Item Details

Contesting and advocating gender ideologies: an analysis of sararīman (salaried men) characters’ hegemonic masculinities in a Japanese TV drama

Issue: Vol 14 No. 3 (2020) Special Issue: Language, gender, and sexuality in Japanese popular media

Journal: Gender and Language

Subject Areas: Gender Studies Linguistics

DOI: 10.1558/genl.39956

Abstract:

Previous scholars have identified sararīman (salaried men), who prioritise work over family, as the ideal of hegemonic masculinity in Japan. This study focuses on sararīman characters’ language use in the workplace as depicted in the 2015 Japanese TV drama Age Harassment. Employing the concepts of stance and hegemonic masculinities, the study demonstrates that, in this mediatised representation, the sararīman characters draw on diverse gender ideologies to display masculine identities. Using online commentary, the study also explores audience members’ responses to the drama’s depiction of masculinities. The study’s analysis of these two types of data suggests that despite increasing social acceptance of more diverse masculinities, the stereotypical sararīman remains to some extent the hegemonic ideal in contemporary Japan.

Author: Junko Saito

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