Abstract

Japan’s gender gap in housework—the second largest in the OECD countries—has come sharp focus with its female employment on the rise. Why are women and men in Japan still struggling to share housework? This article examines this question, analysing relatively newly emerged representations of ‘kaji-hara’. The Japanese neologism ‘kaji-hara’—a shortened form of the phrase ‘housework harassment’—has garnered much public attention, since Japan’s leading home builder Asahi Kasei Homes Corporation (AKHC) launched its ‘Wives’ Housework Harassment’ campaign in 2014. The campaign conveyed a contentious message—that is, it is not husbands, but actually wives, who act as a bottleneck to gender equality in housework. This received a negative backlash, ultimately leading to the phenomenon of what I label here as the ‘kaji-hara debates’. Based upon analysis of AKHC’s campaign ads, its online survey results, literature and media coverage that inform the kaji-hara debates, this article shows the operation of the ‘gendering of housework’, by which housework is gendered and produces gender itself, thereby perpetuating the housework gender gap in the society. It argues that AKHC’s campaign constitutes the gendering of housework, as it represents, assumes and commercialises housework as ‘women’s primary responsibility’ while simultaneously promoting men’s domesticity.

摘要

日本的家务劳动性别差距在经合组织国家中排名第二，随着女性就业人数的增加而成为焦点。为什么日本的女性和男性仍在努力分担家务？本文研究了这个问题，分析了相对较新出现的“ kaji-hara ”的表现形式。日本新词 ' kaji-hara' - 短语'家务骚扰'的缩写形式 - 引起了公众的广泛关注，因为日本领先的房屋建筑商朝日化成住宅公司（AKHC）于2014年发起了“妻子的家务骚扰”活动。该活动传达了一个有争议的信息——也就是说，阻碍性别平等的家务劳动的瓶颈不是丈夫，而是妻子。这引起了负面的反弹，最终导致了我在此称为“ kaji-hara辩论”的现象。根据对 AKHC 的竞选广告、其在线调查结果、文献和媒体报道的分析，向kaji-hara争论中，本文展示了“家务劳动性别化”的运作，家务劳动被性别化并产生性别本身，从而使社会中的家务劳动性别差距长期存在。它认为 AKHC 的运动构成了家务劳动的性别化，因为它代表、假定和商业化家务为“女性的主要责任”，同时促进男性的家庭生活。