Kawaii. The love of all things cute has become the dominant image of Japanese girls and women. Real Japanese women are, however, more complex. Some celebrate their uterus, others experiment with fashion and cross-dressing or embrace their chubbiness, and many struggle with motherhood. Some may even return as vengeful ghosts.

This third collection of studies by young scholars from the University of Cambridge looks beyond the kawaii image and explores the diversity and complexity of being a Japanese woman in the new millennium. It explores gender issues in contemporary Japanese society by focusing on women’s lives and their identities in the twenty-first century.

Participants at the webinar will have a chance to win a free copy of the book.

The book is edited by Brigitte Steger, Angelika Koch and Christopher Tso with contributions by Anna Ellis-Rees, Ellen Mann, Alexander Russell and Tianyi Vespera Xie

About the contributors

Dr Brigitte Steger
Dr Brigitte Steger is a Senior Lecturer in Modern Japanese Studies at the University of Cambridge researching daily life and gender with topics ranging from sleep, cleanliness and tsunami shelter life to waste disposal and plastic carrier bag use. She is Secretary General of the Japan Anthropology Workshop (JAWS).

Dr Angelika Koch
Dr Angelika Koch (PhD Cambridge) is Assistant Professor in premodern Japanese history at the Institute for Area Studies, University of Leiden, studying sexuality and health discourses in premodern Japan.

Christopher Tso
Christopher Tso has recently finished his doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge exploring male grooming practices in Japanese white-collar culture. He currently teaches at their Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

Date: Wednesday 20 January 2021

UK Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm (GMT)
Japan Time: 9:00pm-10:00pm (GMT+9)
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