Gender, a new Prince, and Japan
Sep. 6th, 2006 02:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
demeter918Princess Kiko has a baby boy, thus averting a so-called "succession crisis" in Japan.
There are times, really, that I fucking hate Japan. Or at least, when they're acting like such fucktards as to believe that a male heir is somehow, just somehow, better than a female heir. By whose standards? The conservatives? Some who think that the practice of concubines should be revived in order to replenish the imperial line? The Imperial Household Agency who have practically driven a women, who once had a flourishing and bright future in diplomatic relations, mad under their pressure to produce a male heir? The second prince? Who's philandering is well-known and not spoken of and who has criticized his older brother, the crown prince, for not doing his duty to his country? The conservative media, who continually criticizes Masako for not producing a male heir and her selfishness in not having more children?
From the beginning, I had known from an intellectual standpoint that there were many things different about Japan in regards to their treatment and thought of women, but this is the first time here I just want to scream. My starry-eyed view of Japan had faded a long time ago, but this, this just reminds me of why Japan is often criticized for it's sexism, racism, and classism.
... I'm going to go calm down and then rant about this a bit more coherently.
There are times, really, that I fucking hate Japan. Or at least, when they're acting like such fucktards as to believe that a male heir is somehow, just somehow, better than a female heir. By whose standards? The conservatives? Some who think that the practice of concubines should be revived in order to replenish the imperial line? The Imperial Household Agency who have practically driven a women, who once had a flourishing and bright future in diplomatic relations, mad under their pressure to produce a male heir? The second prince? Who's philandering is well-known and not spoken of and who has criticized his older brother, the crown prince, for not doing his duty to his country? The conservative media, who continually criticizes Masako for not producing a male heir and her selfishness in not having more children?
From the beginning, I had known from an intellectual standpoint that there were many things different about Japan in regards to their treatment and thought of women, but this is the first time here I just want to scream. My starry-eyed view of Japan had faded a long time ago, but this, this just reminds me of why Japan is often criticized for it's sexism, racism, and classism.
... I'm going to go calm down and then rant about this a bit more coherently.
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Date: 2006-09-06 11:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 02:16 am (UTC)Exactly. This steams me almost more than anything, because hello, Masako gave up a brilliant career as a diplomat (on the North American bench no less!) to marry Naruhito and lots of people thought it would be a breath of fresh air to the palace. And look what happened to her.
I'm happy for Kiko, because I'm sure she was also under a huge amount of pressure to produce a male child, but the point was that she shouldn't have been under that pressure in the first place. If that damn 1947 law was repealed, her having a male child wouldn't matter. At all.