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Beyond Invisible Motherhood: How Women Make Decisions

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Beyond Invisible Motherhood: How Women Make Decisions UN/ BEYOND IIrI\IISIBLE MOTHERHOOD: HOW WOMEN MAKE DECISIONS NOT TO TIAVE CHILDREN WITHIN THE PREVAILING UNDERSTA\IDINGS OF CHILDLESSNESS IN JAPA\T Yuko NAKAMURA A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts Gender Studies School of Social Sciences UniversitY ofAdelaide January 2OO7 Table of Contents Table of Contents tr List of Illustrations VI Abstract UI Declaration vt[ Acknowledgments x Introduction Not childless but childfree 1 Chapter 1 Historical and political context of motherhood in Japan t2 1.1 Japanese laws governing reproduction 13 1.1.1 The pre-World War II L.I.z After World War II I.2 Movements against the Iegislation 19 I.z.L Pre-World War II 1.2.2 After World War II 1.3 Construction of the myth of three years old 25 1.3.1 Popularization of the myth of three years old 1.4 The contemporary conservative discourse on motherhood 29 1.4.L The importance of motherhood 1.4.2 Motherhood and maternal love is a universal instinct L.4.3 Feminist misunderstanding of motherhood I.4.4 The reinstatement and protection of motherhood. II Chapter 2 Japanese Feminist understanding of motherhood and childftee women 39 2.L "Maternalprotection debate" (fSf0 - 1919) 39 2.LJ Hiratsuka's argument 2.1.2 Yosano's argument 2.L.3 Yamakawa's argument 2.2 Ribu: second wave feminism in 1970s 50 2.2.7 A mother or a toilet 2.2.2 Infanticide and maternal love 2.2.3 Message from a daughter to a mother 2.3 "Ecological feminism debate" in 1985 59 2.3.L Ecological feminism 2.3.2 Can women save the world? 2.4 Feminist analysis of childfree women in 1992 62 2.4.I Is motherhood women's medal? 2.4.2 Lessons Ohinata draws from childfree women's experiences Chapter 3 Method: how the study \ilas conducted 67 3.1 Selecting narratives and interviewees 68 3.1.1 Selecting the narratives 3.1.2 Selecting the interviewees 3.2 Conducting the interviews 70 3.2.1 Semi-structured in'depth interview 3.2.2 How I started the interviews 3.3 Analysing the narratives and interviews 73 3.3.1 Content analysis for the narratives 3.3.2 Listening to silences: writing women's stories Chapter 4 Childfree women and men in the narratives 76 4.1 Women's reasons for being childfree 77 4.Il Parenting is difficult lll 4.I.2 Children limit one's lifestyle 4.L.3 Childbirth and childrearing is not a valuable experience in life 4.L.4 The value of the man-woman relationship 4.I.5 No desire to have own children 4.1.6 Rejection of motherhood 4.L.7 No choice 4.2 Women's certainty about making the decision to be childfree 95 4.2.I Women who were uncertain 4.2.2 Women who were confident 4.2.3 Women who were less confident 4.3 Discussion concerning children between couple 98 4.3.L Not much discussion and no agreement 4.3.2 Never discussed but agreed 4.3.3 Discussion with agreement or disagreement 4.4 Experiences of being childfree 104 4.4.I Old age 4.4.2 Critique for being childfree 4.5 Japanese childfree men's accounts 106 4.51 Parenting is difñcult 4.5.2 Desire to keep freedom 4.5.g Having/not having children is women's decision or condition 4.6.4 Do not want to repeat parent'child relationship 4.6 Certainty and discussion with wife/partner 116 4.6.1 Certainty 4.6.2 Discussion with wife/partner 4.7 Men's experiences of being childfree r20 4.7.1 Old age 4.7.2 Critique for being childfree Chapter 5 Voices and. silences from childfree women in the interviews 124 5.1 Independence, equality and partnership: short biographies t25 5.1.1 Rieko 6.L.2 Akemi 5.1.3 Yumi lV 5.I.4 Ritsuko 5.1.5 Neko Oikawa 5.1.6 Yoshimi 5.L.7 Haruko 5.1.8 Kaori 5.1.9 Kayoko 5.1.10 Ayako 5.1.11 Akira 5.2 Reasons for not having children 164 5.2.L Parenting is diffrcult: prioritized work 5.2.2 The social diffi,culties of childrearing 5.2.3 No desire to have own children 5.2.4 Negative influence of the mother 5.2.6 Cannot be a "good enough" mother 5.2.6 Fear or disgust of pregnancy and childbirth 5.2.7 Those with "no choice" to have children 5.3 Awareness of gender relations 180 5.3.1 Rejection of gender inequality 5.4 Individualism rather than being a wife/mother 191 5.4.I Human being rather than gendered being 5.4.2 Creating identity through career 5.4.3 Alternative womanhood other than motherhood 5.5 Mutual agreement 198 5.5.1 Resolving the ambivalence concerning childfree decision Chapter 6 Conclusion: the challenge of childfree women to motherhood in Japan 2O4 Appendix 1 2tr Appendix 2 2r3 Appendix 3 2t6 References 2t8 v List of Illustrations Figures 1 Average number of children according to couple's marriage period 4 2 The number of children desired by married couples, single men and single women 5 3 Number of abortion and abortions per 1,000 tilomen 13 4 Birth number and total fertility rate 18 Tables 1 Married and unmarried women's contraception in 2000 T4 2 Wife's unemployment rate according to the youngest child's age and family structure 26 3 Women's reasons and certainty concerning their childfree decision 78 4 Discussion between couple about childfree decision 99 5 Women's reasons for being childfree: interviews and narratives compared 155 6 Gender gap in domestic duties: who does different domestic duties in Japan 181 7 International comparison of responsibilities for household tasks r82 8 International comparison of time spent in childcare 183 v1 Abstract Although motherhood is believed to be an essential role for Japanese women, a growing minority of women are choosing to be childfoee. This thesis explores why Japanese women choose not to have children, given the strong pronatalist discourse on motherhood. Childfree women's voices are rarely heard in society and the subject is also absent from Japanese feminism. A qualitative-interpretive study of existing narratives was undertaken to record the reasons, experiences and meaning of being childfree in Japanese society from women's perspectives. Women in narratives identified the difficulty of combining work and family as the main reason they were childfree. A semi'structured interview method was also employed to collect and analyze t}lLe stories of ten women and one man who have chosen not to have children. Some of the themes which emerged from the interviews were unexpected. One major reason women choose not to have children is that they reject gender inequality. They described that, once a woman has a child, gender/sex role assignment comes into her relationship with her husband"/partner: the husband/father becomes a breadwinner and the wife/mother is responsible for domestic work including childrearing. Furthermore, women, reflecting on their own mothers' experiences, felt that mothers are expected to take care of not only children but also in-laws and relatives. The other major reason for women choosing to be childfree is that they value their individual fulfillment above the social role of wife/mother. For example, women stated that they would like to be human beings or they stressed their identity in terms of their careers, and discussed how they were creating their own subjectivity through a profession. The women's stories also indicated that there is insufficient social support for childrearing, despite feminists demanding it. The childfoee women in this study resolve the problem by not having children. Thus they seek to keep an equal relationship with their husbands/partners. Furthermore, these women are challenging the stereotype of Japanese femininity to create their own identity beyond motherhood. vrl Declaration This work contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or d.iploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to this copy of my thesis, when deposited in the University Library, being available for loan and photocopying. Signed: Date: 2L J*r¿.2æ7 v111 Acknowledgements Firstly, I wish to express my gratitude to my interviewees: Akemi, Ayako, Haruko, Kaori, Kayoko, Neko oikawa, Rieko, Ritsuko, Yoshimi, Yumi and Akira. This thesis is made up from those interviewees' rich stories. Without their cooperation, it would have been impossible for me to write about childfree \ñ/omen. Thank you very much to my supervisors Chilla Bulbeck and Margie Ripper. They have been supporting and encouraging me since I came to Adelaide, and I could never have completed this project without them. Kate Cadman also has been very supportive. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge Thalia, Margaret, Lareen, Jane, Celia, Patricia, Christina, Seki-san, Akaishi-san, Yuji-kun and Stuart for their assistance. Thank you to ChiIIa, Margie, Kate, Caroline, Rosemary, stuart, Jo,Roz, Jessi, Anne, clair, Edith, Toni, Patricia, Josh, Mitchell and. Asha who kindly edited the thesis and made grammatical corrections in various drafts. I wish to express my gratitud.e to my friends: Mayu-chan, Taku, Mami-chan, Junji, Young, Hisashi'san, KarI, Raphael, Arahata-san, Masayo-san, Harumi-chan, Doreen, Jen, Yasu-san, Dan, Brian, Dawn and Ben.
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