lifestyle

Girls-only karaoke offers songs, foot massages

16 Comments
By Jessica Kozuka, RocketNews24

For most of us, the free mixing of men and women in our societies has been around long enough to have become completely ordinary, but in Japan, you may find some unexpected things segregated along gender lines. You’ve probably heard about the women-only train cars and capsule hotels that only allow male customers, for example. Now we have another: a karaoke place that’s just for women.

A new branch of the Osaka karaoke chain Jankara opened last month under the name Joshi Kara (Lady’s Karaoke), and only women are allowed in – and that goes for staff, too.

In addition to room designs that are supposed to appeal to women, the amenities offered include electronic foot massagers, ionizing humidifiers, and a dedicated powder room equipped with everything from cotton buds to hair irons. There’s even a corner with samples of various beauty products.

Now, I don’t mean to be too hard on this place. Although they are playing into very retrograde ideas about what appeals to women (pink! shopping! being pretty for her date!), if the testimonials on their site are any indication, there is a customer base for this business. And there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a nice place to do your makeup and have a piece of cake while singing “My Heart Will Go On”. That actually sounds pretty fun.

But is it really necessary to rely on gender discrimination to provide that space? Karaoke already involves a private room in Japan, so if you want to have a fun night out belting girl-power ballads with just your femmes away from the male gaze, you can already do that.

I can understand why women-only spaces are appealing, particularly in a society like Japan where casual sexism is still well accepted, but I worry that popularizing gender-segregated spaces only reinforces the idea that women are somehow more fragile than men, more in need of special care. I also worry that while these spaces may feel like a refuge from day-to-day sexism, they are also a retreat from co-ed spaces that should be comfortably shared.

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16 Comments
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and then they wonder why the population is declining and many of them do self pity that they grow old alone and they cannot get partners.....

8 ( +9 / -1 )

massiou81

well said!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

How very odd.. How is this not disrimination? Unintentional of course, but still.

I would much better understand if it does something like, say, a girls floor and a boys floor.

Were this America or some other countries I would expect some kind of lawsuit to pop up.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Gender mixity! xD

1 ( +1 / -0 )

In the photo, it looks like they're not having any fun at all.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Strange comments. I have been to plenty of boys karaoke places that offer songs and other kinds of massages. Are those discriminatory?? Promoting population decline?? Sad??

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

Wakarimasen

Promoting population decline??

In a country that is facing a very serious population decline and meeting up opposite sex is tough (de-ai ga nai), I think encouraging men and women to get comfortable with each other naturally would help more than feeding the public with sex segregation.

Japan already had problems with men being too vain(Herbivores), men dating virtual girlfriends, and this sex segregation, yes indeed it doesnt really cause a major contribution on population decline, however it's a minus point and each points matter when you sum all the problems up.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

My my such a fuss! i think it's a nice option for women....and why not? Sometimes girls just want to have fun without the guys.....take the sexism and discrimination out of it....it's a fun idea....

2 ( +2 / -0 )

May be that the woman don't want to be with men, perhaps they have been in an office all day full of alpha males, and they want to get away from all of the chest beating, I don't see this as a problem, if they want to mix they can go to a mixed karaoke bar, but they might just want to be away from men for a few hours,

1 ( +1 / -0 )

increased self-segregation while population declines. M'kay.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Stayanoff: I agree - What's the big deal?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I agree, on paper, that this isn't a big deal..basically...but there are laws/constitutions/etc in play that are being skirted.

Again, sounds all well and good..but it encourages a widening gray zone of when it is and is not OK to discriminate against X. When X is considered normal, then new businesses will think it normal and add even more to their list. (So, how about Women under 30 only? Japanese Women only?)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

My computer crashed again. I was wondering if all the Japanese super talent new half will be allowed in. Legit question. I have been turned down at gay bars because I am not. Some of my friends are interested in this place after they read the article I sent them to check out. Anyone have a clue?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

But hanky panky is half the fun of karaoke!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This is just another option regarding entertainment. If women want to have a fun night out with their friends, this is an interesting and creative idea. However, if they want to go somewhere with their husband/boyfriend, there are always other options. In conclusion, this should be viewed as an additional option rather than a restriction.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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