JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

bottchef's past comments

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  bottchefJun. 17, 2008 - 05:27AM JST

  Great article. I am planning on moving to Japan in the near future and so I am unable to speak on a number of these issues. However, I have noticed these same topics as major complaints in the majority of websites I've visited in my research about the country. Having lived overseas myself, I have vented about my "woes" via the internet....it's a normal way to blow off steam. Still, being on the other side where I am researching this country, I can say that I have felt alarmed at some of these accusations toward Japanese that have been made. I'm sure there's truth to them---but I also suspect that some of this comes down to misunderstanding and a general lack of responsibility for how we treat foreigners in our own back yards. As for that stereotype that Japanese ask Westerners ridiculous questions about what they are able to do (i.e. can you eat sushi?), Westerners at home dish it out too. I do remember a French friend who complained that everyone asked her if she shaved her armpits.

  I am a woman and married to a Westerner so I personally wouldn't care in the least if expat men didn't pay attention to me. However, I highly doubt that it's safe to stereotype (gasp--could you be guilty of this too) all Western women as being obsessed with expat men. Does it really frighten you that much that they might not be interested in you at all but instead in a nice Japanese man? Furthermore, what if they're not interested in dating in Japan at all?

  Posted in: Stereotypes ’R’ Us

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