Sept. 20 Readings – Shi Shi

I really enjoyed this week’s selection of readings and all of the insights into cultural and gendered norms. While it frustrated me to read about how certain characters had this internal struggle with adhering to gendered roles and expectations, it was a very interesting reflection of issues prevalent in Japanese society that are beginning to be discussed today. 

In Diary of a Void and The Lonesome Bodybuilder, I felt that both narratives explored self-empowerment and autonomy. I interpreted Shibata’s fake pregancy as a form of establishing authority in a male-dominated workplace. While pregnancy could be seen as a characteristic that weakens a woman's physical ability in the office, Shibata uses the idea of pregnancy as the driving force in transforming the space into a functional, self-reliant system. The narrator in Lonesome Bodybuilder also uses her body as a physical model for self-improvement and accomplishment. Her husband still confuses me a bit, and I’m unsure how to interpret the end of the story when they hug.

Womanhood, specifically that of menstruation and childbirth, was an interesting theme that was explored, and I felt that they both worked to destigmatize notions surrounding these less openly discussed topics. The Most Boring Red on Earth was a fun read as it was something I could relate to. I enjoyed the honest injections of humor, like the orange juice line, that made it feel more real. As for the topic of childbirth/pregnancy, I was also in Kaito’s class last semester where we read parts of Breasts and Eggs, and so it was interesting to now have the focus be on Natsuko, whereas before we had read sections on Makiko and her desire for breast augmentation. These chapters, in particular, were interesting to read from a western perspective since I feel that sperm donors and other alternatives in family planning are so common. 

I was most unsettled, but still intrigued, by the last two stories, as they both were extremely voyeuristic in how they referenced feelings of loneliness. I felt that There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job was more focused on the narrator’s life and how her job offered her an opportunity to reflect on what she was looking for in her life/career. In The Woman in the Purple Skirt, however, it felt much more about the other party in the story; there’s this obsessive nature and feeling of envy and vulnerability that is perhaps reflective of how women feel in Japanese society.