The women who pour drinks in Japan’s sleek gentlemen’s clubs were once shunned because their duties were considered immodest: lavishing adoring (albeit nonsexual) attention on men for a hefty fee.
But with that line of work, called hostessing, among the most lucrative jobs available to women and with the country neck-deep in a recession, hostess positions are increasingly coveted, and hostesses themselves are gaining respectability and even acclaim. Japan’s worst recession since World War II is changing mores.
“More women from a diversity of backgrounds are looking for hostess work,” said Kentaro Miura, who helps manage seven clubs in Kabuki-cho, Tokyo’s glittering red-light district. “There is less resistance to becoming a hostess. In fact, it’s seen as a glamorous job.”
But behind this trend is a less-than-glamorous reality. Employment opportunities for young women, especially those with no college education, are often limited to low-paying, dead-end jobs or temp positions.
Hostessing in Japan’s night entertainment industry has provided many women and some men, Japanese and non-Japanese, an opportunity that most other jobs would not have given them: financial ascendancy, and skills and knowledge in dealing with customers to eventually run their own businesses. But does hostessing bring women a rosy life and socioeconomic mobility?
Young women today fancy the celebrity lifestyle in hostessing characterized by tiaras, gowns, perfumes and fun. Like Cinderella, however, most of them can experience a taste of the “good life” within a limited time. After their youthful attractiveness wears off, what awaits them is a barely survivable level of livelihood, unless they meet a reliable “prince.” Under the recurring recessions that began in the 1990s, expecting a prince has become even more unrealistic than ever before, as numerous male workers have been stripped of secure employment and decent pay. Despite and perhaps because of that, some of these young women realize that they are just out to enjoy a momentary glow.
In truth, this article was an excuse to post picture of cute Japanese women. WIN.
Japan, for the past decade, has been experiencing a social and cultural phenomenon called Otaku. Otaku refers to the obsessive interest of anime, manga, and videogame characters. Otaku is closely related to the American term, "Loser".
The number of people practicing Otaku has grown so large that they represent a powerful subculture within the overall Japanese society. There are internet cafes, social networks, and large swaths of physical territory dedicated to Otaku-culture. There are forums, meetings, and clubs for those who love the Otaku-lifestyle.
The Otaku-lifestyle, though strange to us, raise little eyebrows in Japan. Let's face it--the people of Japan has seen weirder things (underwear vending machines, penis festival). Those engaged in Otaku claim to feel an emotional connection with the anime characters. So much so that they buy dolls, figurines and any object that has the likeness of the character they love.
Now that I think about it, it's not surprising why Otaku is so popular in Japan. In Japanese society, both men and women are discouraged from displaying their sexuality. Both groups have very few friends of the opposite sex.
Personally, i don't think its sexually healthy to shy away from the opposite sex, and/or go on dates with your Sailor Moon action-figure. There might be away to tackle the Otaku culture, and liberate these sexually awkward losers back to the land of the living.
My name is Sang Hyun Jung
Like you I try hard to stay informed by reading and watching the news
I passionately observe current/world events, because
I want to know why people behave or think the way they do
And how societies respond.
The Tenderfoot is a collection of article entries
framing the news and discourse through a sociological lens
Since news in general is not really about what is reported
But about greater issues that underlie within these everyday events
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Japanese Hostesses: Many Cinderellas, Few Princes
The women who pour drinks in Japan’s sleek gentlemen’s clubs were once shunned because their duties were considered immodest: lavishing adoring (albeit nonsexual) attention on men for a hefty fee.
But with that line of work, called hostessing, among the most lucrative jobs available to women and with the country neck-deep in a recession, hostess positions are increasingly coveted, and hostesses themselves are gaining respectability and even acclaim. Japan’s worst recession since World War II is changing mores.
“More women from a diversity of backgrounds are looking for hostess work,” said Kentaro Miura, who helps manage seven clubs in Kabuki-cho, Tokyo’s glittering red-light district. “There is less resistance to becoming a hostess. In fact, it’s seen as a glamorous job.”
But behind this trend is a less-than-glamorous reality. Employment opportunities for young women, especially those with no college education, are often limited to low-paying, dead-end jobs or temp positions.
Hostessing in Japan’s night entertainment industry has provided many women and some men, Japanese and non-Japanese, an opportunity that most other jobs would not have given them: financial ascendancy, and skills and knowledge in dealing with customers to eventually run their own businesses. But does hostessing bring women a rosy life and socioeconomic mobility?
Young women today fancy the celebrity lifestyle in hostessing characterized by tiaras, gowns, perfumes and fun. Like Cinderella, however, most of them can experience a taste of the “good life” within a limited time. After their youthful attractiveness wears off, what awaits them is a barely survivable level of livelihood, unless they meet a reliable “prince.” Under the recurring recessions that began in the 1990s, expecting a prince has become even more unrealistic than ever before, as numerous male workers have been stripped of secure employment and decent pay. Despite and perhaps because of that, some of these young women realize that they are just out to enjoy a momentary glow.
In truth, this article was an excuse to post picture of cute Japanese women. WIN.
Japan, for the past decade, has been experiencing a social and cultural phenomenon called Otaku. Otaku refers to the obsessive interest of anime, manga, and videogame characters. Otaku is closely related to the American term, "Loser".
The number of people practicing Otaku has grown so large that they represent a powerful subculture within the overall Japanese society. There are internet cafes, social networks, and large swaths of physical territory dedicated to Otaku-culture. There are forums, meetings, and clubs for those who love the Otaku-lifestyle.
The Otaku-lifestyle, though strange to us, raise little eyebrows in Japan. Let's face it--the people of Japan has seen weirder things (underwear vending machines, penis festival). Those engaged in Otaku claim to feel an emotional connection with the anime characters. So much so that they buy dolls, figurines and any object that has the likeness of the character they love.
Now that I think about it, it's not surprising why Otaku is so popular in Japan. In Japanese society, both men and women are discouraged from displaying their sexuality. Both groups have very few friends of the opposite sex.
Personally, i don't think its sexually healthy to shy away from the opposite sex, and/or go on dates with your Sailor Moon action-figure. There might be away to tackle the Otaku culture, and liberate these sexually awkward losers back to the land of the living.
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