not trying to offend anybody. I just don't want to have an unrealistic perspective regarding their culture. From what I HEARD they view females as an inferior gender when compared to males (in other words it's a male dominated society; women are important to them sure, but they have their place). I'm merely asking is this just a stereotype or not?
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06-13-2007, 12:38 AM
Rape is not a widespread problem in Japan. There are massage parlors and hostess clubs everywhere. Japan certainly does not see the same kind of sex crimes that are elsewhere. Groping is something that has come under more control through public campaigns and is not acceptable unlike in say France or Italy.
The issues with careers are true to some extent, but like you pointed out you are foreign anyways. There are only a limited number of careers available. And no it is not because Japanese are racially prejudiced, the simple fact is that there are more than enough highly skilled and qualified Japanese for the jobs at the moment. Second, Japanese companies operate in a completely different way that is unique to Japan. Japanese work on being Japanese their entire lives and is what it really takes to work with them. It is not something that can be easily mastered or learned even if I could explain to you what that means.
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06-13-2007, 02:46 AM
I never said it was. However Japanese need to understand that some foreigners are highly capable to do the same jobs that Japanese can do. To just judge gajin and assume they're not capable of doing a job (they don't have the skill or knowledge because they're not Japanese) well that's really not fair and it's not even ethical morally. I imagine it's not easy to adjust to Japanese culture as a foreigner because it's more then likely completely different then the culture you grew up in. Yes I know it's not easy; I can say this just by learning their
language, it's very complicated and it's not easy to master. Not racially prejudiced? They have a fear of foreigners which tends to make them bias. They view males as the superior gender. Who do you think primarily dominates Japanese society when you look at the genders? Female or male? If you're going to say that they have no prejudice at all in their culture then you're probably wrong. I mean in America, look at how the 50's and 60's have done with our view about minority groups (African Americans and Latinos; even though U.S. tries to promote accepting diversity in cultural groups, some people can still view them as inferior simply because of what race they are; it all depends on what time period they were raised in). Look at what the whole 9/11 incident has done; look at how it's made us view Arabs or anybody from the Middle East or Saudi Arabia. Same goes for what Americans did to Japanese during World War II and why the Chinese and Japanese basically despise each other. Why do the Japanese hate the Chinese? Because from what I've heard, throughout history Chinese have frequently invaded Japan and tried to make at as part of their country if you will. Chinese hate the Japanese because they used many Chinese refugees as comfort women (sex slaves). They promised food to them if they returned the to their place of shelter, although it had been burned down to the ground by Japanese. They basically just gave an empty promise as bait to lure them. They raped Chinese and Koreans until they could get no more pleasure from them sexually then killed them. They essentially treated them like slaves in every meaning of the word; and they did it mostly to Chinese and Korean women they saw them as beautiful and sexually attractive. Most Japanese won't even acknowledge that they did such horrendous things to Chinese and Korean, so I can understand why Japanese have left a bad taste in the mouths of Koreans and Chinese, why they don't trust them, and why they're a wee bit bitter. There are many wonderful and unique things about the Japanese culture. However it's not a utopia, and just like any other culture, they do things that are morally wrong and much of the time really end up hurting people emotionally because of it (as in seeing a Japanese female or a female in general as inferior simply because of her gender).
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