The Kawaii Survival Strategy for Middle-aged Men: Men’s Aging from the Perspective of Feminist Gerontology
Bibliographic Information
- Other Title
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- おじさんの「かわいい」生存戦略 -老いに関するフェミニスト老年学的視座からの一考察
- オジサン ノ 「 カワイイ 」 セイゾン センリャク : オイ ニ カンスル フェミニスト ロウネンガクテキシザ カラ ノ イチ コウサツ
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Abstract
This paper discusses aged mens’ employment of kawaii discourse from the perspective of feminist gerontology. First, the function of kawaii discourse is examined in the context of the Japanese society, based on previous research. Throughout the analysis, this paper points out that the effects of kawaii discourse place the “kawaii person” in a subordinate position within society, reinforcing the power relationship between dominant/powerful and submissive/powerless. This dominant/ powerful-submissive/powerless relationship does not exclude other binary relations, notably the relationship between young and old. While previous studies analyzed gender relationships by positioning women on the kawaii side, my study focuses on the process of men employing kawaii practices. By examining representations of the Ojisan (middle-aged man) in magazines and on the Internet, this paper clarifies how men become marginalized from the male homosocial relationship of the dominant class as they age. Moreover, this paper examines how the function of kawaii discourse toward aged men redefines their age in a positive manner, while denying aging itself. Through this examination, this paper concludes that men can overcome the negative aspects of ageing by interjecting kawaii discourse.
Journal
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- ジェンダー&セクシュアリティ
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ジェンダー&セクシュアリティ (13), 61-84, 2018-03-31
国際基督教大学
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Details 詳細情報について
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- CRID
- 1390853651203307648
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- NII Article ID
- 120006783359
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- NII Book ID
- AA12163540
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- NDL BIB ID
- 032078992
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- ISSN
- 18804764
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- Text Lang
- ja
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- Data Source
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- JaLC
- IRDB
- NDL
- CiNii Articles
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- Abstract License Flag
- Allowed