The Myth of Submissive Japanese Women
Often is it said that Japanese women are submissive or passive when compared to women from other developed countries. Over many years, this stereotype has transformed from myth to reality in the minds of many--but it's simply not true. Japanese women today are independent, confident, outgoing, and very much empowered.
For example, the majority of Japanese housewives handle almost all household chores--cooking Japanese meals, taking care of the kids, and doing the housework--while the men go to work. On the surface this may appear rigid, traditional, or even sexist. But is it?
Since Japanese men are expected by society and their families to work extremely long hours, they have very little time to sleep or eat, let alone pick up after the kids or fix a meal. And being a sengyo shufu (housewife) is a far more appealing choice to many women compared to the demands of working in corporate Japan.
And since most Japanese women control the household finances and allocate an allowance to their husbands, it could be argued--and has been--that it is Japanese women who are the heads of Japanese households.
Outside of the home, many people point to examples of Japanese traditions that seem to discriminate against women and keep them somewhat powerless in Japanese society. For example, Japanese women are often expected to quit their jobs when they marry or become pregnant, although it's illegal to require them to do so.
But what isn't always known is that many companies and regional governments offer a form of early retirement pay for women who choose to leave the workforce to marry or raise a family. This options isn't even available to men.
Perhaps more telling, the prospect of leaving a job to become either a housewife or mother still appeals to the vast majority of Japanese women--and is widely regarded as a far more worthwhile pursuit than the corporate grind (although the low Japanese birthrate doesn't seem to reflect this attitude).
Culture in Japan changes rapidly, yet somehow stays very much the same--on the surface at least. And the surface of culture Japan is what most see. But if we peel back the layers of culture in Japan, a very different picture emerges, especially when it comes to the roles of Japanese women.
Like most stereotypes, the image of the Japanese woman as submissive and passive isn't really based on reality--or rather, it's only based on one thin layer of it. Regardless of what books, movies and collective beliefs have told us, and what Japanese culture shows us at a glance, Japanese women may be among the most confident, capable, and empowered women on Earth.
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