Masculinity and Body Weight in Japan
Drawing on the concept of the somatic self, Castro-Vzquez explores how Japanese men think about, express and interpret their experiences concerning body weight control.
Based on an extensive ethnographic investigation, this book offers a compelling analysis of male obesity and overweight in Japan from a symbolic interactionism perspective to delve into structure, meaning, practice and subjectivity underpinning the experiences of a group of middle-aged, Japanese men grappling with body weight control. Castro-Vzquez frames obesity and overweight within historical and current global and sociological debates that help to highlight the significance of the Japanese case. By drawing on evidence from different locations and contexts, he sustains a comparative perspective to extend and deepen the analysis.
A valuable resource for scholars both of contemporary masculinity and of medical sociology, especially those with a particular interest in Japan.
Genaro Castro-Vzquez is Professor of Asian Studies at Kansai Gaidai University, Japan.
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Edited by Yoshikazu Shiobara, Kohei Kawabata and Joel Matthews
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Masculinity and Body Weight in Japan
Grappling with Metabolic Syndrome
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Masculinity and Body Weight in Japan
Grappling with Metabolic Syndrome
Genaro Castro-Vzquez
First published 2020
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2020 Genaro Castro-Vzquez
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ISBN: 978-0-367-34057-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-32370-6 (ebk)
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To the memory of my mother
Contents
My deepest gratitude to a number of people who provided help and support during the writing of this book. Many thanks to Professor Midori Iijima at Rikkyo University. She has always inspired and encouraged me, and has been a fountain of positive energy. I thank you very much Mrs Yuka Bessho, Mr Yasuo Hirao, Professor Midori Iijima and Mr Yoshinobu Washida for helping to find participants for the research this book reports. Thanks also to Dr Mable Lie and Dr Swiepeng Lee who have kindly assisted me to find references at their university libraries. Many thanks to all the participants in the study for sharing part of their lives with me. Finally, my appreciation as ever to my family and friends who have all provided warmth and encouragement that help me keep going.
Part of the ethnographic data included in this book has been published previously in some papers, which have been totally rewritten and updated. Some of the data included in ). I thank you very much the publishers for letting me revisit this previous published material.
[Rubbing his tummy and stepping on a weight scale that indicates 87.1 kilograms, a husband is at home next to the washroom]
BACKGROUND VOICE: Its high time you slimmed down.
HOUSEWIFE: [His wife comes in and ask] Did you gain weight again?
HUSBAND: Did you notice?
HOUSEWIFE: Lets try hard (ganbarimash)!
HUSBAND: Lets try hard!
[The husband at the gym, running on a treadmill]
HUSBAND: Im going to try hard!
BACKGROUND VOICE: You should do exercise.
A WOMAN RUNNING ON A TREADMILL NEXT TO THE HUSBAND: Fight!
HUSBAND: [Distressed and about to lose his balance on the treadmill] I dont know how Im running!
[Wearing a suit at his workplace, with a mortified facial expression, the husband looks at the results of his health check-up]
BACKGROUND VOICE: As expected, you cannot ignore the results.
[Two colleagues approach the husband]
COLLEAGUES: What are you looking at?
HUSBAND: [Trying to hide the results] Ah! Its a piano score, its really a piano score.
[At home next to the washroom, the husband and housewife take some pills]
BACKGROUND VOICE: It reduces body weight and body fat. Visceral fat, visceral fat reduction supplement (naishi sapto).
(FANCLJapan 2018)
The transcript of the television advertisement above largely depicts the circumstances of those grappling with body weight control, and it also describes how fatness and the gendered self are entangled in contemporary Japan. Obesity and overweight have mostly rendered into a males issue or masculinised disease that equally involves the gendered self of womenmothers and wiveswho are to support, encourage and monitor mens attempts to regain control of the body. Amidst biopedagogies that attempt the governance and regulation of individuals and populations through practices associated with the body, which are expressed in teachings and precepts about how to live (Wright 2009, 1, emphasis added), the advertisement conveys the commonsensical viewpoint that physical exercise entails one of the swiftest ways to eliminate an undesirable tummy. Controlling body weight is portrayed, in principle, as a matter for a man who tries hard (ganbaru), and thus his inability to slim down is likely a synonym of laziness and/or irresoluteness. Physical exercise is not problem-free, however. The husband who momentarily stumbles in the treadmill elicits that adhering to a daily routine of physical activity might be challenging, strenuous, and even dangerous, if proper guidance is unavailable.
