Misogyny in Japan Pornography Industry — The sexualisation of culture.
By: Chau Anh
Tags: Media Literacy, Femism, Pornography

The media has gone through significant changes over the past decades, especially when it comes to the representation of sexuality on screen. Sex is influenced by natural ‘urges’ and cultural aspects and therefore, attitudes towards sexuality change over time. The market for porn is also expanding thanks to the development of technology and Web 2.0 practices resulting in a dramatic increase in sex productions which raises concerns about the ethics of sex media (Attwood, 2012). Despite multiple attempts to break down the patriarchal gender fundamentalism in the media industry, pornography and other forms of contemporary media still present objectified female bodies that cater to male fantasy. Pornography routinely portrays sex within a domination/subordination dynamic which eroticises men’s domination of women (Jensen, 2016). This type of representation is especially relevant in Japan where traditional gender roles and misogyny still prevail. Violent and degrading imagery against women can be easily accessed and consumed abundantly for men’s amusement in Japan (Kazue, 2016). In this blog, I will be using feminist approaches to analyse the pornography industry, particularly in the context of Japan. First, I will give a brief description of contemporary pornography there and the underlying issues in the industry. Then, I will explain why media practitioners and professionals as well as the audiences should be aware of the issue. Next, I will identify the key social and cultural forces that contribute to the creation of porn and hence, evaluate the ethical qualities of Japanese sex media. After that, possible responses will be suggested to address the concerns regarding the current social issues within the industry. Finally, I will sum up my arguments and restate my position on the topic.

Akihabara, Japan.

Pornography in Japan, similar to global markets, has been heavily influenced by the evolution of technology and media. The first adult video in Japan was released in 1981 and the industry peaked in the early 2000s with around 30,000 videos published annually (Hambleton, 2019). Japan is considered one of the most lucrative markets for porn with an estimated worth of approximately 106 billion Japanese yen in 2019 (Engelmann, 2020). However, the development of the Internet has enabled free access to uncensored porn which increases the competition within the industry leaving porn production companies struggling to survive as they have to market themselves in creative ways to court new audiences and loyal fans (Hambleton, 2019). There are two main positions towards the porn industry in Japan: pro-porn and anti-porn. Anti-porn activists argue that depictions of violent imagery against women not only degrade and disrespect women but also encourage real-life sexual abuse caused by men (Hambleton, 2019). Many of the arguments for pro-porn focus on the freedom of expression and the exploration of sexuality arguing that sex is a natural part of the human experience (Hambleton, 2019). I firmly believe that everyone has a right to feel sexually represented in media, however, women must not be positioned in a place of disempowerment and subordination. Sex media, as well as other forms of media, should be equal for everyone and should not only cater to the pleasure of straight men. Example of the current situation in the Japanese porn industry is relevant to the sexualisation of contemporary media. The term “sexualisation” has a certain level of negative connotation that goes along with it, not because the representation of sexuality is inherently inappropriate, but rather because of the constant objectification of the women bodies in media productions (Tyler & Quek, 2016). The chosen example highlights the systemic misogyny and the importance of ethical evaluation in every aspect of the porn industry from organisational practices to production and distribution.

With the aim of breaking down the patriarchal framework in adult video productions, the first and foremost action to be taken is to address the significance of the issue in terms of industrial ethics as well as social values. The increasing influence of pornography has raised many concerns about the ethics of labour in the industry as well as impacts on underage children, sexual offences, and the sexual objectification of women (Attwood, 2012). For Japan, the porn industry is heavily impacted by the “salvage ideology” which consists of two main themes: men’s domination over women and women should feel grateful to rely on men sexually (Wong & Yau, 2018). Research on pornography effects on real-life sexual offenders found that for 93% of child molesters and 61% of rapists, exposure to pornography enhanced their deviant sexual interests inciting them to commit sexual abuse (Itzin, 2002, p.9). Psychological studies also found that watching a film depicting a raped woman showing pleasure can trigger aggression in men and contribute to their justification of rape (Ohbuchi, Ikeda & Takeuchi, 1994). However, reports about sex crimes in Japan found the opposite, the large increase in sexually explicit materials “has not been correlated with an increase in rape or other sexual crimes” (Diamond & Uchiyama, 1999, p.15) instead, there has been a noticeable decrease in sexual crimes in Japan (Diamond & Uchiyama, 1999). Nevertheless, this does not discredit concerns about media effects on human behaviours, the decrease in sex crimes does not take away the fact that most of the sexual offenders were actually motivated by violent adult productions. This relates to cultivation theory about media effects which examines the long-term influence on viewers who are constantly exposed to repetitive patterns of images (Stacks, Li & Spaulding, 2015). Media professionals need to be aware of the issue and understand the significance of media on audiences in order to avoid producing content that can potentially disrupt society as a whole. Audiences should also be educated about media literacy so that they can protect themselves as well as other consumers. Sex media is a sensitive topic but there must be discussions about the issue to address the potential risks of the industry on workers, consumers, and social order.

Adult games and DVDs for sale in Tokyo. Credit: Ko Sasaki for The New York Times.

The reason why Japanese pornographic content largely focuses on portraying women as submissive lies in the embedded misogyny in the culture of this country. Media and culture influence each other, media products can reflect and affect the construction of society. A cross-cultural study about pornography in Norway, the US, and Japan showed a significant relationship between cultural practices and media creation as Norwegian pornography, a country that ranks first in gender equality, depicts women in a more empowering manner than does Japan (Arakawa, Flanders & Hatfield, 2012). Japan is not only sexist in the representation of women in adult entertainment productions, but also exploitative in the labour of female sex performers. The majority of actresses who are in the age of 18 to 20, specifically around 86% of them, is reported to have performed risky-sex movies (Chou, Zhang & Wang, 2019). There are also many cases where conmen trick girls into signing porn contracts in disguise of modelling work and then coerce them to become involved in the porn industry (Mealey, 2017). Japanese people have also been accustomed to the traditional and harmful expectations of women. In an interview conducted by Asian Boss to understand how the Japanese think of the porn industry in their country, there were multiple gender-biased remarks made by both male and female respondents.

(Asian Boss, 2016)

There are two most notable responses:

1. Porn is made mainly for the amusement of men 2. Adult video actresses do the job just for the money

The interviewees answer the questions in a respectful and polite manner, however, there seems to be some subtle sexism in their speech and culture plays an important role in shaping these thoughts. In 2019, Japan was ranked 19th in the Gender Inequality Index report, which is relatively low for a developed country (“Gender Inequality Index”, 2019). Wong and Yau applied Marxist analysis to examine the Japan adult video industry and articulated that “production amounts to a reproduction of culturally constituted use values”. (Wong & Yau, 2018, p.11). In other words, Japanese pornographic content is governed by the cultural code of this country which is reflected by the “salvage ideology”, a concept that was mentioned in the previous paragraph. I would like to argue that pornography is not innately corrupt, however, the rooted patriarchal and misogynist culture of Japan has contributed to the creation and distribution of violent materials against women which raises concerning ethical matters in the Japanese adult entertainment field. Nonetheless, it is not impossible to reconstruct the issue. I will respond to the current state of the Japanese porn industry utilising the feminist framework and hence, make some suggestions to address the concerns for the practices of this industry.

As mentioned above, there are two main feminist approaches to pornography: anti-pornography and anti-censorship; the former argues that the production and distribution of porn have further oppressed and abused women while the latter asserts that positioning pornography as the active cause for discrimination against women denies the responsibility of men who deliberately use porn in ways that harm women (Boyle, 2000). The Anti-Pornography and Prostitution Research Group (APP) has been actively fighting for gender equality and women's rights. APP’s early activism focused on Japan’s torture porn producers and found many ways in which women are victimised including revenge pornography, child abuse facilitation, blackmail, and extortion (Norma & Morita, 2020). These findings have established an empirical foundation for exposing the commercial sexual exploitation of women in Japan (Norma & Morita, 2020). The efforts over nearly two decades of the APP have prompted the emergence of Japan’s #MeToo movement against commercial forms of sexual violence against women (Norma & Morita, 2020). However, critiques of anti-porn activism claim that the approach has a lack of consideration for social and cultural influence on media, sexuality theories, and the relationship between production and culture of consumption which shows no real explanatory power (Smith & Attwood, 2014).

#MeToo movement in Japan. Credit: Thisanka Siripala.

The pro-porn approach focuses on freedom of expression and the empowerment of women in pornography. In Japan, one niche area is bucking trends and earning profits — pornography for women. Silk Labo, a female-friendly pornography company, has been able to not only sell over 10,000 DVD copies and generate great publicity for the company but also contribute to the conversation about women’s agency in sexual expression (Hambleton, 2016). Silk Labo aims to produce films from an “imaged female gaze” that redirect the conventional male point-of-view in adult productions to women which attempts to subvert the traditional roles of active men and passive women (Hambleton, 2016). However, Hambleton argued that “while Silk Labo is an example of a feminist producer, it is one that has only appeared due to economic pressures and is compromised by its commercial tendencies” (2016, p.437). Nevertheless, this phenomenon opens up new possibilities for the expansion of female-friendly adult video productions that can satisfy women’s sexual desires and needs. As critics point out, this “sex-positive” approach may ignore the traumatic, abusive experiences of sex and the concern about the use of people as commodities in porn productions (Smith & Attwood, 2014).

Instead of choosing either pro- or anti-porn, Smith and Attwood introduced a new kind of perspective: critical thinking about pornography. This approach aims to examine business practices, distribution, legal institutions and focuses on the work of diverse submissions that will position our viewpoints to the centre of critical debate about porn (Smith & Attwood, 2014).

The representation of sex has been increasingly popular in mass media and sexual identities have become a form of public discourse rather than private expression. Adult entertainment has long been a controversial topic for both audiences and media practitioners generating many debates about its unethical practices. It is true that the industry is now still very discriminatory and oppressive towards females and this is definitely due to historical and social forces that have shaped the culture of use and production in a way that favours men over women. I believe that pornography should not be prohibited but rather, should be strictly regulated so that every stakeholder is treated equally and ethically. There are many obstacles to media regulations as the development of the Internet has enabled the emergence of illegal porn sites. We need to examine technical as well as social aspects which contributes to the exploitative nature of the porn industry and henceforth, actively take different measures to practically address the issue.

References

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