Japanese Sociological Review
Online ISSN : 1884-2755
Print ISSN : 0021-5414
ISSN-L : 0021-5414
Special Issue
Hardship of Living in a Society that Promotes the Supremacy of Good Looks:
Where Late-Teen Riaju are Headed and the Origin of Their “Desire to Change”
Nobuyoshi KURITA
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2015 Volume 66 Issue 4 Pages 516-533

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Abstract

This study utilized an exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to reveal through quantitative analysis the hardship of living as young women in modern-day Japan. The focus is specifically on girls in their late teens, including high school students. Their hardship was measured from three points of view: Riaju, which refers to recognition from others; supremacy of good looks based on the hierarchy of evaluated beauty and ugliness in terms of physical appearance, and the ideology of beauty. A sample of students aged 15 to 19 years was examined. The results of the analysis from a social survey utilizing the Internet that reached 458 respondents via a web questionnaire showed a tendency that the more “non-Riaju” they were perceived, the greater the hardships they experienced. Results also revealed a tendency that the more Riaju they were, the stronger their desires were to change their physical appearances.

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© 2015 The Japan Sociological Society
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