Organizing for change: Women's grassroots activism in Japan

Feminist Studies

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 633-661

  Khor, Diana ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0033197244     PISSN: 00463663     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/3178660     Document Type: Review

References (85)

1. Susan Orpett Long, "Nurturing and Femininity: The Ideal of Caregiving in Postwar Japan," in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, ed. Anne E. Imamura (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996), 156-58; Yoshi Kuzume, "Images of Japanese Women in U.S. Writings and Scholarly Works, 1860-1990," U.S.-Japan Women's Journal, English Supp. No. 1 (August 1991): 6-50.
2. Susan Orpett Long, "Nurturing and Femininity: The Ideal of Caregiving in Postwar Japan," in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, ed. Anne E. Imamura (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996), 156-58; Yoshi Kuzume, "Images of Japanese Women in U.S. Writings and Scholarly Works, 1860-1990," U.S.-Japan Women's Journal, English Supp. No. 1 (August 1991): 6-50.
3. Onna no Nettowâkingu (Women's networking), ed. Yokohama Josei Fôramu (Yokohama Women's Forum) (Tôkyô: Gakuyô Shobô, 1991). The title might take on a specific significance in light of women activists' attempts to create networks among women that are different from those of men's. See, for example, Ueno Chizuko, "Joen no Nanakai" (Seven commandments of ties among women), in Kenryoku to Rôdo (Authority and labor), ed. Inoue Teruko, Ueno Chizuko, and Ehara Yumiko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 187-91.
4. Onna no Nettowâkingu (Women's networking), ed. Yokohama Josei Fôramu (Yokohama Women's Forum) (Tôkyô: Gakuyô Shobô, 1991). The title might take on a specific significance in light of women activists' attempts to create networks among women that are different from those of men's. See, for example, Ueno Chizuko, "Joen no Nanakai" (Seven commandments of ties among women), in Kenryoku to Rôdo (Authority and labor), ed. Inoue Teruko, Ueno Chizuko, and Ehara Yumiko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 187-91.
5. This is the second edition; the first edition was published in 1987. The process of contacting respondents, as described in the first edition, consisted of first obtaining an initial list of 1,000 groups from newsletters, women's magazines, and "mini-comi" magazines and next sending questionnaires to 600 of them. Many questionnaires could not be delivered and were returned. The initial response rate was 30 percent. More groups were contacted through telephone; letters and more questionnaires were sent out. One-half of the 600-plus groups listed in the second edition were also listed in the first edition although changes in activities necessitated rewrites of the pertinent descriptions. Mini-comi magazines were a means of communication that emerged from the contemporary feminist movement and are still used by many women's groups today. The layout and content of the magazines depart from conventional standards and, according to the women involved, allow women to share their experiences and opinions in their own voices.
6. See Patricia Yancey Martin, "Rethinking Feminist Organizations," Gender and Society 4 (June 1990): 185. By this definition, these groups all qualify as "organizations." However, I prefer to use the terms "organizations" and "groups" interchangeably to refer to these women's networks because the term "organization," as conventionally defined, also connotes a certain formality and rigidity which does not quite fit the spirit and substance of many of these networks.
7. For a discussion of how the genderedness of polity is associated with differences in feminist orientations cross-nationally, see Diana Khor, "Shared Commitment, Divergent Demands: Conceptualizing and Understanding Cross-National Differences in Orientations of Feminist Organizations," International Review of Sociology 7, no. 2 (1997): 197-220.
8. Various phrases are used, interchangeably, to convey what I translate as "women's perspective(s)," including onna no shiza, onna no shiten, and onna no tachiba, which can also be translated variously as women's standpoint(s) or viewpoint(s). Less clear is whether such phrases are more accurately translated as "a woman's perspective," "women's perspectives," or "a women's perspective." I opted for the phrase "women's perspective(s)" as a reminder of the ambiguity embedded here.
9. The Japanese civil code is based on a family registration system (koseki). A married couple has to register under one family name, either that of the wife or the husband; empirically, 98 percent of women change their surnames to that of their husbands upon marriage. See Kyoko Yoshizumi, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present," in Japanese Women: New Feminist Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future, ed. Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow and Atsuko Kameda (New York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1995), 187-88, 193-94; Ida Keiko, "Sei e no Kodawari-Fûfu Bessei o Kangaeru" (Being particular about a surname: Thinking about separate surnames within married couples), in Seiyakuwari (Sex roles), ed. Inoue Teruko, Ueno Chizuko, and Ehara Yumiko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 203-14. The proposed revision of the civil code in January 1996 would have made it possible for both wife and husband to continue using their own surnames although one surname was to be decided on at the time of their marriage for their children and all children were to have the same surname. The proposal was reviewed and rejected in March 1996 by a committee dominated by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party. Until the Civil Code was revised in April 1996 to prescribe equality in legal treatment of illegitimate and legitimate children, illegitimate children did not have the same legal rights as legitimate children. They were, for example, legally allocated only one-half the portion of inheritance of legitimate children. Further, clear indications of illegitimacy and discriminatory notations were required in the resident registration form which has to be presented upon enrollment in schools and employment. See Yoshizumi, 195-96.
10. The Japanese civil code is based on a family registration system (koseki). A married couple has to register under one family name, either that of the wife or the husband; empirically, 98 percent of women change their surnames to that of their husbands upon marriage. See Kyoko Yoshizumi, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present," in Japanese Women: New Feminist Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future, ed. Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow and Atsuko Kameda (New York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1995), 187-88, 193-94; Ida Keiko, "Sei e no Kodawari-Fûfu Bessei o Kangaeru" (Being particular about a surname: Thinking about separate surnames within married couples), in Seiyakuwari (Sex roles), ed. Inoue Teruko, Ueno Chizuko, and Ehara Yumiko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 203-14. The proposed revision of the civil code in January 1996 would have made it possible for both wife and husband to continue using their own surnames although one surname was to be decided on at the time of their marriage for their children and all children were to have the same surname. The proposal was reviewed and rejected in March 1996 by a committee dominated by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party. Until the Civil Code was revised in April 1996 to prescribe equality in legal treatment of illegitimate and legitimate children, illegitimate children did not have the same legal rights as legitimate children. They were, for example, legally allocated only one-half the portion of inheritance of legitimate children. Further, clear indications of illegitimacy and discriminatory notations were required in the resident registration form which has to be presented upon enrollment in schools and employment. See Yoshizumi, 195-96.
11. The Japanese civil code is based on a family registration system (koseki). A married couple has to register under one family name, either that of the wife or the husband; empirically, 98 percent of women change their surnames to that of their husbands upon marriage. See Kyoko Yoshizumi, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present," in Japanese Women: New Feminist Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future, ed. Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow and Atsuko Kameda (New York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1995), 187-88, 193-94; Ida Keiko, "Sei e no Kodawari-Fûfu Bessei o Kangaeru" (Being particular about a surname: Thinking about separate surnames within married couples), in Seiyakuwari (Sex roles), ed. Inoue Teruko, Ueno Chizuko, and Ehara Yumiko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 203-14. The proposed revision of the civil code in January 1996 would have made it possible for both wife and husband to continue using their own surnames although one surname was to be decided on at the time of their marriage for their children and all children were to have the same surname. The proposal was reviewed and rejected in March 1996 by a committee dominated by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party. Until the Civil Code was revised in April 1996 to prescribe equality in legal treatment of illegitimate and legitimate children, illegitimate children did not have the same legal rights as legitimate children. They were, for example, legally allocated only one-half the portion of inheritance of legitimate children. Further, clear indications of illegitimacy and discriminatory notations were required in the resident registration form which has to be presented upon enrollment in schools and employment. See Yoshizumi, 195-96.
12. Gender segregated roll call, for example, is a customary school practice. Typically, male students' names are called first. The effort of a councilwoman resulted in instituting mixed-gender roll call in kindergarten through lower secondary schools in the city of Sakai in 1990. See Atsuko Kameda, "Sexism and Gender Stereotyping in Schools," in Japanese Women, 114-15; see also Kawai Mayumi, "'Otoko ga Saki' o Hiteisurukoto de Mietekurumono" (Things that become apparent by rejecting 'men first'), in Kenryoku to Rôdo, 161-65.
13. Gender segregated roll call, for example, is a customary school practice. Typically, male students' names are called first. The effort of a councilwoman resulted in instituting mixed-gender roll call in kindergarten through lower secondary schools in the city of Sakai in 1990. See Atsuko Kameda, "Sexism and Gender Stereotyping in Schools," in Japanese Women, 114-15; see also Kawai Mayumi, "'Otoko ga Saki' o Hiteisurukoto de Mietekurumono" (Things that become apparent by rejecting 'men first'), in Kenryoku to Rôdo, 161-65.
14. Kateika, translated as home economics or domestic science, was made a mandatory subject for all students at elementary and secondary levels as part of the postwar education policy which stipulated a uniform curriculum for female and male students. At the lower secondary level, however, boys were typically taught industrial arts and girls learned homemaking. Subsequent revisions by the Ministry of Education moved toward all students studying both industrial arts and homemaking beginning in 1993. See Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow and Atsuko Kameda, "Women's Education and Gender Roles in Japan," in Women of Japan and Korea: Continuity and Change, ed. Joyce Gelb and Marian Lief Palley (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994), 54-55; Kameda, 111-12.
15. In 1990, women constituted almost 70 percent of part-time workers and temporary/casual workers, respectively, and were paid about 60 percent or less of men's wages. These women workers are typically married women who "return" to the labor market after an absence during the childrearing period, forming on the aggregate a pattern of employment known as the M-shaped curve. There seems to be, however, a steady trend toward lifetime employment of women through marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. "Career woman" also gains visibility as a distinct category of woman workers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these women frequently stay single, and most are quite satisfied with their lives, contrary to popular perception. See Mary Brinton, Women and the Economic Miracle: Gender and Work in Postwar Japan (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993), 28-32; also Yoko Kawashima, "Female Workers: An Overview of Past and Current Trends" (282-283); and Kazuko Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family" (295-308), both in Japanese Women; Glenda S. Roberts, "Careers and Commitment: Azumi's Blue-Collar Women," in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 221-43; Millie R. Creighton, "Marriage, Motherhood, and Career Management in a Japanese 'Counter Culture,'" in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 192-220.
16. In 1990, women constituted almost 70 percent of part-time workers and temporary/casual workers, respectively, and were paid about 60 percent or less of men's wages. These women workers are typically married women who "return" to the labor market after an absence during the childrearing period, forming on the aggregate a pattern of employment known as the M-shaped curve. There seems to be, however, a steady trend toward lifetime employment of women through marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. "Career woman" also gains visibility as a distinct category of woman workers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these women frequently stay single, and most are quite satisfied with their lives, contrary to popular perception. See Mary Brinton, Women and the Economic Miracle: Gender and Work in Postwar Japan (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993), 28-32; also Yoko Kawashima, "Female Workers: An Overview of Past and Current Trends" (282-283); and Kazuko Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family" (295-308), both in Japanese Women; Glenda S. Roberts, "Careers and Commitment: Azumi's Blue-Collar Women," in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 221-43; Millie R. Creighton, "Marriage, Motherhood, and Career Management in a Japanese 'Counter Culture,'" in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 192-220.
17. In 1990, women constituted almost 70 percent of part-time workers and temporary/casual workers, respectively, and were paid about 60 percent or less of men's wages. These women workers are typically married women who "return" to the labor market after an absence during the childrearing period, forming on the aggregate a pattern of employment known as the M-shaped curve. There seems to be, however, a steady trend toward lifetime employment of women through marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. "Career woman" also gains visibility as a distinct category of woman workers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these women frequently stay single, and most are quite satisfied with their lives, contrary to popular perception. See Mary Brinton, Women and the Economic Miracle: Gender and Work in Postwar Japan (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993), 28-32; also Yoko Kawashima, "Female Workers: An Overview of Past and Current Trends" (282-283); and Kazuko Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family" (295-308), both in Japanese Women; Glenda S. Roberts, "Careers and Commitment: Azumi's Blue-Collar Women," in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 221-43; Millie R. Creighton, "Marriage, Motherhood, and Career Management in a Japanese 'Counter Culture,'" in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 192-220.
18. In 1990, women constituted almost 70 percent of part-time workers and temporary/casual workers, respectively, and were paid about 60 percent or less of men's wages. These women workers are typically married women who "return" to the labor market after an absence during the childrearing period, forming on the aggregate a pattern of employment known as the M-shaped curve. There seems to be, however, a steady trend toward lifetime employment of women through marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. "Career woman" also gains visibility as a distinct category of woman workers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these women frequently stay single, and most are quite satisfied with their lives, contrary to popular perception. See Mary Brinton, Women and the Economic Miracle: Gender and Work in Postwar Japan (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993), 28-32; also Yoko Kawashima, "Female Workers: An Overview of Past and Current Trends" (282-283); and Kazuko Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family" (295-308), both in Japanese Women; Glenda S. Roberts, "Careers and Commitment: Azumi's Blue-Collar Women," in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 221-43; Millie R. Creighton, "Marriage, Motherhood, and Career Management in a Japanese 'Counter Culture,'" in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 192-220.
19. In 1990, women constituted almost 70 percent of part-time workers and temporary/casual workers, respectively, and were paid about 60 percent or less of men's wages. These women workers are typically married women who "return" to the labor market after an absence during the childrearing period, forming on the aggregate a pattern of employment known as the M-shaped curve. There seems to be, however, a steady trend toward lifetime employment of women through marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. "Career woman" also gains visibility as a distinct category of woman workers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these women frequently stay single, and most are quite satisfied with their lives, contrary to popular perception. See Mary Brinton, Women and the Economic Miracle: Gender and Work in Postwar Japan (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993), 28-32; also Yoko Kawashima, "Female Workers: An Overview of Past and Current Trends" (282-283); and Kazuko Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family" (295-308), both in Japanese Women; Glenda S. Roberts, "Careers and Commitment: Azumi's Blue-Collar Women," in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 221-43; Millie R. Creighton, "Marriage, Motherhood, and Career Management in a Japanese 'Counter Culture,'" in Re-Imaging Japanese Women, 192-220.
20. Karen Offen, "Defining Feminism: A Comparative Historical Approach," Signs 14 (spring 1988): 119-57. See also Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Ann Russo, and Lourdes Torres, Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991).
21. Karen Offen, "Defining Feminism: A Comparative Historical Approach," Signs 14 (spring 1988): 119-57. See also Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Ann Russo, and Lourdes Torres, Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991).
22. Martin, 185.
23. Roberta Spalter-Roth and Ronnee Schreiber, "Outsider Issues and Insider Tactics: Strategic Tensions in the Women's Policy Network during the 1980s," in Feminist Organizations: Harvest of the New Movement, ed. Myra Marx Ferree and Patricia Yancey Martin (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995), 107.
24. Martin, 184.
25. Jo Freeman, "Resource Mobilization and Strategy: A Model for Analyzing Social Movement Organization Actions," in The Dynamics of Social Movements, ed. Mayer Zald and John D. McCarthy (Cambridge, Mass.: Winthrop Publishers, 1979).
26. According to Sandra Buckley, the (ûman)ribu ("lib") movement in Japan is typically seen to have begun in 1970 and is associated with the work and life of Tanaka Mitsu. The feminists she interviewed typically insist on distinguishing the ribu movement which emerged in the 1970s in Japan from both feminism, which has a long history in Japan, and the American women's liberation movement. See Sandra Buckley, "A Short History of the Feminist Movement in Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 174; Sandra Buckley, Broken Silence: Voices of Japanese Feminism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Kazuko Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," in Japanese Women, 343-46. More contentious might be the place of ûman ribu in contemporary feminism. According to Matsui Manko, the ûman ribu movement in the 1970s signaled the beginning of the contemporary feminist movement in Japan. See "Evolution of the Feminist Movement in Japan," NWSA Journal 2 (fall 1990): 435-49. I also talked to eight feminist scholars about women's studies, although the conversation invariably drifted to the feminist movement. The opinions of these feminists, in their forties and fifties, vary: some characterized ûman ribu as "very radical . . . very different from other (groups)" and implied that it is only one (possibly small) part or an early phase of the contemporary feminist movement. Others, however, saw ûman ribu as synonymous with contemporary feminism. I am inclined to view the ûman ribu movement as quite central to contemporary feminism, as partly reflected in the breadth and volume of ûman ribu alternative publications and statements collected in Nippon Ûman Ribu Shi (Japan woman lib history), vol. 1 (1969-72), vol. 2 (1972-75), and vol. 3 (1975-82), edited by Mizoguchi Akiyo, Saeki Yôko, and Miki Sôko (Kyôto: Shôkadô, 1992).
27. According to Sandra Buckley, the (ûman)ribu ("lib") movement in Japan is typically seen to have begun in 1970 and is associated with the work and life of Tanaka Mitsu. The feminists she interviewed typically insist on distinguishing the ribu movement which emerged in the 1970s in Japan from both feminism, which has a long history in Japan, and the American women's liberation movement. See Sandra Buckley, "A Short History of the Feminist Movement in Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 174; Sandra Buckley, Broken Silence: Voices of Japanese Feminism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Kazuko Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," in Japanese Women, 343-46. More contentious might be the place of ûman ribu in contemporary feminism. According to Matsui Manko, the ûman ribu movement in the 1970s signaled the beginning of the contemporary feminist movement in Japan. See "Evolution of the Feminist Movement in Japan," NWSA Journal 2 (fall 1990): 435-49. I also talked to eight feminist scholars about women's studies, although the conversation invariably drifted to the feminist movement. The opinions of these feminists, in their forties and fifties, vary: some characterized ûman ribu as "very radical . . . very different from other (groups)" and implied that it is only one (possibly small) part or an early phase of the contemporary feminist movement. Others, however, saw ûman ribu as synonymous with contemporary feminism. I am inclined to view the ûman ribu movement as quite central to contemporary feminism, as partly reflected in the breadth and volume of ûman ribu alternative publications and statements collected in Nippon Ûman Ribu Shi (Japan woman lib history), vol. 1 (1969-72), vol. 2 (1972-75), and vol. 3 (1975-82), edited by Mizoguchi Akiyo, Saeki Yôko, and Miki Sôko (Kyôto: Shôkadô, 1992).
28. According to Sandra Buckley, the (ûman)ribu ("lib") movement in Japan is typically seen to have begun in 1970 and is associated with the work and life of Tanaka Mitsu. The feminists she interviewed typically insist on distinguishing the ribu movement which emerged in the 1970s in Japan from both feminism, which has a long history in Japan, and the American women's liberation movement. See Sandra Buckley, "A Short History of the Feminist Movement in Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 174; Sandra Buckley, Broken Silence: Voices of Japanese Feminism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Kazuko Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," in Japanese Women, 343-46. More contentious might be the place of ûman ribu in contemporary feminism. According to Matsui Manko, the ûman ribu movement in the 1970s signaled the beginning of the contemporary feminist movement in Japan. See "Evolution of the Feminist Movement in Japan," NWSA Journal 2 (fall 1990): 435-49. I also talked to eight feminist scholars about women's studies, although the conversation invariably drifted to the feminist movement. The opinions of these feminists, in their forties and fifties, vary: some characterized ûman ribu as "very radical . . . very different from other (groups)" and implied that it is only one (possibly small) part or an early phase of the contemporary feminist movement. Others, however, saw ûman ribu as synonymous with contemporary feminism. I am inclined to view the ûman ribu movement as quite central to contemporary feminism, as partly reflected in the breadth and volume of ûman ribu alternative publications and statements collected in Nippon Ûman Ribu Shi (Japan woman lib history), vol. 1 (1969-72), vol. 2 (1972-75), and vol. 3 (1975-82), edited by Mizoguchi Akiyo, Saeki Yôko, and Miki Sôko (Kyôto: Shôkadô, 1992).
29. According to Sandra Buckley, the (ûman)ribu ("lib") movement in Japan is typically seen to have begun in 1970 and is associated with the work and life of Tanaka Mitsu. The feminists she interviewed typically insist on distinguishing the ribu movement which emerged in the 1970s in Japan from both feminism, which has a long history in Japan, and the American women's liberation movement. See Sandra Buckley, "A Short History of the Feminist Movement in Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 174; Sandra Buckley, Broken Silence: Voices of Japanese Feminism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Kazuko Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," in Japanese Women, 343-46. More contentious might be the place of ûman ribu in contemporary feminism. According to Matsui Manko, the ûman ribu movement in the 1970s signaled the beginning of the contemporary feminist movement in Japan. See "Evolution of the Feminist Movement in Japan," NWSA Journal 2 (fall 1990): 435-49. I also talked to eight feminist scholars about women's studies, although the conversation invariably drifted to the feminist movement. The opinions of these feminists, in their forties and fifties, vary: some characterized ûman ribu as "very radical . . . very different from other (groups)" and implied that it is only one (possibly small) part or an early phase of the contemporary feminist movement. Others, however, saw ûman ribu as synonymous with contemporary feminism. I am inclined to view the ûman ribu movement as quite central to contemporary feminism, as partly reflected in the breadth and volume of ûman ribu alternative publications and statements collected in Nippon Ûman Ribu Shi (Japan woman lib history), vol. 1 (1969-72), vol. 2 (1972-75), and vol. 3 (1975-82), edited by Mizoguchi Akiyo, Saeki Yôko, and Miki Sôko (Kyôto: Shôkadô, 1992).
30. According to Sandra Buckley, the (ûman)ribu ("lib") movement in Japan is typically seen to have begun in 1970 and is associated with the work and life of Tanaka Mitsu. The feminists she interviewed typically insist on distinguishing the ribu movement which emerged in the 1970s in Japan from both feminism, which has a long history in Japan, and the American women's liberation movement. See Sandra Buckley, "A Short History of the Feminist Movement in Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 174; Sandra Buckley, Broken Silence: Voices of Japanese Feminism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Kazuko Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," in Japanese Women, 343-46. More contentious might be the place of ûman ribu in contemporary feminism. According to Matsui Manko, the ûman ribu movement in the 1970s signaled the beginning of the contemporary feminist movement in Japan. See "Evolution of the Feminist Movement in Japan," NWSA Journal 2 (fall 1990): 435-49. I also talked to eight feminist scholars about women's studies, although the conversation invariably drifted to the feminist movement. The opinions of these feminists, in their forties and fifties, vary: some characterized ûman ribu as "very radical . . . very different from other (groups)" and implied that it is only one (possibly small) part or an early phase of the contemporary feminist movement. Others, however, saw ûman ribu as synonymous with contemporary feminism. I am inclined to view the ûman ribu movement as quite central to contemporary feminism, as partly reflected in the breadth and volume of ûman ribu alternative publications and statements collected in Nippon Ûman Ribu Shi (Japan woman lib history), vol. 1 (1969-72), vol. 2 (1972-75), and vol. 3 (1975-82), edited by Mizoguchi Akiyo, Saeki Yôko, and Miki Sôko (Kyôto: Shôkadô, 1992).
31. It is important to note that the reverse - that Euro-North American feminisms are inspired by feminisms in Asia, Latin America, and Africa - is generally unimaginable, as illustrated perhaps by the sheer absence of any inquiry along this line. What struck me most in my encounters with feminists in the United States is how some of them strongly assume that feminism in "Third World" countries is an import from the West even before knowing anything about these countries. I was reminded of a similar rhetoric about democracy - that democracy is an American idea exported to Third World countries - during the 1980s democratic movement in China. The rhetoric is eerily similar to the official U.S. position on democratic movements, including the breakup of the Eastern Bloc, in non-First World countries. This almost subconscious identification on the part of radical movements with the mainstream ideology of the state regarding the centrality and importance of their country and culture in the world can hamper the development of a genuine global feminism or other comparable radical movements. In this connection, the ideological distance Japanese feminists keep from the Japanese state takes on a particular significance. See my later discussion on cultural critique.
32. Mioko Fujieda and Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow, "Women's Studies: An Overview," in Japanese Women, 158-60; Junko Kuninobu, "Women's Studies in Japan," Women's Studies International Forum 7 (winter 1984): 301, 303.
33. Mioko Fujieda and Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow, "Women's Studies: An Overview," in Japanese Women, 158-60; Junko Kuninobu, "Women's Studies in Japan," Women's Studies International Forum 7 (winter 1984): 301, 303.
34. Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 347; see also Amrita Basu, ed., The Challenge of Local Feminisms: Women's Movements in Global Perspectives (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995).
35. Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 347; see also Amrita Basu, ed., The Challenge of Local Feminisms: Women's Movements in Global Perspectives (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995).
36. Buckley, 11-12, 257; see also Ueno Chizuko, "Nihon no Ribu-sono shisô to haikei" (Lib in Japan: Its ideas and background), in Ribu to Feminizumu (Lib and feminism), ed. Inoue Teruko, Ueno Chizuko, and Ehara Yumiko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 2-32; Fujieda Mioko, "Ûman Ribu" (Woman lib), in Nihon no Sengoshi III (Showa 40, 50 Nendai) (Postwar history of Japan III-1965 to 1984) (Tôkyô: Asahi Sensho, 1985).
37. Buckley, 11-12, 257; see also Ueno Chizuko, "Nihon no Ribu-sono shisô to haikei" (Lib in Japan: Its ideas and background), in Ribu to Feminizumu (Lib and feminism), ed. Inoue Teruko, Ueno Chizuko, and Ehara Yumiko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 2-32; Fujieda Mioko, "Ûman Ribu" (Woman lib), in Nihon no Sengoshi III (Showa 40, 50 Nendai) (Postwar history of Japan III-1965 to 1984) (Tôkyô: Asahi Sensho, 1985).
38. Buckley, 11-12, 257; see also Ueno Chizuko, "Nihon no Ribu-sono shisô to haikei" (Lib in Japan: Its ideas and background), in Ribu to Feminizumu (Lib and feminism), ed. Inoue Teruko, Ueno Chizuko, and Ehara Yumiko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 2-32; Fujieda Mioko, "Ûman Ribu" (Woman lib), in Nihon no Sengoshi III (Showa 40, 50 Nendai) (Postwar history of Japan III-1965 to 1984) (Tôkyô: Asahi Sensho, 1985).
39. Saitô Chiyo, "What is Japanese Feminism?" trans. Sandra Buckley, in Broken Silence, 257. See also interviews with Aoki Yayoi and Ueno Chizuko in the same volume.
40. See for example, Basu, pts. 1-3.
41. See Khor, 197-220; and Lilia Quindoza Santiago, "Rebirthing Babaye: The Women's Movement in the Philippines," in The Challenge of Local Feminisms, 110-28.
42. See Khor, 197-220; and Lilia Quindoza Santiago, "Rebirthing Babaye: The Women's Movement in the Philippines," in The Challenge of Local Feminisms, 110-28.
43. Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 344-45, 350. See also Matsui, 435-49; Ueno, 2-32.
44. Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 344-45, 350. See also Matsui, 435-49; Ueno, 2-32.
45. Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 344-45, 350. See also Matsui, 435-49; Ueno, 2-32.
46. Matsui, 436, 437; Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 346.
47. Matsui, 436, 437; Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 346.
48. Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 343-352. See also Buckley.
49. Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 351.
50. Article 212 of the 1907 Criminal Law, which still applies today, made abortion (conducted by the woman herself using medicine or other means) a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment. The National Eugenics Law of 1947, modeled after a similar law in Nazi Germany, permitted abortion only to save a mother's life and to eliminate genetic defects. This law underwent a few revisions in 1948 and 1949 and extended legal abortion on the basis of rape and mother's economic well-being. A further revision in 1952 made abortion practically available on demand by requiring only the approval of a certified physician. The apparently easy accessibility to abortion which resulted is misleading; in combination with Article 212 of the criminal law, the Eugenics Law further consolidates the power of the physician vis-à-vis the woman "patient," endorses eugenics, and retains the criminality of abortion. Nevertheless, the (conservative) Liberal Democratic Party-controlled government still sought to further restrict legal abortion, by proposing a revision of the law in 1972 and again in 1982 to eliminate economic reasons for abortions, apparently in response to the decline in birthrate and labor shortage. Both revisions were successfully blocked by a powerful feminist coalition. See Matsui, 439-41; Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 347. The abortion rate in Japan is among the highest in industrialized countries, and the vast majority of women requesting abortions are married women. The favored method of contraception is a combination of rhythm and condoms, which is unreliable medically and inconsistent in practice, because it depends on the cooperation, if not initiative, of the (more powerful) male partner. See Ogino Miho, "Abortion and Women's Reproductive Rights: The State of Japanese Women, 1945-1991," in Women of Japan and Korea, 76-82. For an anthropological perspective on the meaning of abortion and Japanese women's experiences of it, see Laury Oaks, "Fetal Spirithood and Fetal Personhood: The Cultural Construction of Abortion in Japan," Women's Studies International Forum 17 (1994), 511-23; see also Ogino, 82-83.
51. Article 212 of the 1907 Criminal Law, which still applies today, made abortion (conducted by the woman herself using medicine or other means) a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment. The National Eugenics Law of 1947, modeled after a similar law in Nazi Germany, permitted abortion only to save a mother's life and to eliminate genetic defects. This law underwent a few revisions in 1948 and 1949 and extended legal abortion on the basis of rape and mother's economic well-being. A further revision in 1952 made abortion practically available on demand by requiring only the approval of a certified physician. The apparently easy accessibility to abortion which resulted is misleading; in combination with Article 212 of the criminal law, the Eugenics Law further consolidates the power of the physician vis-à-vis the woman "patient," endorses eugenics, and retains the criminality of abortion. Nevertheless, the (conservative) Liberal Democratic Party-controlled government still sought to further restrict legal abortion, by proposing a revision of the law in 1972 and again in 1982 to eliminate economic reasons for abortions, apparently in response to the decline in birthrate and labor shortage. Both revisions were successfully blocked by a powerful feminist coalition. See Matsui, 439-41; Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 347. The abortion rate in Japan is among the highest in industrialized countries, and the vast majority of women requesting abortions are married women. The favored method of contraception is a combination of rhythm and condoms, which is unreliable medically and inconsistent in practice, because it depends on the cooperation, if not initiative, of the (more powerful) male partner. See Ogino Miho, "Abortion and Women's Reproductive Rights: The State of Japanese Women, 1945-1991," in Women of Japan and Korea, 76-82. For an anthropological perspective on the meaning of abortion and Japanese women's experiences of it, see Laury Oaks, "Fetal Spirithood and Fetal Personhood: The Cultural Construction of Abortion in Japan," Women's Studies International Forum 17 (1994), 511-23; see also Ogino, 82-83.
52. Article 212 of the 1907 Criminal Law, which still applies today, made abortion (conducted by the woman herself using medicine or other means) a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment. The National Eugenics Law of 1947, modeled after a similar law in Nazi Germany, permitted abortion only to save a mother's life and to eliminate genetic defects. This law underwent a few revisions in 1948 and 1949 and extended legal abortion on the basis of rape and mother's economic well-being. A further revision in 1952 made abortion practically available on demand by requiring only the approval of a certified physician. The apparently easy accessibility to abortion which resulted is misleading; in combination with Article 212 of the criminal law, the Eugenics Law further consolidates the power of the physician vis-à-vis the woman "patient," endorses eugenics, and retains the criminality of abortion. Nevertheless, the (conservative) Liberal Democratic Party-controlled government still sought to further restrict legal abortion, by proposing a revision of the law in 1972 and again in 1982 to eliminate economic reasons for abortions, apparently in response to the decline in birthrate and labor shortage. Both revisions were successfully blocked by a powerful feminist coalition. See Matsui, 439-41; Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 347. The abortion rate in Japan is among the highest in industrialized countries, and the vast majority of women requesting abortions are married women. The favored method of contraception is a combination of rhythm and condoms, which is unreliable medically and inconsistent in practice, because it depends on the cooperation, if not initiative, of the (more powerful) male partner. See Ogino Miho, "Abortion and Women's Reproductive Rights: The State of Japanese Women, 1945-1991," in Women of Japan and Korea, 76-82. For an anthropological perspective on the meaning of abortion and Japanese women's experiences of it, see Laury Oaks, "Fetal Spirithood and Fetal Personhood: The Cultural Construction of Abortion in Japan," Women's Studies International Forum 17 (1994), 511-23; see also Ogino, 82-83.
53. Article 212 of the 1907 Criminal Law, which still applies today, made abortion (conducted by the woman herself using medicine or other means) a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment. The National Eugenics Law of 1947, modeled after a similar law in Nazi Germany, permitted abortion only to save a mother's life and to eliminate genetic defects. This law underwent a few revisions in 1948 and 1949 and extended legal abortion on the basis of rape and mother's economic well-being. A further revision in 1952 made abortion practically available on demand by requiring only the approval of a certified physician. The apparently easy accessibility to abortion which resulted is misleading; in combination with Article 212 of the criminal law, the Eugenics Law further consolidates the power of the physician vis-à-vis the woman "patient," endorses eugenics, and retains the criminality of abortion. Nevertheless, the (conservative) Liberal Democratic Party-controlled government still sought to further restrict legal abortion, by proposing a revision of the law in 1972 and again in 1982 to eliminate economic reasons for abortions, apparently in response to the decline in birthrate and labor shortage. Both revisions were successfully blocked by a powerful feminist coalition. See Matsui, 439-41; Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 347. The abortion rate in Japan is among the highest in industrialized countries, and the vast majority of women requesting abortions are married women. The favored method of contraception is a combination of rhythm and condoms, which is unreliable medically and inconsistent in practice, because it depends on the cooperation, if not initiative, of the (more powerful) male partner. See Ogino Miho, "Abortion and Women's Reproductive Rights: The State of Japanese Women, 1945-1991," in Women of Japan and Korea, 76-82. For an anthropological perspective on the meaning of abortion and Japanese women's experiences of it, see Laury Oaks, "Fetal Spirithood and Fetal Personhood: The Cultural Construction of Abortion in Japan," Women's Studies International Forum 17 (1994), 511-23; see also Ogino, 82-83.
54. Article 212 of the 1907 Criminal Law, which still applies today, made abortion (conducted by the woman herself using medicine or other means) a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment. The National Eugenics Law of 1947, modeled after a similar law in Nazi Germany, permitted abortion only to save a mother's life and to eliminate genetic defects. This law underwent a few revisions in 1948 and 1949 and extended legal abortion on the basis of rape and mother's economic well-being. A further revision in 1952 made abortion practically available on demand by requiring only the approval of a certified physician. The apparently easy accessibility to abortion which resulted is misleading; in combination with Article 212 of the criminal law, the Eugenics Law further consolidates the power of the physician vis-à-vis the woman "patient," endorses eugenics, and retains the criminality of abortion. Nevertheless, the (conservative) Liberal Democratic Party-controlled government still sought to further restrict legal abortion, by proposing a revision of the law in 1972 and again in 1982 to eliminate economic reasons for abortions, apparently in response to the decline in birthrate and labor shortage. Both revisions were successfully blocked by a powerful feminist coalition. See Matsui, 439-41; Tanaka, "The New Feminist Movement in Japan, 1970-1990," 347. The abortion rate in Japan is among the highest in industrialized countries, and the vast majority of women requesting abortions are married women. The favored method of contraception is a combination of rhythm and condoms, which is unreliable medically and inconsistent in practice, because it depends on the cooperation, if not initiative, of the (more powerful) male partner. See Ogino Miho, "Abortion and Women's Reproductive Rights: The State of Japanese Women, 1945-1991," in Women of Japan and Korea, 76-82. For an anthropological perspective on the meaning of abortion and Japanese women's experiences of it, see Laury Oaks, "Fetal Spirithood and Fetal Personhood: The Cultural Construction of Abortion in Japan," Women's Studies International Forum 17 (1994), 511-23; see also Ogino, 82-83.
55. An emphasis on acquiring male attributes and opportunities to participate in hitherto male activities as the basis for equality underlie many feminist groups in the United States and most professional networking groups in Japan. See Diana Khor, "Shared Commitment, Divergent Demands" (paper presented at the National Women's Studies Association Annual Conference in Norman, Oklahoma, 21-25 June, 1995; and Khor, "Shared Commitment, Divergent Demands: Conceptualizing and Understanding Cross-National Differences in Orientations of Feminist Organizations," 197-220. See my next section for the implications of an alternative position in Japanese feminist organizing.
56. An emphasis on acquiring male attributes and opportunities to participate in hitherto male activities as the basis for equality underlie many feminist groups in the United States and most professional networking groups in Japan. See Diana Khor, "Shared Commitment, Divergent Demands" (paper presented at the National Women's Studies Association Annual Conference in Norman, Oklahoma, 21-25 June, 1995; and Khor, "Shared Commitment, Divergent Demands: Conceptualizing and Understanding Cross-National Differences in Orientations of Feminist Organizations," 197-220. See my next section for the implications of an alternative position in Japanese feminist organizing.
57. Inoue Teruko, "Joseigaku: 'Onna no Shiza' o tsukuru" (Women's studies: Forming women's viewpoints), in Feminizumu Riron (Feminist theories), ed. Ehara Yumiko, Inoue Teruko, and Ueno Chizuko (Tôkyô: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 31-45.
58. Ueno Chizuko, cited in Buckley, 280; see also interviews with Saitô Chiyo and Ide Sachiko in the same volume.
59. Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Yoko Sato, "From the Home to the Political Arena," in Japanese Women, 365-72.
60. Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Yoko Sato, "From the Home to the Political Arena," in Japanese Women, 365-72.
61. Anne Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus," Anthropological Quarterly (1991): 195-208; Ohinata Masami, "The Mystique of Motherhood: A Key to Understanding Social Change and Family Problems in Japan," in Japanese Women, 199-212; Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Ueno Chizuko, "Women and Family in Transition in Postindustrial Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 23-42; Yoshizumi Kyoko, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present" (183-98), Long (156-76), Nancy R. Rosenberger, "Fragile Resistance, Signs of Status: Women between State and Media in Japan" (12-45), Margaret Lock, "Centering the Household: The Remaking of Female Maturity in Japan" (73-103), and Anne Allison, "Producing Mothers" (135-55), all in Re-Imaging Japanese Women.
62. Anne Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus," Anthropological Quarterly (1991): 195-208; Ohinata Masami, "The Mystique of Motherhood: A Key to Understanding Social Change and Family Problems in Japan," in Japanese Women, 199-212; Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Ueno Chizuko, "Women and Family in Transition in Postindustrial Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 23-42; Yoshizumi Kyoko, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present" (183-98), Long (156-76), Nancy R. Rosenberger, "Fragile Resistance, Signs of Status: Women between State and Media in Japan" (12-45), Margaret Lock, "Centering the Household: The Remaking of Female Maturity in Japan" (73-103), and Anne Allison, "Producing Mothers" (135-55), all in Re-Imaging Japanese Women.
63. Anne Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus," Anthropological Quarterly (1991): 195-208; Ohinata Masami, "The Mystique of Motherhood: A Key to Understanding Social Change and Family Problems in Japan," in Japanese Women, 199-212; Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Ueno Chizuko, "Women and Family in Transition in Postindustrial Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 23-42; Yoshizumi Kyoko, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present" (183-98), Long (156-76), Nancy R. Rosenberger, "Fragile Resistance, Signs of Status: Women between State and Media in Japan" (12-45), Margaret Lock, "Centering the Household: The Remaking of Female Maturity in Japan" (73-103), and Anne Allison, "Producing Mothers" (135-55), all in Re-Imaging Japanese Women.
64. Anne Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus," Anthropological Quarterly (1991): 195-208; Ohinata Masami, "The Mystique of Motherhood: A Key to Understanding Social Change and Family Problems in Japan," in Japanese Women, 199-212; Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Ueno Chizuko, "Women and Family in Transition in Postindustrial Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 23-42; Yoshizumi Kyoko, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present" (183-98), Long (156-76), Nancy R. Rosenberger, "Fragile Resistance, Signs of Status: Women between State and Media in Japan" (12-45), Margaret Lock, "Centering the Household: The Remaking of Female Maturity in Japan" (73-103), and Anne Allison, "Producing Mothers" (135-55), all in Re-Imaging Japanese Women.
65. Anne Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus," Anthropological Quarterly (1991): 195-208; Ohinata Masami, "The Mystique of Motherhood: A Key to Understanding Social Change and Family Problems in Japan," in Japanese Women, 199-212; Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Ueno Chizuko, "Women and Family in Transition in Postindustrial Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 23-42; Yoshizumi Kyoko, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present" (183-98), Long (156-76), Nancy R. Rosenberger, "Fragile Resistance, Signs of Status: Women between State and Media in Japan" (12-45), Margaret Lock, "Centering the Household: The Remaking of Female Maturity in Japan" (73-103), and Anne Allison, "Producing Mothers" (135-55), all in Re-Imaging Japanese Women.
66. Anne Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus," Anthropological Quarterly (1991): 195-208; Ohinata Masami, "The Mystique of Motherhood: A Key to Understanding Social Change and Family Problems in Japan," in Japanese Women, 199-212; Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Ueno Chizuko, "Women and Family in Transition in Postindustrial Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 23-42; Yoshizumi Kyoko, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present" (183-98), Long (156-76), Nancy R. Rosenberger, "Fragile Resistance, Signs of Status: Women between State and Media in Japan" (12-45), Margaret Lock, "Centering the Household: The Remaking of Female Maturity in Japan" (73-103), and Anne Allison, "Producing Mothers" (135-55), all in Re-Imaging Japanese Women.
67. Anne Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus," Anthropological Quarterly (1991): 195-208; Ohinata Masami, "The Mystique of Motherhood: A Key to Understanding Social Change and Family Problems in Japan," in Japanese Women, 199-212; Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Ueno Chizuko, "Women and Family in Transition in Postindustrial Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 23-42; Yoshizumi Kyoko, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present" (183-98), Long (156-76), Nancy R. Rosenberger, "Fragile Resistance, Signs of Status: Women between State and Media in Japan" (12-45), Margaret Lock, "Centering the Household: The Remaking of Female Maturity in Japan" (73-103), and Anne Allison, "Producing Mothers" (135-55), all in Re-Imaging Japanese Women.
68. Anne Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus," Anthropological Quarterly (1991): 195-208; Ohinata Masami, "The Mystique of Motherhood: A Key to Understanding Social Change and Family Problems in Japan," in Japanese Women, 199-212; Tanaka, "Work, Education, and the Family," 295-308; Ueno Chizuko, "Women and Family in Transition in Postindustrial Japan," in Women in Japan and Korea, 23-42; Yoshizumi Kyoko, "Marriage and Family: Past and Present" (183-98), Long (156-76), Nancy R. Rosenberger, "Fragile Resistance, Signs of Status: Women between State and Media in Japan" (12-45), Margaret Lock, "Centering the Household: The Remaking of Female Maturity in Japan" (73-103), and Anne Allison, "Producing Mothers" (135-55), all in Re-Imaging Japanese Women.
69. Sato, 366-70.
70. Offen, 119-57; Gisela Bock and Pat Thane, eds., Maternity and Gender Policies: Women and the Rise of the European Welfare States, 1880s-1950s (London and New York: Routledge, 1991); Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono, "Introduction: Without a Leg to Stand On," in The Lonely Mirror: Italian Perspectives on Feminist Theory, ed. Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono (London and New York: Routledge, 1993), 1-28. See also Radha Kumar, "From Chipko to Sati: The Contemporary Indian Women's Movement" (58-86); Santiago (110-28), Cecilia Blondet, "Out of the Kitchens and onto the Streets: Women's Activism in Peru" (251-75), and Jane Jenson, "Extending the Boundaries of Citizenship: Women's Movements of Western Europe" (405-34), all in The Challenge of Local Feminisms.
71. Offen, 119-57; Gisela Bock and Pat Thane, eds., Maternity and Gender Policies: Women and the Rise of the European Welfare States, 1880s-1950s (London and New York: Routledge, 1991); Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono, "Introduction: Without a Leg to Stand On," in The Lonely Mirror: Italian Perspectives on Feminist Theory, ed. Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono (London and New York: Routledge, 1993), 1-28. See also Radha Kumar, "From Chipko to Sati: The Contemporary Indian Women's Movement" (58-86); Santiago (110-28), Cecilia Blondet, "Out of the Kitchens and onto the Streets: Women's Activism in Peru" (251-75), and Jane Jenson, "Extending the Boundaries of Citizenship: Women's Movements of Western Europe" (405-34), all in The Challenge of Local Feminisms.
72. Offen, 119-57; Gisela Bock and Pat Thane, eds., Maternity and Gender Policies: Women and the Rise of the European Welfare States, 1880s-1950s (London and New York: Routledge, 1991); Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono, "Introduction: Without a Leg to Stand On," in The Lonely Mirror: Italian Perspectives on Feminist Theory, ed. Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono (London and New York: Routledge, 1993), 1-28. See also Radha Kumar, "From Chipko to Sati: The Contemporary Indian Women's Movement" (58-86); Santiago (110-28), Cecilia Blondet, "Out of the Kitchens and onto the Streets: Women's Activism in Peru" (251-75), and Jane Jenson, "Extending the Boundaries of Citizenship: Women's Movements of Western Europe" (405-34), all in The Challenge of Local Feminisms.
73. Offen, 119-57; Gisela Bock and Pat Thane, eds., Maternity and Gender Policies: Women and the Rise of the European Welfare States, 1880s-1950s (London and New York: Routledge, 1991); Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono, "Introduction: Without a Leg to Stand On," in The Lonely Mirror: Italian Perspectives on Feminist Theory, ed. Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono (London and New York: Routledge, 1993), 1-28. See also Radha Kumar, "From Chipko to Sati: The Contemporary Indian Women's Movement" (58-86); Santiago (110-28), Cecilia Blondet, "Out of the Kitchens and onto the Streets: Women's Activism in Peru" (251-75), and Jane Jenson, "Extending the Boundaries of Citizenship: Women's Movements of Western Europe" (405-34), all in The Challenge of Local Feminisms.
74. Offen, 119-57; Gisela Bock and Pat Thane, eds., Maternity and Gender Policies: Women and the Rise of the European Welfare States, 1880s-1950s (London and New York: Routledge, 1991); Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono, "Introduction: Without a Leg to Stand On," in The Lonely Mirror: Italian Perspectives on Feminist Theory, ed. Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono (London and New
75. Offen, 119-57; Gisela Bock and Pat Thane, eds., Maternity and Gender Policies: Women and the Rise of the European Welfare States, 1880s-1950s (London and New York: Routledge, 1991); Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono, "Introduction: Without a Leg to Stand On," in The Lonely Mirror: Italian Perspectives on Feminist Theory, ed. Sandra Kemp and Paola Bono (London and New York: Routledge, 1993), 1-28. See also Radha Kumar, "From Chipko to Sati: The Contemporary Indian Women's Movement" (58-86); Santiago (110-28), Cecilia Blondet, "Out of the Kitchens and onto the Streets: Women's Activism in Peru" (251-75), and Jane Jenson, "Extending the Boundaries of Citizenship: Women's Movements of Western Europe" (405-34), all in The Challenge of Local Feminisms.
76. For legal gains, see Kinjo Kiyoko, "Legal Challenges to the Status Quo," in Japanese Women, 353-64. With respect to the level of consciousness, Japanese feminists vary in their opinion of how much the "general public" has been sensitized to issues of gender inequality. On a more microlevel, almost all the feminist teachers I talked to lament the low level of consciousness of first-year university students even in the 1990s.
77. Interview with Aoki Yayoi in Buckley, 10.
78. Ibid., 16.
79. In her ongoing research on "categories" in popular magazines in Japan, Kamano Saori found a high degree of genderedness in the categories which, for women, corresponds to an elaborated classification by age, occupation, and personal affiliations. (Conversations with Kamano Saori, Tokyo, March-April,1997.)
80. John W. Meyer, "The World Polity and the Authority of the Nation-State," in Studies of the Modern World System, ed. Albert Bergesen (New York: Academic Press, 1980), 109-38.
81. Ueno Chizuko, cited in Buckley, Broken Silence, 279-80.
82. I make these observations only in the context of grassroots organizations. Considering the various sites of feminist practice, one cannot fail to notice a rather significant gap between academic feminists and grassroots feminists. The grassroots feminists typically see the academic feminists as "elitist." The feminist scholars I interviewed vary in their opinion about their relationship to the grassroots feminist movement. Some identify themselves with the movement rather than the academy, others claim that academic feminists need the movement, hence separating themselves from grassroots feminists, and still others consider the women's studies movement as a feminist movement in itself.
83. These categories abound in popular magazines, including women's magazines, and are invoked frequently in casual conversations among women. A related phenomenon is the readers' ranking of the most liked and the least liked celebrities and the faults they find with each of them. Such ranking and evaluation are applied with greater consistency and viciousness to women celebrities and wives/"girlfriends" of male celebrities. The ideology of rivalry among women - topping the list are mothers and daughters who are the "purest rivals" - is constantly re-/constructed in the popular media.
84. See Yayori Matsui, "The Plight of Asian Migrant Women Working in Japan's Sex Industry," in Japanese Women, 309-19; Kuniko Funabashi, "Pornographic Culture and Sexual Violence," in Japanese Women, 255-64.
85. See Yayori Matsui, "The Plight of Asian Migrant Women Working in Japan's Sex Industry," in Japanese Women, 309-19; Kuniko Funabashi, "Pornographic Culture and Sexual Violence," in Japanese Women, 255-64.