Names as Symbols of Dominance

Mai Yamaguichi, OCU

If you think about the power of a name, you must also think about the power of a society that gives names to things. Japan is an interesting place in which to examine the meaning behind a name. In Japan, the ways in which careers, for example, are named in the news are quite different between men and women, it seems, but quite unnoticeable. Female doctors are called “Joi” (女医), which means “female doctor” while male doctors are called “Ishi” (医師), which means simply, “doctors.” Another example is that female writers are called “Josei-sakka” (女性作家), which means “female writers” whereas male writers are called “Sakka” (作家), which means “writers.”

From this practice of naming, I think many people imagine that doctors are automatically males. Therefore, the word “female” is attached as an adjective for the woman who has this career. This kind of naming says something about Japanese society where “normal” thinking has men primarily at work and where it is rare that women also work. This kind of naming doesn’t represent reality. This article discusses how names for careers have an affect on people.

In Japan, the way to name a career is different depending on gender. This practice creates an obvious question: why do people ignore “male” as an adjective for careers that men have but use “female” as an adjective for women with careers? Many may people think that working people are men. Many people come up a "male" doctor when they hear the word "doctor". Therefore, people think that people who work are male because of that. However, many women work recently. For that reason, the thought, which says working women are strange, has to be reversed. If many people think that doctors have to be men, women doctors might be uncomfortable to work as doctors and it might be hard for them to success.

Isn’t it best to treat working men and working women equally? As mass media help reinforce this unfair idea of difference, unequal salaries that women and men receive can be legitimized. The number of working women is increasing; however, it is harder for them to earn the kind of money that men traditionally earn. Changing attitudes begins with the media, such as television, newspaper, and magazines. The mass media can begin a new practice and drop the gender-specific naming of careers so that differences can fade away. If this can happen, Japanese people can begin to change their thoughts that only men are doctors (or writers). Media have great power to improve Japanese people’s thoughts about the roles we take up. Media should be used more responsibly to create a sense of mutual respect across the sexes so that we can make a fairer world for all people.

In recent years in Japan, many women want to work just as men have done traditionally. The truth is that many men today also do house work and help raise children even more than their wives do. This why, I think, mass media should deal with men and women equally to recreate a society in which all people can live happily and with dignity. 

Sexual Entertainment in Ads

Ryuji Gibo, OCU

In Japan today, there are many advertisements that feature women exposing more and more skin so as to attract more and more viewers. What the ads’ creators are trying to do is to make viewers feel as though they trying their particular products in some vicarious way. Exposing skin is not illegal. However, some of these sexualized ads have been discussed as examples of gender discrimination. There seems to be three main reasons why some people are critical of these sorts of ads.

Source: deviantart.com

Firstly, showing skin is a woman’s job, so to speak. It should really be a matter of her preference. In advertising, women are usually directed to show more of their skin as a way of persuading people to consume more of a particular product. An example of this is “Hooters” in the U.S. Even though they are selling just fast food, the Hooters women staff are made to wear sexy costumes and to talk closely to the customers in order to “hear” their orders more carefully. This sort of invasion of a customer's personal space poses the waitresses as if they are girlfriends, or intimate partners with the customers. This communication approach satisfies the customers to some degree by making them feel as though they have some power beyond their role as patrons. Hooters is not only selling food, but it is selling the image of beautiful women. This business model amounts to sexual discrimination, because it forces women to take unnatural roles as servants. They wait upon patrons but also act in ways that fulfill male fantasies.

Second of all, women’s position in some ads implies a gender hierarchy. As we have seen in the advertising industry, many ads illustrate how a gender hierarchy in society remains in place. The supportive evidence can be seen in the women’s physical position in various ads. Many ads cast women positioned below men in the images, and the women are looking up toward the men who are over them in dominant positions. These positions suggest to viewers the importance of the social hierarchy between men and women. The ads indirectly suggest that women should respect men in society. And more indirectly, the position also implies that women are in the control of men.

Finally, there is a problem in the way men treat women in ads. We can realize that men dominate women through looking at men and women’s actions in ads. Some women in ads do not look like they hold equal power, while they are merely men’s satisfying object. One of the ads we analyzed had a man wearing a nice blue suit and tie with a girl wearing bathing wear on the seashore. The guy is not supposed to be dressed like that in this situation. While the man shows his wealth and power, the woman apparently does not have money power as she lies below him. She looks more like a doll that has no emotion. The guy looks a though he can afford to play with the girl.

Thus, as we focus on the many advertisements playing around us, we may notice gender bias at work. Although these messages may be vaguely sexual, and may not have intended by their creators to taken as such, they are still upsetting to people. The images tell a story that is often not spoken, a tale of gender hierarchy that still exists in today’s society. To create a better story, we should stop casting women in these bad positions and erase the bad tradition. I think everyone would agree that our moms would be proud of us.