publisher

研究報告書

研究報告書

text

架橋するフェミニズム : 歴史・性・暴力 P.67-P.81

国籍／エスニシティ／階層を超える・つなぐフェミニズム : アジアのグローバルシティと女性たち

Possibilities for Feminism beyond National/Ethnic/Class Divides : Women in Asian Global Cities

北村, 文

Kitamura, Aya

日本語

2018-03-20

http://hdl.handle.net/11094/68083

This chapter focuses on Asian global cities where rapid economic growth has intensified issues concerning globalism and neoliberalism along with gender. What are the possibilities of feminist activism when there are national, ethnic and class differences among women? How do women negotiate such divides and disparities? Ethnographic studies show that in Asian global cities migrant domestic workers’ lives involve both vulnerability and agency. Confined under state policies that regard them as labor rather than as human beings, the “maids” are often exposed to physical, verbal and sexual violence and exploitation. Simultaneously, many such women resist oppression through formal activism as well as informal networking, unifying and raising their voices. The studies also find female employers often express insecurities and conflicts over their new role; “madams,” through transnational outsourcing of housework, face a new set of predicaments. Thus, the “maid-madam” relationship, although seemingly mutually beneficial, may deepen divides and disparities among women, while leaving intact gendered divisions of labor as well as global inequality. An attempt to go beyond such divides can be seen in the activism of the Association for the Advancement of Feminism, an NGO in Hong Kong. Their Migrant Workers Working Group aims to “make migrant women’s problems a Hong Kong women’s problem.” They conduct a study-group activity that breaks through widespread indifference in Hong Kong society, and also provide opportunities for locals to interact directly with migrant women. Their collaboration with migrant workers’ groups has led to participation in the Migrant Pride Parade that exemplifies solidarity among migrants, the LGBT community, workers, and women. Such activities, although not without difficulties and limitations, have provided a means for women in different social positions to join forces. Reflecting on the experiences of Asian global cities can provide an insight into the possible issues that will arise in Japan, where the “Foreign Human Resources for Domestic Work Support” system has just begun. Migrant domestic workers—called “resources” here—will inevitably be put in a vulnerable position in Japanese society, and hence feminism in Japan must also strive to “make migrant women’s problems a Japanese women’s problem.”

info:doi/10.18910/68083

国籍／エスニシティ／階層を超える・つなぐフェミニズム : アジアのグローバルシティと女性たち

北村, 文

日本語

2018-03-20

架橋するフェミニズム : 歴史・性・暴力

67

81

http://hdl.handle.net/11094/68083

info:doi/10.18910/68083