ART + LIFE
Salarymen to schoolgirls; the role of gender in Japan
From elementary school age onwards, students are assigned a uniform based on gender, which, upon entrance to junior high, is either a seifraku [for girls] or a gakuran [for boys.] While both sexes study in similar environments, the ultimate career and higher education plans vary wildly between the two genders. Many high schools and universities remain gender separate, and often students of single gender high schools can proceed into single gender colleges by way of something called the “escalator system.” Japanese high schools, public or private, have entrance examinations. In the escalator system, passing the examination for the high school level also ensures entrance into the university attached to the high school.
Even students who do not use the escalator system face enormous pressure to, as attending a prestigious university can determine one’s later career. Hence, many students attend juku, or cram schools, for several hours after regular classes finish. The tremendous peer and social pressure to succeed does not end at high school for men though. Upon graduation from a university, most men immediately begin a full time job with rigorous self imposed or outside demands. Earning the name “salarymen,” the Japanese phenomenon of an extremely motivated, driven and hardworking taskforce can be dangerous to the very workers it employs. Long hours and intense work pressures mean little or no time for families or vacations, driving some salarymen into serious depression or suicide. Corporate pressures can instill nervousness in workers, prompting many to work overtime without even claiming overtime pay. Workers can be scolded for “frivolous pursuits,” such as taking time off for important family matters. Some companies have begun to acknowledge this, and have taken to locking the building and mandating departure early at least once a week.
Women who want to succeed in the workplace face a much harder battle than that with exhaustion. Since the end of WWII, the most common office position a woman is allowed to hold is that of an “OL,” or office lady, who’s sole purpose in a corporate environment is to serve tea and, eventually, is expected to take a husband from within th company. In public, women are expected to maintain a more polite demeanor then their male counterparts, prompting many critics to argue that Japanese women are second class in their own country. Women are rarely granted positions of authority in the workplace, and worse, equal pay as their male coworkers. This often occurs on the technicality of job titles, where a male worker is an “assistant organization director” and a female is a “file reorganizer,” yet both do the exact same task. Women are expected to raise children and maintain the household, leading many to opt out of the rat race as all three at once are simply impossible. Domestically, women call the shots. Decisions within the family are made by the mother, and salarymen often turn over their entire salary to the woman of the house’s charge. However, failure of a child to succeed or misfortune on the family’s part is then seen as the woman’s fault, making this system a two way street. Within the last 20 years, the number of women studying abroad has seen a dramatic increase, perhaps signaling a new push for equal rights for employment.
Even students who do not use the escalator system face enormous pressure to, as attending a prestigious university can determine one’s later career. Hence, many students attend juku, or cram schools, for several hours after regular classes finish. The tremendous peer and social pressure to succeed does not end at high school for men though. Upon graduation from a university, most men immediately begin a full time job with rigorous self imposed or outside demands. Earning the name “salarymen,” the Japanese phenomenon of an extremely motivated, driven and hardworking taskforce can be dangerous to the very workers it employs. Long hours and intense work pressures mean little or no time for families or vacations, driving some salarymen into serious depression or suicide. Corporate pressures can instill nervousness in workers, prompting many to work overtime without even claiming overtime pay. Workers can be scolded for “frivolous pursuits,” such as taking time off for important family matters. Some companies have begun to acknowledge this, and have taken to locking the building and mandating departure early at least once a week.
Women who want to succeed in the workplace face a much harder battle than that with exhaustion. Since the end of WWII, the most common office position a woman is allowed to hold is that of an “OL,” or office lady, who’s sole purpose in a corporate environment is to serve tea and, eventually, is expected to take a husband from within th company. In public, women are expected to maintain a more polite demeanor then their male counterparts, prompting many critics to argue that Japanese women are second class in their own country. Women are rarely granted positions of authority in the workplace, and worse, equal pay as their male coworkers. This often occurs on the technicality of job titles, where a male worker is an “assistant organization director” and a female is a “file reorganizer,” yet both do the exact same task. Women are expected to raise children and maintain the household, leading many to opt out of the rat race as all three at once are simply impossible. Domestically, women call the shots. Decisions within the family are made by the mother, and salarymen often turn over their entire salary to the woman of the house’s charge. However, failure of a child to succeed or misfortune on the family’s part is then seen as the woman’s fault, making this system a two way street. Within the last 20 years, the number of women studying abroad has seen a dramatic increase, perhaps signaling a new push for equal rights for employment.
From an early age, gender is an enormous determinant in all aspects of Japanese life. Pink is for girls, blue is for boys, and the rigors of Japanese society will ensure that as children grow up, they're all too aware of it.
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Well that sucks...yeah, in the U.S. women still don't get the same pay either. Japan and the U.S. seem to be pretty alike actually (sadly enough x.x').
STELLITA
2007-05-06 00:10:25
I reckon everyone should have equal rights no matter what country you are in. Even in Australia women haven't got equal rights to men in the workplace. But when you look at in depth often other women in other countrys are less fortunate then us here and it makes you wonder wether we are complaining just for the sake of it or wether we have a point.
DARKALCHEMISTANGEL
2007-04-27 18:19:45
i think that clothing is way to strict i want to ware wut i want wen i want im very open to new ideas but i think the japenes are like way to strict.
AMBERRITA
2007-04-18 06:23:56
IT is not that bad... really it is not. But, i get what you are saying. It is different here in america
MANGAPOPPY
2007-03-30 15:32:42
It's always nice to read something about Japan, other than anime and manga.
ANIMAE
2007-01-31 08:32:03
you will find in most countries economic inequality between the sexes. If you think about it, Japan no matter what era they were in or jobs they have, always had strict rules and codes and conformity. That simply is part of their culture, and it is changing, but change takes time, its a old country, with way older traditions. and traditions are hard to break.
INUYASHASHEETMUSIC
2007-01-27 08:03:01
The "turning over all your money to the female" is a pro but to be put to shame every time something goes wrong not neccesarily fair...I have to go to Japan some day...to study their culture...
ASPIRINGMANGAKA
2007-01-23 07:06:53
This context makes the fact that so many anime feature empowered girl or female protagonists more interesting, doesn't it?
GIDGETBANANAS
2007-01-16 19:50:23
of course, there's advantages for a society as a whole with such a rigid structure...predictability and stability, not to say that it's an unfair structure to those who want to traverse outside the bounds of the boxes they're put into.
BANDAGES
2007-01-12 17:54:58
go to neilya fiction and to the riddle contest there anser the riddles with a comment and if you get them all right you can be part of my manga the rest of the instructions are there don't give up right away you can try as many times as youd like
NEILYA
2007-01-08 13:50:26
whoah... this is shocking! makes you realise how lucky women are in some countries. This is what you might expect in a poor country with little education, not one of the wealthiest in the world. Having just finished learning about suffragettes and womens rights in Britain, it looks like Japanese women need to fight for their rights in a similar way.
GUENNOL
2007-01-07 09:19:23
this is a really good article...it describes the predicament in japan really well...but the whole push for education is the same in all asian countries, not just japan. education is way more important to them than it is to americans...
XKAMICHAMAX3
2007-01-04 07:05:26
Woah, and I thought society here had it bad enough with 'girls and boys are different'.............Japan's worse!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I always wuz a bit on the 'girly' side, so that kinda made me think that 'girls and boys r really just the same, there is no major difference'................plus I knew Japanese parents were a bit pushy 4 their kids 2 pass.............it's bad enough here.................I mean, I don't see how gender shoukld determine anything...............Pink wuz my fave colour when I wuz little!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MIXEDUPMATTEMO99
2007-01-01 13:08:22
No offense guys, but thats insanity! Sure, you gotta do good in school, get a good job, but like...wow..I had no idea Japan was that strict regarding education. Equal rights, I think, would be a great idea. Even in Canada, women still don't have equal rights. We get slightly less pay then the men do. Its really unfair.
BLOWNAFUSE
2006-12-29 09:05:51