The Art of Seduction and Affect Economy: Neoliberal Class Struggle and Gender Politics in a Tokyo Host Club
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CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by KU ScholarWorks THE ART OF SEDUCTION AND AFFECT ECONOMY: NEOLIBERAL CLASS STRUGGLE AND GENDER POLITICS IN A TOKYO HOST CLUB BY AKIKO TAKEYAMA B.A., University of Oregon, 1999 M.A., University of Oregon, 2001 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Karen Kelsky, Chair Professor Nancy Abelmann Associate Professor Martin F Manalansan IV Associate Professor Alejandro Lugo Associate Professor Brenda Farnell ABSTRACT My dissertation investigates the underground world of Japan’s increasingly popular host club scene, where mostly young, working-class men “sell” romance, love, and sometimes sex to indulge their female clients’ fantasy, often for exorbitant sums of money. I explore this commercialization of feelings, emotions, and romantic relationships — what I call ‘affect economy’— in the context of Japan’s recent socioeconomic restructuring, a reaction to globalization that is reshaping the nation’s labor and commodity forms. Based on ethnographic fieldwork I conducted in Tokyo between 2003 and 2005, I argue that selfhood, lifestyles, and social relationships have become commodifiable at the intersection of Japan’s postindustrial consumer culture and neoliberal globalization. My dissertation aims to provide a fine-grained ethnographic portrait of how hosts and their clients mutually seduce one another to foster a commodified form of romance whereby both sides seek alternative lives and cultivate their desirable selves —potentially successful entrepreneurial men and sexually attractive women—while it simultaneously underscores gender subordination, social inequality, and the exploitative nature of the affect economy in Japan. I illuminate how mutual seduction between hosts and their clients intertwines with Japan’s neoliberal policymaking and governance that similarly capitalizes on and mobilizes individual hopes, dreams, and self-motivations to satisfy both their own and national interests. In turn, I theorize seduction as a form of power that entails suggestive speech and bodily acts to entice the other person(s) into acting for both the seducer’s and the seducee(s)’ ends. Seduction is, I argue, neither a mere sexual temptation nor a sinful deception, but a ubiquitous yet unstructured tactic that institutions and individuals alike employ to ii manipulate the other and shape power dynamics. The art of seduction is, thus, a form of social governance-at-a-distance and also a pivot of speculative accumulation of capital. iii For My Family iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation project would not have been possible without the support of many people, academic programs, and grant agents. My special thanks go to my adviser, Karen Kelsky, who strongly believes in students’ creativity and has allowed me to pursue my academic interests. Her tireless encouragement, practical advice, critical thinking, and professionalization tips are indispensable, and without her guidance over the last ten years, I couldn’t have come very far. I also thank my committee members, Nancy Abelmann, Martin Manalansan, Alejandro Lugo, and Brenda Farnell. Nancy kindly invited me to her “Nancy’s advisee meetings” and established a friendly environment where personal and intellectual bonding was nurtured. Her keen ethnographic eyes also helped me substantiate my vague ideas. Martin guided my project to the study of affect in relation to gender, sexuality, and the global economy, and also kept challenging me to think more critically. Both Nancy and Martin’s responsive consideration were invaluable to the success of my project. Alejandro and Brenda helped expand my scope further to gender matters in masculinity studies and body movements as meaning making processes. I also want to extend my appreciation to the host club owners, who allowed me to conduct my fieldwork, as well as the hosts and female clients who willingly talked to me and/or invited me to observe their activities outside the clubs. In Japan, Prof. Ueno Chizuko generously agreed to serve as a supervisor and accepted me as a special research fellow at the School of Humanities and Sociologies, University of Tokyo, between 2004 and 2005. I was very lucky to attend her seminars, including the two-night, three-day v “Ueno seminar trip.” Her witty comments and questions, which unceasingly ask, “So what?,” pushed me to better equip myself with empirical data and a sound theoretical framework. Many programs at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have been generous in their support of my doctoral research and writing. I received a George L. Beslow Graduate Fellowship for dissertation writing, a Graduate Student Summer Research Assistance Award, and numerous conference travel grants and teaching fellowships through the Department of Anthropology. The UIUC’s Graduate School, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, Unit of Criticism and Interpretive Theory, and Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures also provided financial support that enabled me to teach, present my research papers at academic conferences, and complete my dissertation in a timely manner. For research support, I am grateful to many organizations. My preliminary research in 2002 was supported by the Freeman Student Fellowship for Personalized Learning in Asia. A National Science Foundation Ethnographic Research Graining Grant helped me acquire first-hand research training. The Japan Foundation Doctoral Fellowship enabled my twelve-month ethnographic study in Tokyo, Japan, between 2004 and 2005. A Bestor Prize for Best Graduate Paper in the Society for East Asian Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association contributed funds and encouragement to my thesis project. A Dissertation Workshop Fellowship on Market and Modernities in Asia in the Asian Institute at the University of Toronto also provided me with an opportunity to interact with other dissertation writers and develop intellectual networking. vi Finally, thanks to Nancy’s advisees, numerous friends, and my family, who endured this long process with me always offering support, humor, and love. They taught me the importance of belief, courage, and hope. In particular, my best friend, rival, and brother, Masato, has demonstrated that miracles can happen when you don’t give up and work hard. My parents, as well as grandmother, none of whom have a post-secondary educational background, have taught me wisdom in life and continue to believe in and support me. Last but not least, my partner and husband, Will, has been always there for me to assist in numerous ways. He constantly provided his proofreading, editing, and journalistic insights into my project. His laid-back attitude, forgiving personality, and sense of humor made my graduate life so much easier and helped me maintain my physical and mental health. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................1 Literature Review ................................................................................................9 Of Japan’s Host Club.........................................................................................29 Sites, Methodology, and Self-Reflection ............................................................36 Organization of Dissertation ..............................................................................42 CHAPTER 2: THE TRIUMPH OF ROMANCE: AFFECTIVE SELF AND THE ART OF SEDUCTION ..........................................................................................................46 “Genuine” Self: Cute Culture in the 1970s.........................................................55 Fragmented Self: Sign Economy in the 1980s ....................................................62 “Natural” Selfness: Neoliberal Economy in the 1990s........................................69 Affective Self in the New Millennium................................................................79 Chapter Conclusion............................................................................................90 CHAPTER 3: COMMODIFIED ROMANCE IN A TOKYO HOST CLUB..................93 Kabuki-chō in the Sign of Differences ...............................................................98 Walking Alone in the Red Light District..........................................................103 Affective Labor and Intimacy in Club Fantasy.................................................107 Intensified Intimacy in the After Hour Activity................................................118 Various “Falling For” Hosts.............................................................................124 Chapter Conclusion..........................................................................................129 CHAPTER 4: NEOLIBERAL CLASS STRUGGLE: SELF-NARRATED ENTREPRENEUR HOSTS VIA COMMODIFYING THE SELF...............................133 The Opportunity Myth .....................................................................................137 Topography of Self-Motivation........................................................................144 Self-Narrated Entrepreneurs.............................................................................150 Speculative Accumulation of Capital ...............................................................158