Gender Concerns in Japan’s Skype Eikaiwa Industry
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- Misako Tajima
- Ibaraki University
抄録
<jats:p>In this paper, I draw on accounts from Japanese male learners and Filipina teachers engaged in Skype eikaiwa and explore gender concerns within this new educational sector. The data analysis shows that Filipina teachers are often positioned as gendered entities through the men’s discursive practices. This trend is similar to the constructions of white male teachers as romanticized commodities in eikaiwa schools based on Japanese women’s akogare (longing/desire) for the West. Yet I suggest that what matters in the Filipino Skype eikaiwa industry is not so much the discourse of akogare as the Japanese men’s feelings of masculinity. I conclude with an argument that given the many existing studies on Japanese male exploitation of Filipinas, the gender concerns within this industry should be discussed further in terms of the historical and economic relations between Japan and the Philippines and the long-established emotional and somatic connections between Japanese men and Filipinas.
収録 刊行 物
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- JALT2018—Diversity and Inclusion
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JALT2018—Diversity and Inclusion 2018 (1), 1-, 2019-08-01
The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT)