KuToo movement

The #KuToo movement is an ongoing movement in Japan against the high heel policy in workplaces.[1][2][3] The name is a reference to the Me Too movement and a play on words with kutsu (靴, "shoes") and kutsū (苦痛, "pain").[1]

Origins and development

KuToo was started in 2019 by Yumi Ishikawa, a Japanese actress, freelance writer, and part-time funeral parlor worker. Many businesses in Japan require women employees to wear heels of between five and seven centimeters, or 1.9 and 2.75 inches, in height. Ishikawa found shoes of this type to be inconvenient and uncomfortable at work, and complained on Twitter about wearing them. Her comment received nearly 30,000 retweets and more than 60,000 likes, and other women shared their own stories of discomfort with heels, posting photos of their bloodied and blistered feet.[4]

Yumi Ishikawa has over 150,000 signatures on a petition for women not having to wear high heels in the workplace. The government must now look into this issue due to the petition going past the threshold of 100,000 signatures [5] However, despite many people supporting Yumi Ishikawa, the parliamentary committee still believes women should be dressed "reasonably," to work. Despite this, the parliamentary committee does not endorse companies that are extreme on the dress code. Therefore, this becomes an issue and the beginning of the #KuToo Movement.

Japanese business culture is also rigid about men's clothing and puts pressure on male workers to dress in specific ways, although not ways that cause them physical pain and injury.

Japan’s health and labour minister stated that high heels are necessary for women.[6][7]

In June 2019, Ishikawa organised an event in Tokyo where men tried on high heeled shoes and attempted to walk in them, illustrating the pain and discomfort the shoes cause many women.[4]

In addition to the strict expectations around professional footwear for women, many companies are now requiring women to not wear glasses because it gives them a "cold impression".[8] This dresscode provision reinforces the #KuToo movement’s perspective that strict professional dress codes for women exist as a discriminatory practice. Yumi Ishikawa is also standing behind this issue and speaking out against the discrimnatory nature of these new professional dress codes.[9] Women in Japan are speaking out about this ban, with the hashtag "glasses are forbidden" circulating on social media and many asking officials to take a second looks at the rules.[10]

Yumi Ishikawa has since expanded the movement from shoes to a broader spectrum of women's rights issues in Japan. Ishikawa often speaks out against social inequalities in Japan such as slut-shaming culture and the societal expectations of women to remain silent, preventing them from speaking out against injustice.[11]

Japanese culture frowns upon the outward expression of emotion and in her newly released book, she speaks about how being angry makes someone unlikeable and hysteric. Ishikawa expresses how good it feels to go against this expectation and be angry.[11]

Health Concerns

Women are comparing high heels to foot binding because many women are working long hours with their feet in a particular position that is uncomfortable for their feet. Many women also complain that it is interfering with work due to the pain in their feet, such as having blisters and bunions.[12]

High heels pose many physical risks besides blistering and bleeding. High heel shoes can create lasting negative effects when worn in constant use above two inches, like the women in Japan are expected to wear. Consistent wearing of high heels can cause lower back, hip and knee issues, which can lead to osteoarthritis. This is when the cartilage between bones wears away and causes the bones to grind together with movement. Consistent wearing can also shorten the Achilles tendon, as well as tighten and reshape the calf muscles to adjust to the pressure.[13]

Gender Discrimination and Traditional Japanese Views

After Yumi Ishikawa's tweet about complaining about having to wear high heels, her tweet got more publicity from international countries rather than in Japan. Japan sees the #KuToo movement as more of a health concern rather than seeing it as discrimination between gender in comparison whereas many other countries are looking at the #KuToo movement in that way.[5]

The #KuToo movement’s progression remains slow due to various obstacles solidified by long standing views on gender in Japan and expectations of social conformity. Japanese views on gender roles remain traditional, with women being socially assigned to roles within childcare and domestic tasks, regardless if she has paid employment.[14] The World Economic Forum listed Japan at 121 out of 153 countries measures for gender gaps in 2020,[15] meaning that the societal expectations of women remain low and discriminatory even in this highly developed country.

These views on gender are reinforced by Japanese television and advertising as well, which continue to shape Japanese perceptions of reality.[16] In advertisements, media that involved women were focused around cosmetics and clothes, whereas “men prevailed over women in the 'high-level business' and 'professional' categories by about 2 to 1.”[17]

The #KuToo movement comes just shortly after one of the most highly regarded medical schools in Japan, Tokyo Medical University, is now admitting female applicants whose entry exams scored had been reduced to lower the number of female students.[18] It also comes after journalist Shiori Ito spoke out against sexual harassment, making her first in the country to do so. Ito faced large amounts of backlash for speaking out, including being called an embarrassment and behaving immorally to advance her career. The threats became so heavy she eventually moved to the UK.[14] [19]

However, Abenomics, “where women’s participation in the labor force is encouraged”[20] is becoming more mainstream and supported by Japanese policy. These efforts, while making a difference in equalizing the professional field for women, does not address the deeply rooted societal expectations that have to change for the KuToo movement to expand and succeed with progressing women’s rights in the workplace.

gollark: No, Turing completeness means it can simulate any Turing machine. It *can't* do that if it has limited memory.
gollark: I don't know exactly what its instruction set is like. But if it has finite-sized addresses, it can probably access finite amounts of memory, and thus is not Turing-complete.
gollark: *Languages* can be, since they often don't actually specify memory limits, implementations do.
gollark: It's not Turing-complete if it has limited memory.
gollark: Not *really*. In languages with an abstract model that doesn't specify limited memory sizes, yes, but PotatOS Assembly Language™'s addresses are 16 bits, so you can't address any more RAM than that.

See also

References
  1. Weaver, Matthew; France-Presse, Agence (3 June 2019). "#KuToo: Japanese women submit anti-high heels petition". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  2. "Japanese minister responds to #KuToo campaign by saying high heels..." Reuters. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  3. "#KuToo drive a hit but Japan minister says high heels 'necessary'". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  4. Rachelle, Vivian (2019-08-28). "What Is the #KuToo Movement?". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
  5. "#KuToo no more! Japanese women take stand against high heels". Reuters. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  6. "Japanese official calls high-heel mandates for women at work "necessary and appropriate," dismissing "KuToo" movement". CBS News. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  7. Brennan, Summer (2019-06-06). "Listen to Japan's women: high heels need kicking out of the workplace". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  8. "https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50342714". BBC News. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020. External link in |title= (help)
  9. JIJI, AFP (December 4, 2019). "Anti-high heels campaigner steps up to battle Japan's 'glasses ban'". The Japan Times Online. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  10. ［編集部］, 竹下 郁子 ［編集部］ (24 October 2019). "Women who are prohibited from wearing glasses at work. From "whole mannequin" acceptance to nurses". Business Insider. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  11. Inagaki, Kana (December 5, 2019). "'I was unashamed': Yumi Ishikawa on fighting sexism in Japan". Financial Times. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  12. Rachelle, Vivian. "Japan's #KuToo movement is fighting back against regressive dress codes for women". Quartz. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  13. "HIGH HEELS: THE HEALTH RISKS". WV Ortho Center. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  14. "A TOKYO MEDICAL SCHOOL RIGGED EXAM RESULTS TO FAVOUR MEN. BUT JAPAN'S SEXISM PROBLEM RUNS EVEN DEEPER". Amnesty International. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  15. The Global Gender Gap Index 2020 rankings (PDF). World Economic Forum. 2020. p. 9.
  16. Yamamoto, M; Ran, W (2014). "Should Men Work Outside and Women Stay Home? Revisiting the Cultivation of Gender-Role Attitudes in Japan". Mass Communication and Society. 17 (g): 920–942. doi:10.1080/15205436.2013.860989.
  17. Cooper-Chen, A; Leung, E; Cho, S.H. (1996). "Sex roles in East Asian magazine advertising". Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands). 55 (3): 207–223. doi:10.1177/001654929605500304.
  18. Meixler, Eli (November 8, 2018). "A Japanese Medical School Will Admit Dozens of Women Rejected by a Sexist Exam". Time.com. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  19. Rich, Motoko (December 9, 2017). "She Broke Japan's Silence on Rape". NY Times. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  20. HAYASHIKAWA, MAKI; MANNS, MARK (July 4, 2019). "Japan's systemic barriers to gender equality". Japan Times. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
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