Item Details

English mystique? A critical discourse analysis on gendered bilingualism in Japan

Issue: Vol 10 No. 1 (2016)

Subject Areas: Gender Studies Linguistics

DOI: 10.1558/genl.v10i1.20692

Abstract:

Bilingualism in Japan is imagined and constructed in close relation to gender. While erotic Occidentalism - namely, Japanese women’s idolization, or akogare, toward English, the West, and Caucasian men - has often been focused on, this critical discourse analysis aims to shed light on the more complex dynamics entailed in this issue. An analysis of popular publications reveals, on the one hand, a shared plot in which both celebrity and non-celebrity Japanese women experience dramatic alteration through learning English. On the other hand, the magazines are multifaceted and filled with mixed, conflicting messages. Some Japanese women featured in the media expose disillusioning realities of the supposedly romantic English world – some mockingly and others inadvertently. By showing that the gendered bilingualism in Japan involves not only Occidentalist/sexist affects but also alternative and subversive voices, this analysis illuminates the multiple subject positions available to female English learners in Japan.

Author: Aya Kitamura

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