The Sexism Issue Revisited
I know many of you are completely tired of this issue by now, so do please skip this post if you want to.
And I have already talked about it in the past, but I've been seeing so much real hurt among my friends in the past few days, and I just feel like I should throw in my two cents (or three or one hundred and fifty three...... orz) on the matter before I move on from it.
As I always do, let me first make it clear that what I write here is my own opinion on the subject, and I am absolutely not telling you what to think or how to think, or that I know what GACKT thinks. If your opinion's different from mine, it won't bother me one bit.
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on sex; or conditions or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex.[1] Sexist attitudes are frequently based on beliefs in traditional stereotypes of gender roles. Sexism is not just a matter of individual attitudes, but is built into many societal institutions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexism
So, is GACKT sexist or not?
My answer to that is "Of course he is".
He's all about promoting the Japanese traditional gender roles between men and women. He thinks today's Japan's faltering partly due to men that have become too weak (mentally and physically) and women who now have to act more like men in order to fill the traditional male roles. He thinks this shift in the balance has caused the society to decline, and the younger Japanese people unhappy and discontent. He has said Japanese men have to return to being samurai (i.e. to be literally ready to fight in order to protect, and to even die for, their loved ones at any time, and to become the strong leader to the women they love), and that Japanese women must return to being the ones that patiently follow their men under their protection.
I'm not going to give all the sources where I get these ideas from because they're just the accumulation of everything he's said about gender roles in the past few years.
He even created YFCz so he could teach the herbivorous Japanese men to become the carnivores they're meant to be. (This was their original slogan before the band was formed the second time with the current members, at which point it largely changed to the support for 3/11.)
Now, if you see the underlined part of the above definition of sexism in blue, how is he NOT sexist?
Now, onto GACKT's sexism itself....
I think a lot of people in the fandom are talking about his sexist views without the proper context. Most of you know I am 100% Japanese and grew up there until I was 21. Also, I am 41 years old and GACKT will soon be 37, so we grew up in pretty much the same generation. So I do think it gives me some authority to speak about it.
But I am NOT speaking to excuse him from any repercussions his sexist views and comments may or may not generate. But I am trying to explain the context of his views a bit.
GACKT is sexist. But so are most of the Japanese, at least to some extent. The country still has this very deep-rooted traditional expectations for men and women: Men will work outside and bring in money, while women will raise their kids and protect the family. I grew up with this type of sexism ALL AROUND ME, everywhere I looked. My father was sexist. My brother is sexist. All of my uncles are/were sexists, and so were their wives. They firmly believed in their traditional roles, and overall, the country thrived under this arrangement, at least economically, in our parents' generations. I am not going to speculate on how happy and content these men and women were back then behind closed doors, but that's how it was, and this traditional Japanese mentality is still very strong today.
BUT. Times are changing and women have started to complete higher educations and fill higher positions in their careers, bringing in more income equality (although it's a far cry from being 'equal' yet) and giving women more voices in the society. And women are marrying later and later in life, it's not unusual for Japanese women to wait until after 30 to get married. So, guys today have to spend many more years focused on pleasing their girlfriends than their fathers ever had to do. This puts guys in a rather weak position, while their girlfriends keep enjoying their unmarried lives without the hassle of domestic responsibilities. And when they finally get married after the long period of courting, their roles in the relationships often stay the same.
Anyway, I'm sure there are other factors involved in this shift in the traditional gender roles, but that's enough for now. LOL
GACKT seems to be extremely sure that this is part of what's causing the current decline in Japan, and he's determined to do what he can to reverse this shift.
But like I said, I grew up with these stereotypes right up to the day I left Japan. My mother used to tell me to wash the dishes and clean up the apartment while she didn't ask my lazy brother for anything. I always defied her, asking why he didn't have to do anything, but then again, I knew why. It was just the way it was in Japan. I didn't accept it, but I understood it.
That's kinda how I feel about GACKT's sexist views, too, by the way. I don't appreciate or accept them, but I do understand them.
And another thing is.... I always wonder why people are immediately SO repulsed by the word sexism/sexist. I understand that it's prejudice and offensive to most people, but why SO repulsed by it, enough to cause this huge fandom fights between fans periodically?
Could it be because, when people think he's sexist, they automatically think he thinks men are generally superior to women? Is this the case? Because that's NOT what I get from his messages. I've never gotten the impression that he wanted to subjugate women and make them obey their men (unless he means between the sheets; that's a whole different story... =w=). To me, what he firmly believes is that if men were mentally (and physically) stronger for their women, women will be more free to express their innate femininity instead of having to act like guys, and then both men and women will be happier that way. That's really what I hear from his explanations on his views. Is he right? To be honest, I really don't know! But I know that it can't be true for everybody or every couple.
But I'll share this little personal story that I've never spoken about to anyone. My mother was a single mother, a very hard worker. She started dating this guy when I was about....14 or 15? He was sexist. He was a typical Japanese guy of his generation who expected men to work hard, and women to wait for their husbands with a hot meal and a warm bath waiting for them. But he was also a very good, kind man who treated my mother (and me!) so well. While she was with him, she would turn into a 'woman'... X'D She became submissive and giggly. But he made her SO happy, I could see that in her eyes. I'd never seen her that way because all she was worried about had always been working hard and earning enough money to raise me and my brother, she had to keep fighting, so to speak, in the men's world for so long. But now, this guy was there, reminding her that she IS a woman who hadn't forgotten to love and that it's OK for her to be a woman once again. I'd never seen her so happy in my life, even to this day. Now, it's making me teary... X"3 When I wonder if this is the type of thing that GACKT's talking about, and I do have a feeling that it is, I honestly can't say if he doesn't have a point, at least for SOME women, like my mother... Anyway, for reasons I will not disclose, they had to end their relationship despite their strong feelings for each other, though.)
Now, GACKT does say dumb things on Twitter. Some of them have been quite offensive to me, too, and actually made me upset. He really needs to filter the things he says through his 'upper' brain first sometimes. But even those most offensive tweets didn't make me think that he thought men were just superior to women. I just..... simply don't think he understands women fundamentally.
He romanticizes women and writes songs about his own feelings for them, but he really doesn't have a clue as to how women's minds work. He has called women a mystery, and I don't think he's lying there. LOL Combined with the superstar bubble he's been living in for so many years, this lack of understanding of women may have disabled his 'filter' on Twitter. Again, it's just my own conjecture. Feel completely free to disagree.
Someone I don't know suggested to me that we should, as fans, raise our voices together and tell GACKT that his views are sexist and that he needs to be more open-minded.
My answer to that, in short, was "No." I actually wanted to say "HELL NO" but didn't. :p
He is a grown man who can think for himself. Why is that our job, or even our right, to tell him how to think and what to say? Besides, if he were the kind of person who'd, or at least appear to, change his views just because he wants to keep his fans happy, could you really respect him? I respect him for having his own views and sharing them with the world even when he knows it won't be very popular because he believes they'll help change Japan/the world for the better. He may be incorrect in that assumption, but at least he's doing what he thinks is right.
And if his views on women offended Japanese women as much as they offend a lot of Western/European women, I don't think GACKT will still be as popular as he is today in Japan. I'm sure there are a decent number of Japanese women who don't like his views on gender roles, but it seems to me like it's usually non-Japanese fans who are far more offended by them, even though, from what I can tell, he's usually specifically talking about Japanese men and women when it comes to these views, not men or women anywhere else. He may think the same for the rest of the world, too, but as far as I know, it was always about Japanese men and women.
And why aren't Japanese women more angry about his views? Because they have sexist views themselves, too. The entire country does. And many of them can see and appreciate what GACKT wants for them: strong men that they can rely on and that let them feel like women, safe and protected. That's why they're not angry. They understand what GACKT means/says in far more depth, not just because they directly understand his language, but because they share the same culture.
WOW. SO TL;DR............. D': /// I so sorreh.... orz///
So, that's basically it. What I think about him being sexist.
Like I said at the beginning, I don't agree with him or accept his sexist views, but I do understand them and I do accept HIM as he is.
And lastly, please just agree to disagree with each other. And please be more tolerant of opinions different from yours, no matter how stupid you think they are.
I honestly don't care when people don't agree with me. OK, I might sometimes go =3= for a few seconds, but that's about it. LOL
But what I'm really growing tired of is when people tell others that what they're feeling is 'wrong' or 'invalid' or that they need to stop complaining even though the complaints don't involve any insults or name-calling of anybody.
Let others express their feelings without wanting to prove them wrong. Be more understanding. Know that they are disappointed or even hurt deep down. Be more compassionate. Don't always try to put your own feelings above the others'.
After all, do you really think GACKT could care less about any of the bickering that goes on in his fandoms? That's what he hates the most anyway, and he probably just stays away from it altogether. I sometimes say something if I think GACKT is misunderstood because of some poor translations, misinformation, etc., but that's basically the only time I say "You're wrong about that", but most of the time, I accept, if not always agree with, the views of other fans as they are because they are how they feel at that moment, and to me, it's not about right or wrong.
I am properly tired now. Good night... ^^;;
EDIT: Although I provided some context to what sexism is like in Japan, please do NOT forget that it is prejudice and it is wrong to categorize people simply based on their genders. Like I said, I did NOT like growing up with other people expecting me to act like a 'good' girl, or having to pour beer or sake in half-empty glasses for drunk uncles and being told that I'm not a 'good enough girl' if I just lazied around and didn't help with food preparations or serving during family reunions, etc. while the guys just ate, laughed, and got more drunk while their women slaved in the kitchen. So, don't think that this type of stereotyping isn't harmful and can't hurt young girls and women, or even boys and young men for that matter. It hurt ME. The last thing I want is for this post to give an excuse to sexism.
Oh, and... GACKT's turning 39, not 37. HE'S.... OLD...... D: XD
And I have already talked about it in the past, but I've been seeing so much real hurt among my friends in the past few days, and I just feel like I should throw in my two cents (or three or one hundred and fifty three...... orz) on the matter before I move on from it.
As I always do, let me first make it clear that what I write here is my own opinion on the subject, and I am absolutely not telling you what to think or how to think, or that I know what GACKT thinks. If your opinion's different from mine, it won't bother me one bit.
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on sex; or conditions or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex.[1] Sexist attitudes are frequently based on beliefs in traditional stereotypes of gender roles. Sexism is not just a matter of individual attitudes, but is built into many societal institutions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexism
So, is GACKT sexist or not?
My answer to that is "Of course he is".
He's all about promoting the Japanese traditional gender roles between men and women. He thinks today's Japan's faltering partly due to men that have become too weak (mentally and physically) and women who now have to act more like men in order to fill the traditional male roles. He thinks this shift in the balance has caused the society to decline, and the younger Japanese people unhappy and discontent. He has said Japanese men have to return to being samurai (i.e. to be literally ready to fight in order to protect, and to even die for, their loved ones at any time, and to become the strong leader to the women they love), and that Japanese women must return to being the ones that patiently follow their men under their protection.
I'm not going to give all the sources where I get these ideas from because they're just the accumulation of everything he's said about gender roles in the past few years.
He even created YFCz so he could teach the herbivorous Japanese men to become the carnivores they're meant to be. (This was their original slogan before the band was formed the second time with the current members, at which point it largely changed to the support for 3/11.)
Now, if you see the underlined part of the above definition of sexism in blue, how is he NOT sexist?
Now, onto GACKT's sexism itself....
I think a lot of people in the fandom are talking about his sexist views without the proper context. Most of you know I am 100% Japanese and grew up there until I was 21. Also, I am 41 years old and GACKT will soon be 37, so we grew up in pretty much the same generation. So I do think it gives me some authority to speak about it.
But I am NOT speaking to excuse him from any repercussions his sexist views and comments may or may not generate. But I am trying to explain the context of his views a bit.
GACKT is sexist. But so are most of the Japanese, at least to some extent. The country still has this very deep-rooted traditional expectations for men and women: Men will work outside and bring in money, while women will raise their kids and protect the family. I grew up with this type of sexism ALL AROUND ME, everywhere I looked. My father was sexist. My brother is sexist. All of my uncles are/were sexists, and so were their wives. They firmly believed in their traditional roles, and overall, the country thrived under this arrangement, at least economically, in our parents' generations. I am not going to speculate on how happy and content these men and women were back then behind closed doors, but that's how it was, and this traditional Japanese mentality is still very strong today.
BUT. Times are changing and women have started to complete higher educations and fill higher positions in their careers, bringing in more income equality (although it's a far cry from being 'equal' yet) and giving women more voices in the society. And women are marrying later and later in life, it's not unusual for Japanese women to wait until after 30 to get married. So, guys today have to spend many more years focused on pleasing their girlfriends than their fathers ever had to do. This puts guys in a rather weak position, while their girlfriends keep enjoying their unmarried lives without the hassle of domestic responsibilities. And when they finally get married after the long period of courting, their roles in the relationships often stay the same.
Anyway, I'm sure there are other factors involved in this shift in the traditional gender roles, but that's enough for now. LOL
GACKT seems to be extremely sure that this is part of what's causing the current decline in Japan, and he's determined to do what he can to reverse this shift.
But like I said, I grew up with these stereotypes right up to the day I left Japan. My mother used to tell me to wash the dishes and clean up the apartment while she didn't ask my lazy brother for anything. I always defied her, asking why he didn't have to do anything, but then again, I knew why. It was just the way it was in Japan. I didn't accept it, but I understood it.
That's kinda how I feel about GACKT's sexist views, too, by the way. I don't appreciate or accept them, but I do understand them.
And another thing is.... I always wonder why people are immediately SO repulsed by the word sexism/sexist. I understand that it's prejudice and offensive to most people, but why SO repulsed by it, enough to cause this huge fandom fights between fans periodically?
Could it be because, when people think he's sexist, they automatically think he thinks men are generally superior to women? Is this the case? Because that's NOT what I get from his messages. I've never gotten the impression that he wanted to subjugate women and make them obey their men (unless he means between the sheets; that's a whole different story... =w=). To me, what he firmly believes is that if men were mentally (and physically) stronger for their women, women will be more free to express their innate femininity instead of having to act like guys, and then both men and women will be happier that way. That's really what I hear from his explanations on his views. Is he right? To be honest, I really don't know! But I know that it can't be true for everybody or every couple.
But I'll share this little personal story that I've never spoken about to anyone. My mother was a single mother, a very hard worker. She started dating this guy when I was about....14 or 15? He was sexist. He was a typical Japanese guy of his generation who expected men to work hard, and women to wait for their husbands with a hot meal and a warm bath waiting for them. But he was also a very good, kind man who treated my mother (and me!) so well. While she was with him, she would turn into a 'woman'... X'D She became submissive and giggly. But he made her SO happy, I could see that in her eyes. I'd never seen her that way because all she was worried about had always been working hard and earning enough money to raise me and my brother, she had to keep fighting, so to speak, in the men's world for so long. But now, this guy was there, reminding her that she IS a woman who hadn't forgotten to love and that it's OK for her to be a woman once again. I'd never seen her so happy in my life, even to this day. Now, it's making me teary... X"3 When I wonder if this is the type of thing that GACKT's talking about, and I do have a feeling that it is, I honestly can't say if he doesn't have a point, at least for SOME women, like my mother... Anyway, for reasons I will not disclose, they had to end their relationship despite their strong feelings for each other, though.)
Now, GACKT does say dumb things on Twitter. Some of them have been quite offensive to me, too, and actually made me upset. He really needs to filter the things he says through his 'upper' brain first sometimes. But even those most offensive tweets didn't make me think that he thought men were just superior to women. I just..... simply don't think he understands women fundamentally.
He romanticizes women and writes songs about his own feelings for them, but he really doesn't have a clue as to how women's minds work. He has called women a mystery, and I don't think he's lying there. LOL Combined with the superstar bubble he's been living in for so many years, this lack of understanding of women may have disabled his 'filter' on Twitter. Again, it's just my own conjecture. Feel completely free to disagree.
Someone I don't know suggested to me that we should, as fans, raise our voices together and tell GACKT that his views are sexist and that he needs to be more open-minded.
My answer to that, in short, was "No." I actually wanted to say "HELL NO" but didn't. :p
He is a grown man who can think for himself. Why is that our job, or even our right, to tell him how to think and what to say? Besides, if he were the kind of person who'd, or at least appear to, change his views just because he wants to keep his fans happy, could you really respect him? I respect him for having his own views and sharing them with the world even when he knows it won't be very popular because he believes they'll help change Japan/the world for the better. He may be incorrect in that assumption, but at least he's doing what he thinks is right.
And if his views on women offended Japanese women as much as they offend a lot of Western/European women, I don't think GACKT will still be as popular as he is today in Japan. I'm sure there are a decent number of Japanese women who don't like his views on gender roles, but it seems to me like it's usually non-Japanese fans who are far more offended by them, even though, from what I can tell, he's usually specifically talking about Japanese men and women when it comes to these views, not men or women anywhere else. He may think the same for the rest of the world, too, but as far as I know, it was always about Japanese men and women.
And why aren't Japanese women more angry about his views? Because they have sexist views themselves, too. The entire country does. And many of them can see and appreciate what GACKT wants for them: strong men that they can rely on and that let them feel like women, safe and protected. That's why they're not angry. They understand what GACKT means/says in far more depth, not just because they directly understand his language, but because they share the same culture.
WOW. SO TL;DR............. D': /// I so sorreh.... orz///
So, that's basically it. What I think about him being sexist.
Like I said at the beginning, I don't agree with him or accept his sexist views, but I do understand them and I do accept HIM as he is.
And lastly, please just agree to disagree with each other. And please be more tolerant of opinions different from yours, no matter how stupid you think they are.
I honestly don't care when people don't agree with me. OK, I might sometimes go =3= for a few seconds, but that's about it. LOL
But what I'm really growing tired of is when people tell others that what they're feeling is 'wrong' or 'invalid' or that they need to stop complaining even though the complaints don't involve any insults or name-calling of anybody.
Let others express their feelings without wanting to prove them wrong. Be more understanding. Know that they are disappointed or even hurt deep down. Be more compassionate. Don't always try to put your own feelings above the others'.
After all, do you really think GACKT could care less about any of the bickering that goes on in his fandoms? That's what he hates the most anyway, and he probably just stays away from it altogether. I sometimes say something if I think GACKT is misunderstood because of some poor translations, misinformation, etc., but that's basically the only time I say "You're wrong about that", but most of the time, I accept, if not always agree with, the views of other fans as they are because they are how they feel at that moment, and to me, it's not about right or wrong.
I am properly tired now. Good night... ^^;;
EDIT: Although I provided some context to what sexism is like in Japan, please do NOT forget that it is prejudice and it is wrong to categorize people simply based on their genders. Like I said, I did NOT like growing up with other people expecting me to act like a 'good' girl, or having to pour beer or sake in half-empty glasses for drunk uncles and being told that I'm not a 'good enough girl' if I just lazied around and didn't help with food preparations or serving during family reunions, etc. while the guys just ate, laughed, and got more drunk while their women slaved in the kitchen. So, don't think that this type of stereotyping isn't harmful and can't hurt young girls and women, or even boys and young men for that matter. It hurt ME. The last thing I want is for this post to give an excuse to sexism.
Oh, and... GACKT's turning 39, not 37. HE'S.... OLD...... D: XD