“People stare”
“Back in my country I can wear strappy dresses”
“Masks are a muzzle. In my country we don’t wear them any more”
“I feel constricted in Japan because *insert reason why Japan is not another country*”.
I come across comments such as these with some regularity on Instagram, and 90% of the time from white people, mostly white Europeans. My first gut reaction is that if their issues in life are the thickness of dress straps and people staring, I am glad they lived such sheltered lives. Joking aside, using the lack of solidarity demonstrated by many Europeans countries in the COVID pandemic as a badge of honor is…well…problematic to say the least.
To add a cherry on top, the post which set off this tirade is penned by a person from a country notorious for its repression of citizens which belong to minorities, especially Muslims, in the name of the separation of state and church, a country which then has the hypocrisy to elevate Christian holidays to national ones (and don’t come telling me “they are cultural, holidays now”. They are still rooted in Christianity). The lack of self reflection was glaring to use an understatement.
Before I start ranting, I want to clarify that I understand people are all different, so what works for one may not for another. I am not in the business of imposing my world view on anyone, but rather I would like to present an alternative to what seems to be the predominant discourse among foreign residents here, while also providing some (in my opinion, much needed) perspective.
In any case, I find such behavior interesting anthropologically because it represents the center of the Venn diagram of cultural imperialism and what I call majority privilege.
Speaking of majority privilege, I feel this is also an issue with some white Europeans being very uneducated when it comes to race: rarely, as a white person in many European countries (even the ones which colonized left and right), will you be in rooms where you are not the majority, and being in a situation when that’s suddenly not the case anymore may be disorienting. However, I don’t believe this is an excuse for lack of cultural awareness. I am also curious about the concept of “self expression” and “freedom” being characterized as morally good and superior to, let’s say, “self restrain”. Besides the fact that it is a very western centric way of thinking, I, a perennial outsider even in my own country of origin, would like to point out that in Western countries you are certainly free to “express yourself” as long as this expression is aligned with some allowed norm some. I often joke that’s conducive to being “free to be free exactly the same way as everyone else”; try being anything unusual, let alone belonging to a visible minority, and then we will talk. Moreover, the complaint “I feel so restrained here” conveniently forgets to address the reason why Japanese society appreciates self-restrain: not bothering others. It’s not a muzzle, it’s just a different cultural context deserving of respect. Have you thought how offensive your own culture may be to others? I didn’t think so.
In addition, this idea of Japanese society being more restrictive than others is, in my opinion, kind of a myth, constructed out of western centrism and lack of cultural sensitivity. Like everywhere else, there are expectations and accepted patterns of behavior which are borne out of living in a society, a fact that is not exclusive to Japan, given that this is not the only country with a society. Having lived in a few countries I can totally vouch that, even within Europe, societal norms and expectations vary widely, so much so that people from different European countries may see each other as barbarians. This echoes a common complaint people have, that the Japanese are not direct: as you know, I am autistic, so not exactly great at reading between the lines, yet I have no trouble understanding what is being conveyed because I learned to dissect the communication style and phrases used. I would also argue that Westerners miss an important point, that is the separation between public and private facing life which is very common in cultures influenced by Confucianism: fulfill your societal roles and then be free to be who you want in your private time. Just take a stroll downtown in the weekend and you’ll see plenty of individuals who are suit-clad during the working week wearing expressive fashions and colors and/or pursuing unique and niche hobbies in a way which would illicit public scorn in the west.
There is also another option: not caring about other people’s opinions. There’s a long history of not giving any fucks in Japan, because ultimately your detractors don’t pay your bills. Your right to self expression is enshrined in the Japanese constitution and discrimination is also unconstitutional so as long as you are not doing anything illegal, by all means, do you. Go the full 知しるかボケ (I don’t give a fuck). Unlike in other places, people are unlikely to voice their disapproval and even if so, as I said, they don’t pay your bills. It seems to me these issue are used as a spring board for justifying bad behavior at best and cultural imperialism at worst.
In conclusion, it’s appalling to see people who are allegedly lived in the same country for decades still flaunt their cultural imperialism. Your majority privilege and ignorance are showing. I am not saying this country is perfect, not at all: I myself look at it with a critical eye every day. However, there’s a difference between thinking critically and objectively about what we can change and blatantly complaining out of a sense of superiority and lack of awareness.
Making&Candor 