How to approach gender and
sexuality in Asia
Emiko Ochiai
(Kyoto University)
The aim of presentation
• Everybody says that gender and sexuality in Asia
are changing. But how?
• Are the changes in Asia the same as the changes
in Europe and North America? Are the changes
just delayed in comparison to these places? Or,
do the changes have salient differences?
• The aim of my presentation is to contribute to the
construction of a theoretical framework that will
do justice to Asian realities.
Global COE at Kyoto University
• Global COE (Center of Excellence) at Kyoto
University on “Reconstruction of the Intimate
and the Public Spheres in 21st Century Asia.”
• The “Asian Families and Intimacy” project
• Comparative Asian Family Survey (CAFS)
• Thanks to Minh’s contribution to both!
Mutual understanding within Asia
Development of research collaboration
International Joint
Research Projects
Comparative Asian Family Survey
Sharing quantitative data sets
Asian Families and Intimacy
Sharing literature
International Collaboration
Asian Families and Intimacy
A Book Series on Asian Intellectual Heritage
from 9 Societies
• To select, and translate into English, the most
important and influential works that have
been produced in each of these societies.
• This collection will benefit Asian scholars in
understanding each other and contribute to
constructing a shared intellectual basis for
future research collaboration.
Asian Families and Intimacy
0) The State of Art
1) Family Ideology (Ed. Thanes Wongyannava)
2) Patriarchy and Patrilineality (Ed. Eun Kisoo)
3) Sexuality (Ed. Patricia Uberoi)
4) Marriage and Family Life (Ed. Nguyen Huu
Minh)
• 5) Care Regimes (Ed. Ochiai Emiko)
• 6) Gender (Ed. Carolyn Sobritchea)
• The societies covered are Vietnam, Thailand, The
Philippines, Indonesia, India, China, Taiwan,
Korea, Japan.
•
•
•
•
•
Comparative Asian Family Survey
(CAFS)
• To capture the dynamics of Asian families from a
comparative perspective, the CAFS project was
launched in 2010.
• Based on the 2006 East Asian Social Survey (EASS)
family module, five surveys in Thailand, Vietnam,
Qatar, Malaysia and India have been completed.
• Focusing on changing family dynamics, especially
on family values, intergenerational transaction,
changing marriage forms and gender division of
labor in the Asian context.
DIVERSITY IN ASIAN TRADITION
A life story of an old Japanese woman
Kamekiku at age 101
Southwestern Japan
Kyushu
East China
Sea
Ｖ
• Married twice
(1.arranged, 2.met in
construction work)
• Birth of a child out of
wedlock
• Mother-in-law’s child
before marriage
• Husband’s affairs
• Single women having
relationship with
married men
Emiko Ochiai, “Love and Life in
Southwestern Japan,” Journal
of Comparative Family Studies,
42-3)
Premarital sex, births out of wedlock, divorce
and remarriage in traditional Japan
• Yobanashi (Yobai) = night talk or night calling
• Village youths spending the night together in an
independent house, separated from parents.
• Lodges (yado) were divided by gender, but males
and females visited each other.
• No value on female virginity, and premarital sex
was regarded as natural. Births out of wedlock.
• The value of virginity was introduced from the
West by feminists in the process of modernization.
• Divorce was as common as US today and
remarriage was also common and fast.
Homosexuality among samurai in Japan
• UJIE Mikito: The Samurai Spirit and Eros, 1995.
• Homosexuality was common among the warrior class
in the Civil War period (15-16 centuries)and early
Tokugawa period (17-18 centuries). The solidarity
resulting from homosocial relations had been effective
in battles.
• The ambassadors from Korea during this period were
critical of this ‘deviant’ custom, but Hayashi Razan, a
famous Japanese Confucian scholar who entertained
the Korean guests, told them, ‘You simply don’t know
the pleasure yet.’ =Shallow Confucian influence.
• The habit remained even after the Meiji Restoration at
least until the Japanese-Russo War (1904).
“Going up to sleep with her” in Thailand
• For ordinary Thais in past times the concept of courtship
was summed up in the tradition of ‘Khuen Ha’ (‘going up to
see someone’), expressed in the folk saying, ‘Ravish her,
sleep with her, elope, beg forgiveness.’
• Various genres of folk songs in Thailand celebrate the
theme of elopement, which was socially generally accepted.
• A famous Thai folk story of ancient origin, the Khun Chang
KhunPhaen, set in the Ayutthaya period and referring to a
love affair between a monk and a noblewoman, explicitly
celebrates the custom of ‘going up to sleep with her’.
• An indication of the change in values is the true story of the
royal princess Yingyaowalak Akkharatchasuda (b. 1851),
who held the status of elder sister to King Rama V. After the
princess had an affair with a monk and had a baby by him,
the couple were severely punished by royal decree.
“Chastity gate” in China and Korea and the
prohibition of widows’ remarriage in India
• Remarriage of a widow was considered to be
disgraceful in China and Korea. The government
honored widows who did not remarry and
continued to support parents-in-law by building a
special gate in front of their houses.
• Remarriage of widows was prohibited in India.
There was no social space for widows and, in
extreme cases, they were burnt in the fire of the
husband’s funeral.
Two types of tradition regarding
gender and sexuality
East Asia
Mediterranean,
Middle East and India
Patrilineality
Virginity as honor of the family
Remarriage and divorce
Gender division of labor
Vietnam
Patrilineality
Virginity
Restriction of remarriage
Gender division of labor
Japan
What is Modernity for Asian gender
and sexuality?
• For the societies with relaxed rules on gender and
sexuality, modernity meant an introduction of
Victorian norms on sexuality and rigid gender
division of labor. Also, standardization.
• For the societies with strict rules, modernity
loosened the rules in some cases, but even
strengthened the rules to the extreme in other
cases.
• Traditionalization of modernity in Asia through
self-orientalism
ex. good wife/wise mother
LOGICS OF ASIAN MODERNITY
Theoretical framework: Reconstruction
Figure 1: Reconstruction of Intimate and Public Spheres
of the intimate and the public
First Modernity
Civil Society
State
Second Modernity
Public
Sphere
Civil Society
State
Intimate
Sphere
Family
Individual
Individual
Modernity and demographic transition
Figure 2 Fertility and Modernity
First Modernity
Second Modernity
1st Fertility Decline
2nd Fertility Decline
Modernity
Gender
Figure
3 Genderand
and Modernity
First Modernity
Housewifization
Second Modernity
De-housewifization
8
Demographic changes in Asia
• The first transition: Occurred
• The second transition
• (1) Fertility decline to the level less than the
replacement level: Occurred
• (2) Increase in divorce rate: Occurred
• (3) Increase in cohabitation: Slow
• (4) Increase in births out of wedlock: Didn’t
occur
Fertility Decline in Europe and Asia
7
6
Sweden
5
Japan
England and Wales
4
Italy
Germany
3
China
Singapore
2
Korea
Thailand
1
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
0
The First and Second Modernity
Figure
2 Fertility
and Modernity
Compressed
Modernity
in Asia
First Modernity
Japan
1st Fertility Decline
Second Modernity
Other Asian
Societies
Europe
2nd Fertility Decline
Compressed modernity
• The period between the two declines can be
considered as the prime time of the modern
family. It lasted half a century in Europe, 20
years in Japan, and was non existent in other
Asian societies.
• Asian societies other than Japan have no time
of stability and two changes in succession.
• “Compressed modernity” by Chang Kyung-sup
Demographic Changes in East Asia
• Lowest-low and Ultra-low Fertility
0.0
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Norway
France
Ireland
New Zealand
US
The…
Canada
Macao
Hong Kong
Korea
Ukraine
Slovakia
Poland
Russia
Singapore
Italy
Romania
Germany
Japan
Czech
Hungary
Spain
Lowest low fertility in East Asia
• 1.03 （Taiwan 2009）, 1.06（Hong Kong 2008）, 1.19
（Korea 2008）, 1.28（Singapore 2008), 1.37（Japan
3.0
2008）
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
28
Trends in TFR in 5 East Asian Societies
Demographic Changes in East Asia
• Lowest-low and Ultra-low Fertility
• Divorce, Late Marriage, Celibacy
Trends in Crude Divorce Rates in Five
East Asian Societies
Area
Uruguay
Belgium
Spain
Hungary
Cuba
Austria
Czech
Russia
France
Germany
Switzerland
USA
UK
Taiwan
The Netherlands
Sweden
Hong Kong
S. Korea
Japan
Macao
Singapore
Poland
China
Italy
Iran
Mongol
Vietnam
East Asian societies
Year
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2005)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
(2007)
CMR
3.84
4.29
4.49
4.06
5.05
4.33
5.53
8.90
4.33
4.48
5.34
7.50
5.14
5.8
4.42
5.24
7.10
5.70
3.90
5.22
6.50
7.50
4.21
11.80
15.70
5.70
CDR
4.33
2.83
2.80
2.50
3.08
2.47
3.01
4.83
2.22
2.27
2.63
3.60
2.37
2.6
1.95
2.26
2.57
2.02
1.30
1.48
1.75
1.58
0.84
1.40
0.67
0.20
div/mar
1.13
0.66
0.62
0.62
0.61
0.57
0.54
0.54
0.51
0.51
0.49
0.48
0.46
0.45
0.44
0.43
*0.39
0.36
0.35
0.33
0.28
0.27
0.21
0.20
0.12
0.04
0.04
The Ratio of
Divorce and
Marriage
Uruguay
Belgium
Spain
Hungary
Cuba
Austria
Czech
Russia
France
Germany
Switzerland
USA
UK
Taiwan
The Netherlands
Sweden
Hong Kong
S. Korea
Japan
Macao
Singapore
Poland
China
Italy
Iran
Mongol
Vietnam
The Ratio of Divorce and Marriage
div/mar
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Ages at 1st Marriage in 5 East Asian Societies
Proportions Never Married in Japan
Proportions never married
among women in the age group 35-39
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Demographic and Family Changes in
East Asia
• Lowest-low and Ultra-low Fertility
• Divorce, Late Marriage, Celibacy
• Cohabitation and Births Out of Wedlock
Proportions ever experienced
cohabitation
Japan 2009
Age
male
female
Korea 2009
male
Singapore 2009
female
male
female
20-29
19.4%
19.5%
10.1%
2.0%
12.7%
9.3%
30-39
33.0%
25.8%
11.1%
1.8%
12.6%
9.2%
40-49
20.8%
12.5%
3.4%
0.6%
8.9%
7.0%
USA 2005
Age
male
female
France 2005
male
female
Sweden 2005
male
female
20-29
48.1%
51.2%
39.1%
53.0%
54.8%
69.0%
30-39
62.0%
61.7%
61.0%
66.1%
80.8%
87.2%
40-49
66.1%
60.5%
51.4%
45.9%
80.8%
77.5%
Demographic Changes in East Asia
• Lowest-low and Ultra-low Fertility
• Divorce, Late Marriage, Celibacy
• Cohabitation and Births Out of Wedlock
• There is still a very strong wall between
marriage and other intimate relationships in
East Asia. The institution of marriage still solid.
⇒ Why?
Why is the institution of marriage
in East Asia still solid?
(1) Confucianism?
(2)Familialism and risk-aversive Individualization in
compressed modernity
• Due to the lack of enough time to construct
welfare states, the family is still the major social
organization for individuals to rely on in crisis.
However, because of that, people would like to
escape from family responsibility.
(3)Socialist Modernity in Transition
• Retraditionalization of family and gender in post
or transitional socialist societies?
Marriage Migration of Women in East Asia
Gender in East and Southeast Asia
• Three types of female life course
Type 1: a high employment rate maintained
(China, Thailand)
Type 2: a decline from the 30s (Singapore,
Taiwan)
Type 3: M-shape pattern (Korea, Japan)
• The gap between reality and attitude
Female Labor Force Participation Rates by Age
Women's attitudes towards “Men should work
outside, and women should take care of the home”
Thailand 2005-6
The Philippines 2002
China 1995-2005
Agree
Japan 2002
Tend to agree
Korea 2002
Tend to disagree
USA 2002
Disagree
Germany 2002
Don't know
UK 2002
Sweden 2002
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Family and Gender Changes
in East Asia
• Moderate changes regarding marriage, in
contrast to extreme fertility decline, which
suggests that the institution of marriage has
not weakened so much.
• Complex and confusing trends in gender role
changes; housewifization and dehousewifization are happening
simultaneously.
The results of compressed modernity
• Gender: co-existence of the trends of
housewifization and de-housewifization
（Ochiai and Molony 2008)
• Demography: Dependence and escape
from the family because of the heavy
responsibility the family has to shoulder in
the familialistic welfare regimes due to the
lack of time to construct welfare states.
Policy Decisions
• Varieties of Familialism
• Familialist Reform in Japan
• Liberal Familialism in Other East Asian
Societies
In China, the pattern has been created
during the socialist regime. 中国
*The rates for 1950-1980 are estimates by ILO.
100
90
80
70
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
15－19 20－24 25－29 30－34 35－39 40－44 45－49 50－54 55－59 60－64 65+
49
In Thailand, 泰国
the pattern is traditional.
100
90
80
70
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
65+
50
In Singapore, the pattern was created by the
governmental policy to utilize female labor.
新嘉坡
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
1970
1980
1991
2003
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
51
In Taiwan, the level is rising.台湾
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
1989
2000
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
52
In Korea, the level is rising but the pattern
remains the same. 韓国
100%
90%
80%
70%
1963
1973
1983
1993
2003
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
53
In Japan, the level is rising but the pattern
remains the same. 日本
100%
90%
80%
70%
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
54
Freqency of the statements on “family” and “home”
by prime ministers in post-war Japan
家族と性別に関する総理大臣の国会発言頻度
Figure 9 Trends is Proportion over 65
in Selected Countries