After completing this week’s readings, the common denominators I discovered in most of them are feminism, the loss and reframing of identity, freedom, finding power within yourself, and addressing societal pressures/norms. In ‘Diary of the void’, Shibata struggles in the workplace, constantly suffering the weaponized incompetence of her male coworkers and their expectations of her to complete the « chores » of the office, even though that is not her job. Faking a pregnancy may seem like a morally incorrect, dramatic means of combatting these displays of sexism, but for Shibata, it symbolizes freedom from the expectations which were placed upon her. This act also made her visible to her coworkers, not as a cleaner, but as a human being, and even then, it’s irritating that a fake pregnancy is what it took for her coworkers to treat her accordingly. Although, this is not uncommon in the world we live in today. In « The Lonesome Bodybuilder », the main character is grappling with her husband’s indifference toward her, the negative view of herself due to putting herself down to build his confidence, and the fact that she feels disconnected from her identity. Tired of being made to feel isolated and like an afterthought, she decides to metaphorically and literally take up space by becoming a bodybuilder. I particularly enjoyed the satirical symbolism used by the author in this short story, as bodybuilding was a great way to symbolize the development of the main character’s reconnection with herself, as well as her growing confidence in deciding who she is and what she wants, to the point of being able to confront her husband and tell him how she feels about their marriage. This systemic indifference of husbands in traditional heterosexual marriages is another, unfortunate, common situation in our world, and I appreciated the way it was addressed in the story. « The Most Boring Red on Earth » was another favorite of mine, as the theme of deconstructing societal expectations was addressed beautifully. Periods are often seen as a taboo or vilified topic in society, and period blood is made out to be dirty or gross. With the title of the story alone, the author ironically deconstructs these views and frames period blood as « boring ». That is to say, « normal », and « part of nature », just like orange juice, rivers, fish, and birds. In « Breast and Eggs », what stood out to me most was the way Natsu struggled with her identity, particularly her asexuality, but came to find security after a news report covered the topic of single women using sperm donation to raise families on their own. This redefinition of intimacy and reproduction allowed Natsu to see that she had the freedom to exist as she is while building the life she wanted, giving her the chance to feel okay in her disconnection from compulsory heterosexuality. In « Naked », the main character is struggling with major life changes and a lost of the sense of self she had in her 20’s, coming across multiple characters along the way who play significant roles in contributing to the themes of societal pressures and expectations. For example, Asuka and Hyodo held the common idea in Japanese society (and multiple other societies around the world) that life is about work and tradition, which made Izumi feel worse about her situation. I found her interactions with Little Ken interesting, however, because of the fact that he was experiencing similar feelings as her regarding their identities and their place/success in society, and being with him allowed Izumi to be « naked » without shame, physically and emotionally, unlike the other characters made her feel. In the end, she reclaims some identity and direction in her life while still rejecting society’s expectations by making her crafts a personal project, which I enjoyed. The only story which confused me in terms of where its themes fit into the selected readings was « The Woman in the Purple Skirt », as I spent most of my time after reading thinking about how the story seems to be about a narrator who is severely stalking someone. I’m eager to find out how this story fits in this week and to understand its themes more deeply.
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