4 男性研究の現在と日本のジェンダー分析 : 近代家族の大衆的普及に関する問題を中心に(テーマ別分科会8=日本におけるジェンダーレジームの諸相,II テーマ別分科会=報告論文と座長報告)

抄録

Studies on men and masculinities have drawn increasing attention in Japanese gender studies since the end of the 20th century. There has been a yawning gap between the examination of women and that of men from gender perspectives, despite the approximately 20-year history of gender studies in Japan, of which studies on men and masculinities are an integral part. This paper seeks to explore the reason why Japanese gender studies have failed to develop critical studies on men and masculinities, which concern the relationship between patriarchy and men. The answer to this question lies in the course of the development of Japanese gender studies as a whole. There has been little concern with 'subject' or 'agency' matters, which require empirical research on everyday life and culture. In the 1980's, when gender studies emerged in Japan, Japanese academics, including feminists, tended to neglect diversity within society, while feminists in English-speaking countries of the same period confronted the diversity of women. Thus, Japanese academics lost sight of the need to explore subjective meanings or interpretations of people in their everyday lives. Feminism requires studies on men and masculinities for two reasons. Firstly, the studies help correct misunderstandings about the concept of gender, particularly the way that many academics misconstrue gender as concerning only women's problems. Secondly, the core component of patriarchy is deeply held by men and associated with masculinities. We must launch critical studies on men and masculinities, while reflecting on the history of gender studies in Japan.