Everyday after my classes have all finished, which is around 5:30, I stop at Top World in hopes to purchase something fresh for my dinner. When I enter the grocery store, I usually see only the mothers carrying their kids like in the picture shown as they try to figure out what they will shop for dinner. It is almost a rare case to see a guy shopping for food at this hour. This is because most working mothers will get out of work early so they can be home before dark so they can prepare dinner for their families. The household chores are seen as the real role of the women and this means that women must take care of the kids, the family, clean the house, cook, etc. It seems that the household chores are not shared equally among the husband and the wife. However, men are not expected to rush home and help their wives with household chores. This is because Japan is a male dominated society where women are subservient to the male authority. Thus, men have the privilege of staying later at work, going out with their co-workers after work for a drink and not having to worry about household chores. I think it is just shocking to think about how much time and effort Japanese women put in their family. For example, when I visited my friend for dinner at his host parents’ house, I was really amazed and more shocked to see how unfairly the housework was divided between the husband and the wife. For instance, the host mother was in the kitchen the whole time preparing the dinner while the host father watched the TV and drank his beer. He did not for once get up and offer to help. He expected his wife to make dinner and serve it to him while he relaxed from his hard day. In a way he did not think that maybe her day was long and maybe she too was tired. He just followed the common belief that women belong in the kitchen and that they are expected to fulfill the needs of the men. Furthermore, even after dinner was over, he did not even get up to help clear the dishes from the table; he just sat and continued to drink his beer. And the wife accepted his behavior as normal and continued to clean.
Further Readings on Gender Roles:
http://marklsl.tripod.com/Writings/japan.htm
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080224x1.html
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080224x1.html
You're right, it's very disconcerting when you're in Japan to see these blatant gender roles. But don't make the mistake that men have it good as well. The expectations of them at work are a nightmare as well and there are many who would much rather be home than being forced to party with clients. But, yes, the housework issue is bleak, but really isn't that much better in the U.S. :-)
ReplyDeleteAs Wendy pointed out, there's a lot expected of men as well. Staying late and going out with co-workers (especially the boss) are seen as obligatinos of the salaryman. Not doing so can severely jeopardize one's career advancement. My host father last summer, for instance, went to work 7 days a week.
ReplyDeleteI do find the seemingly tireless exhuberance of Japanese wives to be astounding though. My host mother managed a mountain of daily work without fail. I never saw her take a break. But then again, she did insist that I sleep in until at least 8am when I told my host parents I'd been waking up at 6am every day since arriving in Japan.
I do agree that men do not have it easy and have a great deal of expectations to do well so they can support the family. I do not think that either of them have it easy but I also think that men have some sort of obligations to help out with the housework rather than leaving it all to the wives. By leaving all of the house work to the wife, this means that the wife has to work and then do housework. So in a sense, they are doing two jobs all my themselves. I know this is hard in a society where male dominant and women have to be subservient.
ReplyDeleteMany students have posted on these gender roles within the household. It is interesting to note that so many students have homestay families that still adhere to these traditional roles. I am not sure if this is the norm or a dying tradition. And from an American perspective it might seem like inequality. But on the uchi level, that is within the home, the woman has great power. And that power is respected by the whole family. If mother were to disappear the household would collapse. Nobody else knows how to wash dishes or use the laundry machine. No kidding - I have seen this happen many times. In this sense, domestic work is respected more in Japan than in America. The Japanese household can be viewed as a team comprised of people with different responsibilities. The wife/mother is the pitcher, with her hand on the ball most of the time...
ReplyDeleteHowever with more and more non-traditional families out there, big change is on the horizon. It will be interesting to see how and if the new DPJ government can fulfill their gender inequality related promises.
I'd like to hear more comments on this post.
You have some weird layout stuff at the top of your blog. Why the Mosburger and Mickey D clip sections?
ReplyDeleteThe whole concept of the wife in Japan doing all the house work doesn't surprise me that much because I am from Nepal, which is a male dominant society. But because I have also had the opportunity of studying and living in the US, I have come to view this aspect to be very unfair. Yes the wife has the power and especially what happens within the household. However, she can only exercise this authority to certain extent--without money, which usually comes from the husband, she cannot do things or think independently. She must always be dependent and follow her husbands words. I also agree that with the absence of the wife, the household would collapse because she basically unites all the members. I think that it will be interesting to see what will happen as there are more women marrying later or remaining single--how will this change the dynamic between a man and a woman.
ReplyDeleteJapan is traditionally a male dominated society for sure, but I haven't gotten the impression that women are as dependent on men today as they were in the past. Although the mane brings in the money, he certainly does not run the finances. While standing in line at the post office (where a large percentage of Japanese keep their savings accounts) I counted only 2 men enter, out of more than a dozen women. The men did not do banking transactions, while all but one of the women was there for banking. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the inquisitive looks I received were as much for me being a man waiting in line like them, as for me being a foreigner.
ReplyDeleteAs gonthros hinted, there's an element of evaluative judgment to be cautious about here. I'm curious if you've talked to many men and women (especially the older generation) to see how they feel about their gender roles. Personally, I've met more than a few women who do not see their roles as inequal - but I've also met younger women who aren't interested in being housewives as well.
This is indeed a probing topic.
I agree with the point that you make about the younger generation and especially women becoming more independent and do not have rely on the men financially as much as they did in the past. However, I feel that there is an unequal of power dynamic between men and women that is not spoken but embeded into the culture and thus women are still not equal to men.
ReplyDelete