Become "Japan's scariest woman"
Not because of an injury
"Don't you get married because you've been hurt by a man?"
A sentence from the three Peking University girls made the object of their question, Chizuko Ueno, completely break the circle, and also attracted the ridicule of the whole network of "Peking University wife".
Chizuko Ueno, 75 years old, is known as "the scariest woman in Japan".
Many people hate her because she points out the many injustices in society and tells women how to live comfortably.
Some even charged her: "Breaking Japanese traditions and causing the family to collapse is the culprit of the declining birthrate." ”
You've probably heard a lot of her golden sayings.
"Giving birth is hell, and not having children is hell."
"Girls are expected to be cute since childhood. What is cute? It is a value that is loved, chosen, and protected, implying a guarantee that it will never threaten the other person. ”
She is also an honorary professor at the University of Tokyo and one of the most prolific writers in recent years. Books such as "Misogyny" and "Starting from the Limit" are also very popular in China.
Recently, she made a rare appearance in front of the Chinese audience and had a conversation with three girls who graduated from Peking University for more than ten years, which was originally an exciting thing.
But the content of the discussion is deviant. The interviews of several girls have never jumped out of the myth of marriage and love, and even attributed the reason for not marrying to "being hurt by men", which disappointed everyone.
Unexpectedly, the elite women represented by Peking University are still trying to curry favor with their marriages and narrow the problems faced by women in marriage relationships.
In the past two days, things have fermented even more out of control. Last night, the video was also taken down and deleted.
Everyone found that they may just be using the topic of identity and gender of Peking University to perform a performance to win traffic.
It is difficult to judge whether it is true or false. But if you can take this opportunity to let more people pay attention to Chizuko Ueno, it is also a good thing to read the works of East Asian female scholars in addition to Beauvoir and Woolf.
01
Multiple confrontations
Not in the same channel
The first shot of the confrontation between Chizuko Ueno and Peking University graduates.
"Mr. Ueno said that when he was in his early 20s, he had no plans to start a family. Is it because you've been hurt by men? Or is it because of the influence of the family of origin? ”
No wonder this question made the audience uncomfortable to listen to. It tacitly assumes that marriage is something everyone should do. If you choose not to enter into marriage, it must be because of some stimulus.
Fortunately, Ueno's temper defused the offense well: "I'm just not interested in getting married." But men I still like. ”
Second bullet.
"Does Ueno-sensei have a moment of love brain?"
"What kind of person is a qualified companion? Can you fall in love with 'straight male cancer'? ”
Ueno was a little helpless, "Everyone has experience in love, do you want me to give advice like a little girl in her 10s?" But he answered their questions seriously.
Third bullet.
Three married girls asked the unmarried Ueno, "When you observe married people like us, do you think that we are engaged in a kind of 'stupid happiness'?" ”
Ueno replied, "Feminists don't have three, six, nine, etc." As long as you live freely, you can do whatever you want. ”
"The key is not to fool yourself."
At the same time, she did not forget to sharply remind, "It is your own choice to get married and have children." But for many women, they may not have so many options in life. ”
"You feel happy in your marriage, but I think there are limits to what individuals can solve, and some things have to be achieved through social or institutional changes."
In a few words, he said why everyone did not like this dialogue: personal happiness cannot erase structural injustice.
Although the conversation was not satisfactory, in the end, in the face of three young women of the new era, 75-year-old Chizuko Ueno still had high hopes.
"The struggle of predecessors for more freedom is the result of women's efforts, but we are still in an era of half-hanging."
"Since you are also mothers, I hope that you can work hard to put a better world in the hands of the next generation, so I am very gratified."
02
The rebellion and anger of the rich girl
"The predecessors fought for more freedom." Chizuko Ueno is indeed qualified to say that.
As an elite woman in Japan, she still grew up full of confusion.
She was born into a wealthy family in 1948. His father was a doctor and his mother was a housewife.
The configuration of a rich girl does not mean that she has more choices in life. On the contrary, her mother's expectation of her is to be married and teach her children, and it is a shame to go out to work.
Ueno still doesn't understand why her mother, as a full-time housewife, is obviously suffering and wants to divorce but does not dare, why she should repeat this old path.
Not wanting such a life, she did not attend the two-year girls' college, which was popular at the time, but entered Kyoto University to study sociology.
The father did not interfere with this, not out of respect, but because he did not care at all.
"He has extremely high expectations for his brothers, but allows his daughter's choice because he does not expect anything from him."
During his university years, Ueno felt more deeply the "double standard" of gender.
At that time, Japan's student movement "All Gonggong" was in full swing. Ueno, like other students, participated in the revolution.
But she soon discovered that men don't see women as equal "comrades" who fight side by side, but only as potential sexual resources that can be girlfriends.
Men are revolutionaries, while women are just benefactors who deliver food and drink when men are arrested, make rice balls in the back kitchen, and even offer sexual services.
This experience made Ueno very angry, "I have personally experienced how huge the gender gap is. ”
Anger also became the starting point of her struggle. "For the first time in my life, I felt like I had something to say, even if no one asked me to do it."
03
Speak up for housewives and women in the workplace
but was attacked and looked ugly
Ueno's research is unique in that he examines many realities that are unique to East Asian societies.
For example, her initial research subject: housewives.
There are too many housewives in Japan like her mother, who have no financial resources, are dependent on men, live quite depressed, and do not recognize their values.
More and more people now say that a full-time housewife taking care of the family is probably equivalent to saving the salary of a nanny, tutor, driver, cook, nutritionist, psychologist. But 40 years ago, it was Ueno who first introduced the concept of "unpaid labor," which was revolutionary at the time.
She made everyone realize that the housework that women used to take on was also considered work, and it turned out that women had been working for nothing.
"Many men often say this phrase: It's not me who works outside to be happy at home."
"Through the popularization of feminism, female friends finally have the confidence to say: It's not that I'm busy at home, you can go out to work with peace of mind."
Japanese drama "Home on the Ramp"
In 1987, Japanese Chinese female singer Chen Meiling was accused of taking her 3-month-old child to the TV station and breastfeeding the child during the recording of the program.
Many people think that children should not be brought to work, "It's causing trouble for those around them." ”
Ueno wrote an article to the Asahi Shimbun in support of Chen Meiling, saying that opponents were suppressing the rights of women who have children to raise children, which has aroused widespread discussion.
This is the famous "beauty controversy". Later, the controversy also led to the enactment of Japan's Childcare Leave Law.
Because of his courage to speak out, Ueno set off waves in Japanese society and became a thorn in the side of many people.
Some people even attacked her appearance, saying that she was ugly and had no heterosexual relationship, so she hated men.
And once she dressed herself, she was misinterpreted as "unwilling" and wanted to please men.
Carrying infamy along the way, Ueno doesn't mind being a "troublesome woman" and ridicules himself as "notorious."
She became a teacher in an era when women were discouraged from working, did not marry, had no children, and firmly lived a life that belonged only to herself. And keep telling latecomers: You too can have the right to choose.
04
Throw stones at calm water
Ueno's popularity in China began with a speech at the University of Tokyo in 2019.
At the opening ceremony, she poured cold water on the eager freshmen in the audience.
"The school life you have experienced so far is a society that is ostensibly egalitarian. In the competition for achievement, there is no distinction between men and women. But from the moment you enter college, sexism is already quietly emerging in the shadows. Unfortunately, this is also true at the University of Tokyo. ”
"Before that, you probably all believed that if you worked hard, you would be rewarded. However, what awaits you will be a society in which no matter how hard you try, you will not be fairly rewarded. ”
After this speech came out of the circle, more people knew about Chizuko Ueno, and her book was also introduced in a heap.
In 2022 alone, at least 7 books by Chizuko Ueno have been published in the country. And unlike in the past, when sales were dismal, almost every copy was a big seller.
Over the years, the upsurge she has triggered in China is also the embodiment of the awakening of more and more Chinese women.
But at the same time, doubts followed. Some people think that most of her books are conversational collections of letters, with little nutrition.
Just like this conversation with three Peking University girls, everyone doesn't understand: why does a professor from Eastern University talk about trivial marriage and romance with people without relevant theoretical backgrounds?
In fact, this is Ueno's consistent style. Since 2008, she has been a respondent to letters from readers at Asahi Shimbun.
She had always hoped that her research would not be dogmatic, but practical and understandable.
Therefore, after writing academic works such as "Misogyny" and "Patriarchy and Capitalism", she published many collections of dialogues. Most of the objects are cross-field "little whites", which greatly reduces the threshold for reading.
"Feminism from Zero" talks to manga artist Naiko Tabo. "It Begins at the Limit" talks to AV actress Ryomi Suzuki. "Happy Class" confronts Reiko Tangshan, a KOL in the literary and art industry, and talks about marriage, sex, aging and other topics.
So criticism that these books are too watery, Ueno does not care. Her purpose is to let ordinary people also read with relish and find empathy.
She even agreed that the publisher would give her books some marginal titles in order for the articles to sell well. "Even if readers' motivation to buy books is contrary to my original intentions, as long as they understand my true intentions after reading them."
At 75 years old and still active in public, Chizuko Ueno knows that there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality.
But as she said, "If no one throws stones, calm water doesn't turn over the waves." As long as the wave is turned, the affected people can spread it in their respective areas of expertise. ”
A list of some of Chizuko Ueno's works
Text, Editor/Strawberry
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