As I've been learning in my Labor, Culture, and Human Resources class, Japan's society is set up to promote traditional gender roles: men working long hours and women staying at home taking care of the family. Many of the Japanese young women I have spoken with have one main goal: to get married. They spend a lot of money to go to college so they can find a job where they can meet their husband, and then quit working after getting married to start a family. If they do go back to work it is usually part-time, non-regular jobs. In many cases, they were raised with their mother at home, so they want to do the same for their family. I suppose I am slightly bias because I am from America, but most people I know continue to work after getting married, and even after having children. I think that the set up in Japan is much different making it harder to raise a family with two working parents. A recent poll conducted by the Ministry of Public Management found that men spend less than 3o minutes per day on domestic chores, while women spend 3 1/2 hours. Even if both husband and wife work the woman is considered to be responsible for childcare and most domestic duties. Many women who want to advance their career are choosing not to get married and have children, which is causing a population decrease. I think that since the Japanese labor system is beginning to move more towards the Western system, this might change. Although I find the Japanese labor force very interesting, I would like to see it become more mom-friendly so woman can not only have a family, but also a sucessful career.
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1 comment:
Nice overview of socially sanctioned gender roles. From an American perspective it is a little difficult to understand (although things weren't that different in the USA not so long ago...). Things are changing in Japan. I am happy to hear stories from my international students and local students about their (host)fathers doing domestic work.
I am curious about how you are using your photos. You write about young women but show older women. Are your photos a prediction as to the futures of young women?
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