Social stratification in Japan for women

The question about the origins for extensive luxury consumption in Japan lead us to the basic questions about social stratification. We want to be upwardly mobile in society, we want to perceive the world around us as being open for everybody to climb the success ladder, should he or she just try hard enough. Things have to be fair in Japan, entrance examinations that guard the gates of "higher eduaction" are delivered in a tank to the most prestigious institution of them all, Toudai. I will not elaborate on that issue, as reality, like most of the time, is much more complex than this. The fact is that a handful of the most prestigious institutions (considering their reputation) are the entrance into the world of succes in Japan. Taking recent data from the magazine "President", the department of business administration at Keio University (商学部) produces by average the most CEOs and board members. As always, these stats should be enjoyed with utmost care. People now in their 40s and 50s, holding those prestigious jobs had been in university 20-30 years ago, in the 70s and 80s. Drawing a connection to the effect of those channels is possible, if only indrectly, by expecting a self-fullfilling prophecy (yes, Merton). In Japan this might not be so far from the truth.

If we take the following assumptions, 1) social gratification in Japan is heavily influenced by your academic credentials, 2) the glass ceiling in upper management for women really exists, then we come to the conclusion that upward mobility in such a society is for most women limited to one option: marriage, meaning getting the "right" husband, who is part of the new rich or has the potential to become one. As economic constraints of the last 15 years have led to higher income inequality, the fight for the smaller group of men who are able to provide a woman with a comfortable lifestyle, has become more severe. It is no longer the question of belonging to the middle-class with steadily increasing wages in life-long employment, it has become a struggle to not belong to the lower middle-class, or worse.

Taking this, the question is what do women do to be included in the race and to increase their chances. Magazines like CanCam who teach "mote" or the art of getting the right guy, and how to behave in standard situations of the dating ritual, promote pre-market tested styles that are able to guarantee high chances for opposite sex approval. This magazine can be taken seriously, being one of many of its kind, with over 500,000 monthly copies (including the sister magazine AneCan) being printed, probably not only read by one person, with word of mouth and people browsing contents within convenience stores adding to its effect. Let us not see it as a simple lifestyle magazine and shopping catalogue, but as a guide for social gratification.

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CanCam has suffered heavily though, in the last few years. Within 3 years the volume has decreased by over 50%, leaving the question open whether girls these days believe that CanCam can really help them to find Mr. Right. It seems as if the CanCam days are over. The basic logic remains, though. It needs to be answered how Japanese girls are dealing with it now.
] comment end

Cutting this argument short, let us take a look at what happens to a 22 year old girl in Tokyo when she enters the job market in an average clerical position, in a medium-prestigious company in the more central part of town. Not counting bonuses, her average salary in the first year will be around 170,000 - 220,000 Yen, if she is lucky. If she wants to live alone, an appartment in a not completely bad part of town (commuting below 1 hour one-way), including footwork, will cost (not counting key money and real estate agent fee) around 70,000 Yen, minimum, meaning a 1DK, 25 square meter charming home on the 6th floor somewhere near Kichijouji or Jiyuugaoka. She buys the fridge, the furniture, and is left (after heavy parental support), with less than 100.000 Yen a month, after her mobile phone bill and some other bills and health insurance are paid. This leaves her with, per day, around 3000 Yen, which is about 23 Euros. No going out, no shopping. Just plain living. If she is not on the career track, her perspectives are limited. If she is, her time will be even more so.

Now lets make this scenario a little bit nicer for the girl. She will stay with her parents who understand that in order to get the right marriage-material, she needs some backup. Suddenly, she has 100,000 Yen per month more to spend. The food is provided by her caring mom who can use the relationship to get over the separation anxiety. Assuming that this situation can't continue forever, the chances to get out of this deadlock in which no independent living is possible and salary increases are incremental (also on the long run if not on the career track), are increased by presenting yourself in the best light to adapt to social expectations posed on the female sex in respect to their appearance, accessories and manner of behaving.

My intention here is, of course, to sound cynical. How can a society function in which the first-year salary of most if not all jobs after university is basically never enough to lead an independent life that still grants enough time to find a partner.

Many women who decide to go on the career track face an interesting situation. Their salary in the beginning is somewhat higher, the bonuses more attractive. They will find out that what is lacking is time. And by living alone (if they do), their disposible income is very low, even after 2-3 years. The magical 30 years of age, which in Japan is referred to as the border to becoming a "make-inu" or loser-dog if not married by that age, is drawing closer and for most women promotion to high paying jobs is still a rarity. The strange outcome is now that women living with their parents, becoming so-called parasite singles, have more disposable income and more time for the dating ritual, including clothes and accessories, than their successful career-women counterparts.

The nature of social order and luxury consumption

Some quotes from texts (in the semiotic sense, if you wish to include Derrida) that I am working with that seem to have a high relevance to the research of the concept of luxury. Please excuse the somewhat random quotations. It is brainstorming.

"At its broadest, my investigation and analysis of luxury is undertaken because the topic provides an illuminating entrée into a basic political issue, namely, the nature of social order. That issue is itself clearly very general and what makes luxury so potentionally illuminating is that it, as a topic, straddles various academic disciplines, bringing together issues of philosophy, history, anthropology, theology and economics as well as politics. [... in its own way, luxury] acts as a barometer of the movement from classical and medieval world-view to that of modernity." [Berry, Christopher J. (1994): The idea of luxury: a conceptual and historical investigation, Melbourne, Cambridge University Press]

It is the social structure of Japan that undergoes changes that affect the luxury world market like no other country. Let's start with Kant's critique of judgement and the French response to it by [...] "seeking in the structure if the social classes the basis of the systems of classification which structure perception of the social world and designate the objects of aesthetic enjoyment." [in Bourdieu, Pierre (1984): Distinction. A social critique of the judgement of taste, Cambridge, Harvard University Press] Bourdieu goes on ... "as I try to show, the mode of expression characteristic of a cultural production always depends on the laws of the market in which it is offered. [... it is therefore necessary, what Boudeiu does, to ...] transgress on of the fundamental taboos of the intellectual world, in relating intellectual products and producers to their social conditions of existence [...] [p.xiii]"

I like his style, especially his "Likewise, the style of the book, whose long, complex sentences may offend--constructed as they are with a view to reconstituting the complexity of the social world in a language capable of holding together the most diverse things while setting them in rigorous perspective-- [...] to prevent the reading from slipping back into the simplicities of the smart essay or the political polemic." [p. xiii]

If you want to go deeper, check Merton's theory of dysfunctions. Merton emphasizes the existence of dysfunctions. He thinks that some things may have consequences that are generally dysfunctional or which are dysfunctional for some and functional for others. On this point he approaches conflict theory, although he does believe that institutions and values can be functional for society as a whole. Merton states that only by recognizing the dysfunctional aspects of institutions, can we explain the development and persistence of alternatives. Merton’s concept of dysfunctions is also central to his argument that functionalism is not essentially conservative.

What about trying to take this concept of dysfunctions into consumer behavior analysis by emphasizing the dysfunctions of social gratification systems (in themselves prone to lean towards complex theories) and consumption as a way to elude those complex dysfunctions, a so to speak, market-based correction of the delay of the adaptation of social gratification systems. No society can reform its education system in one day, and even so, the effects could only be seen in ten or more years. Consumption shows immediate effects. The connection to Merton might not seem obvious, but maybe might lead to some substantial thought experiments. Try to go for Beaudrillard with "The intelligence of evil" or back to "Simulations". I am not sure whether these connections will hold, but its worth trying. I definitely think that Foucaults power relations offer a somewhat limited point of view, and that Beaudrillard might be more important than I thought. Any comments?

Again, apologies for the random thoughts. Criticism is welcome.