Beyond the

Surface:
Sexualization of
the concept of
Japanese Body in
Cultural Context
MA Seminar
Laura Żary
Main research problem Other research problem
What effect does sexualizing Japanese
people have on themselves?
What are the social and cultural factors
that influence the sexualization of the
Japanese body in the context of popular
culture such as films, television, music and
fashion?
What are the main beliefs and religions in Japan
related to the concept of the female and male body?
How do these beliefs influence the sexualization of
the Japanese body?
What are the social and cultural factors that
influence the sexualization of the Japanese body in
popular culture, such as films, television, music, and
fashion?
What are the experiences and perspectives of
Japanese individuals and those who have lived in
Japan for a period of time regarding the sexualization
of the Japanese body? How does it affect their
identity, self-esteem, and social relationships?
 An examination of the influence of
media, popular culture and other
factors on the formation of the
image and sexualization of the
Japanese body.

The aim of the Understanding and analyzing the

processes of sexualization of the

research
Japanese body in cultural, social
and political contexts.

Identifying the main social,

cultural and historical factors that
influence the sexualization of the
Japanese body.
 Subject of study
Young Japanese and people who have lived in Japan for some
time. Many of them are students who visited Poland and/or
Japan during their studies, which made it possible to
conduct the interviews.
 Review of the literature
Ruth Benedict The
Chrysanthemum and the
Sword: Patterns of Japanese
Research method Culture;
Sabine Frühstück Gender
and research and Sexuality in Modern
Japan
techniques Quantitative interviews
David Silverman Doing
Qualitative Research: A
Practical Handbook
Basic research
concepts
Sexualisation - Sexualization occurs when [1.] a person’s value comes only from his or her
sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics; [2.] a person is held to a
standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) with being sexy; [3.] a person
is sexually objectified – that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a
person with the capacity for independent action and decision making; [4] and/or sexuality is
inappropriately imposed upon a person. (2007: 2) (The American Psychological Association
Task Force report)

Orientalism - Said identified Orientalism as more than a European academic interest in the
Asia‐Arab world. Orientalism was an apparatus of representation through which Europe saw
the East and posited this East as the radical racial‐cultural Other—Said argued that fiction and
fantasies, travelogues, and scientific reports all generated a desire for the Orient. This desire
was at one level genuinely epistemological, but it was knowledge for the political purpose of
domination over the object of inquiry.
Globalisation - Globalization is the word used to describe the growing interdependence of the
world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods
and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information. Countries have
built economic partnerships to facilitate these movements over many centuries. But the term
gained popularity after the Cold War in the early 1990s, as these cooperative arrangements
shaped modern everyday life (Peterson Institute for Iternational Economics)
Religion and tradition - The Japanese religious tradition is made up of several major
components, including Shinto, Japan’s earliest religion, Buddhism, and Confucianism.
Christianity has been only a minor movement in Japan. However, the so-called “new religions”
that arose in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are a prominent feature of Japanese
religious life today. It is worth noting that, while Japanese government leaders used Shinto to
legitimate Japan’s War in the Pacific from 1937 to 1945, throughout most of its history, Shinto
was a religion linked to nature, agriculture and local communities (Stanford Program on
International and Cross-Cultural Education)
Questions
1. How do you perceive the representation of the Japanese body in popular media and
culture?
2. Can you share any personal experiences related to the sexualization of the Japanese
body in your daily life or interactions?
3. How has the sexualization of the body, as portrayed in media and culture, affected your
self-esteem and body image?
4. In your opinion, how do cultural and religious beliefs in Japan influence the way people
view and treat their bodies?
5. Have you noticed any changes in the way the Japanese body is represented and
sexualized in recent years?
Bibliography
Ruth Benedict The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture;
Sabine Frühstück Gender and Sexuality in Modern Japan;
Sabine Frühstück Colonizing Sex: Sexology and Social Control in Modern Japan;
Agnieszka Kozyra “CIELESNOŚĆ W TRADYCJI SHINGON, JAPOŃSKIEJ SZKOŁY BUDDYZMU
EZOTERYCZNEGO”
Levine P. (2000). Orientalist sociology and the creation of colonial sexualities. Feminist Review
5–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/014177800406912
Leszek Sosnowski “Natura–Cialo–Kultura. Uwagi na temat Japonii”
“Philosophy and Aesthetics of Sexuality in Japan”, 55 (4/2019)