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Organizing Japan’s Gender Regime

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Young Men and Masculinities in Japanese Media

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Abstract

This chapter expounds on Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity, how it is applicable to Japan, and what shape hegemonic masculinity takes there. It also discusses how the salaryman ideal was shaped and what consequences it had for Japanese society, and thereby elaborates on the social positions of men and women. Furthermore, it addresses the question of what other ideas of masculinity have appeared in recent years in Japan, with a special focus on sōshoku(kei) danshi (“herbivore men”) and gyaru-o. These new archetypes of masculinity are promoted in the magazines chosen for this research project and are especially relevant for further analysis. The last part of this chapter is dedicated to the discourse revolving around outward appearance and fashion with respect to the male gender.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Connell uses the term “cathexis” to refer to “emotional attachment.” She explains that “[…] sexual desire is often seen as natural that it is commonly excluded from social theory. Yet when we consider desire in Freudian terms, as emotional energy being attached to an object, its gendered character is clear. […] The practices that shape and realize desire are thus an aspect of the gender order” (see Connell 2005, 74).

  2. 2.

    The New Year’s Eve show broadcast by NHK, which has a long history and tradition.

  3. 3.

    Connell herself admits that, and one of her reactions was reformulating the concept together with James Messerschmidt (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005).

  4. 4.

    Kawasaki-shi ni okeru dansei no jendā ishiki chōsa.

  5. 5.

    This concept was not welcomed by everybody. Especially conservative intellectuals and politicians felt provoked and feared the dissolution of gender differences (see Mae Michiko 2014, 54).

  6. 6.

    Of course here as well, ideal and reality differ from each other to some extent. Even though the overall perception of a sararīman was that of a steadily employed office worker, not every man working in an office was actually invulnerable to losing his job. Mainly those employees in big companies would benefit from their employer’s economic power, which enabled them to keep employees, seemingly at any cost. Smaller businesses could not afford this.

  7. 7.

    The baby boomers, or dankai (no) sedai, are the generation that was born shortly after the end of World War II (see Coulmas 2007, 33) and were thus the backbone of Japanese economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s.

  8. 8.

    Miura, Shinji (2000–).

  9. 9.

    Yasuda (1999–).

  10. 10.

    Compensated dating. This refers to the practice of young girls, primarily schoolgirls, who would go on dates with older men. The dates were usually but not exclusively arranged via “telephone clubs.” It was not uncommon for the girls to prostitute themselves and be compensated with money or presents. For more information on this topic see, for example, Miyadai (1994).

  11. 11.

    These institutions, along with others, are among the absolute elite of Japans’ universities.

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  1. University of Trier, Trier, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

    Ronald Saladin

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Saladin, R. (2019). Organizing Japan’s Gender Regime. In: Young Men and Masculinities in Japanese Media. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9821-6_3

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