By Amy Lyn Oakes, B.A
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IDOLS AND OTOKOYAKU: THE INFLUENCES OF GENDER AND POLITICS ON FANS OF JAPANESE PERFORMING ARTS by Amy Lyn Oakes, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a Major in International Studies August 2020 Committee Members: Audwin Anderson, Chair Lijun Yuan Peter Siegenthaler COPYRIGHT by Amy Lyn Oakes 2020 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Amy Lyn Oakes, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. DEDICATION To Mom and Dad, who have been a constant source of love and support (even if they don’t always understand what my research is about). Absolutely none of this would’ve happened without everything you have done and sacrificed for me. I love you both so much. To my friends, Chelsea, Claire, and Kevin who have been my cheerleading squad, my therapists, and my distractions when I needed a break. I’m truly so very lucky to have friends as amazing and wonderful as you. And to my cat, Lucifer, who can’t read this dedication, but works very hard at being a good boy and a skilled cuddle buddy. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to my thesis committee (Dr. Audwin Anderson, Dr. Lijun Yuan, and Dr. Peter Siegenthaler) for their flexibility, guidance, and support throughout the writing and research process. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Anderson for his counsel and for always being available whenever I needed to talk. I would like to thank Dr. Siegenthaler for being the original catalyst for this research. Without the motivation he sparked back in undergrad, this thesis likely would not have evolved into what it is now. And I would like to thank Dr. Yuan for her enthusiasm throughout this entire process and for taking a chance on me despite not knowing me before this thesis. I would also like to thank those in the Center for International Studies and Graduate College, particularly Dr. Sandhya Rao who inspired me to pursue my research interests and who helped me break through the barriers of imposter syndrome. Without her encouragement, I do not think I would’ve challenged myself to pursue some of the goals I previously thought out of reach. I would likewise like to thank Jeremy Peña who has helped me every of the step of the way, even before I applied to the Master’s program. Finally, I would like to thank my friends who cheered me on, my supervisor, Manda Anderson, who helped me juggle work and school, and my parents who have always loved and supported me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................................................ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... x ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................................xi CHAPTER I. PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ..............................................1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................6 Symbolic Interaction Theory .....................................................................................7 Cultural Theory and Popular Culture ......................................................................8 Feminist Theory .......................................................................................................9 Cultivation Theory ................................................................................................ 12 Soft Power Theory ................................................................................................. 12 II. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HISTORIOGRAPHY......................................... 15 POLITICS OF GENDER: A HISTORY OF GENDER AND POLITICS IN JAPAN .................................................................................................. 15 ADORABLE, KIND, BEAUTIFUL: AKB48 AND THE JAPANESEMUSIC INDUSTRY ......................................................... 18 PURITY, HONESTY, BEAUTY: THE TAKARAZUKA REVUE AND JAPANESE THEATRE ........................................................................ 22 THE STARS ALIGN: A COMPARISON OF AKB48 AND THE TAKARAZUKA REVUE ...................................................................... 28 COOL JAPAN: JAPAN’S REVITALIZATION OF SOFT POWER ........ 34 III. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 39 THEORY AND REFERENCE LITERATURE ............................................. 41 SURVEY DESIGN ................................................................................................ 43 vi RECRUITMENT ................................................................................................... 45 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS ....................................................... 48 IV. FINDINGS .................................................................................................................... 51 TAKARAZUKA RESPONDENTS ................................................................... 51 AKB48 RESPONDENTS .................................................................................... 54 FANS OF BOTH RESPONDENTS ................................................................. 58 CONTROL GROUP RESPONDENTS ........................................................... 60 RESPONSE TRENDS .......................................................................................... 62 V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ....................................................................... 71 FIRST HYPOTHESIS .......................................................................................... 71 SECOND HYPOTHESIS .................................................................................... 73 THIRD HYPOTHESIS ........................................................................................ 74 FOURTH HYPOTHESIS .................................................................................... 76 GENDER PERFORMANCE ............................................................................. 77 GENDER MOVEMENTS IN JAPAN ............................................................. 81 POLITICAL ISSUES IN JAPAN ....................................................................... 82 LIMITATIONS TO THIS RESEARCH ........................................................... 83 FUTURE RESEARCH ......................................................................................... 87 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 89 APPENDIX SECTION .................................................................................................................. 91 A. OPEN-ENDED SURVEY .......................................................................................... 91 B. LIKERT SURVEY ......................................................................................................... 95 C. STATEMENT CLASSIFICATION ............................................................................ 99 LITERATURE CITED .................................................................................................................. 100 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Takarazuka Respondents .............................................................................................................. 54 2. AKB48 Respondents ..................................................................................................................... 58 3. Fans of Both Respondents ........................................................................................................... 60 4. Control Group Respondents ........................................................................................................ 61 5. Fans Who Agree with Likert Statements Divided by Group of Study .................................. 64 6. Fans Who Agree with Likert Statements Divided by Gender ................................................ 70 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Takarazuka Respondents .............................................................................................................. 67 2. AKB48 Respondents ..................................................................................................................... 67 3. Fans of Both Respondents ........................................................................................................... 67 4. Control Group Respondents ........................................................................................................ 67 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Description 48G 48