Job Discussion Forums

[magicmagic]

I am a punk feminist who is pretty poltically active, and I have been considering teaching english in japan.

My question is, will I be really alienated? like unbearably alienating?

I lived in Japan with a family for a month in Takaoka when I was 19, but that was with a student program that was mostly snobby 16-year-olds, and it was before the tattoo on my arm and piercings in my eyebrows.

I really want to experience a different culture, but I'm wondering how people around me (i.e. co-workers, roomates, dude on the street) will react.

[wolfman]

Being an "-ist" is bad.

[zignut]

I think you'll probably enjoy a good deal of the reactions you get. No matter what it's like in your home country, I doubt that you got pierced and inked in order to look like everyone else. Still, practically speaking, you may have some challenges. It's widely reported that onsen frown upon or even deny entry to those with tattoos, and it's perfectly legal, as far as I know, for a japanese employer to tell you, "No, you can't teach here. You'll scare the housewives."

There's counterculture in Japan, but it's possible that it has less legal protections than in other countries.

[canuck]

Assuming you have the qualifications to get a work visa, the fact you have tatoos and piercings will make it more difficult to find a position. You will be competing against people who don't have piercings nor visible tatoos.

[markle]

[Sweetsee]

Nice post Markle!
Doubt anyone would bat an eye MM. Hard to get a job teaching though.
Good luck to you,
s

[Venti]

[callmesim]

Pretty much what everyone else has said.

If you're an activist who comes here with the intention of experiences and are prepared to bend your way of living to an extent then you'll be fine. But if you're an activist who can't help but always go against the grain in an 'f-the system' way, you'll hate it and just give people the squirts.

I've seen it go both ways. You're alienated for not being Japanese. That you can't avoid. But I've seen people come here and at every corner complain that "this is just not fair! How can they live like this?" You must remember, this is their country and if someone came to my country and started telling me how everything I did was wrong, quite frankly I'd tell them to sod off home.

This is in no way an assumption of the kind of person you are, I'm just looking at the two extremes. And I've seen an 'f- the system' kind of person come here and leave within months. Why she came here in the first place baffles me because EVERYTHING about the job she found immoral. Yet still she applied?!

As a feminist, it will be difficult. I find it heart-breaking talking to high-school girls whose sole-ambition is to finish high-school, get married and become a housewife. And to hear 30-somethings lamenting that they're too old to get a good job and too old to get married. "I used to travel a lot with friends but they all got married so now I don't do much anyone. I just want a husband." is a comment I remember well.

So, like everyone else, it all depends on your attitude and how much you're willing to compromise. Even if you take your activist hat off for a year or so, it's a fascinating, sometimes sad and sometimes happy look at another culture.

Just don't rock the boat.

[JimDunlop2]

[Brooks]

I would suggest Kobe or Osaka, in that order.
It is easier to be a free spirit there.

[wolfman]

[NorthofAmerica]

The sexism here might make you go a little crazy. That said, I showed up in a small town as a vegetarian with tattoos and holes in his ears and got along fine. So far I have found that, in spite of what others might say, as a foreigner you get away with a lot. If you are very different than the Japanese norm it's not the end of the world. You have to be respectful and go with the flow of things but if they see that you are trying then Japanese people will usually be pretty relaxed and nice.

I have gone to an onsen with my tattoos as well and not had a problem. Can anyone say from direct experience that they have been kicked out of one? I hear a lot of "A friend of mine" or "I heard from someone..." but so far no one has really talked about a direct experience they've had. I know it does happen but I am beginning to believe that the stigma against tattoos is exaggerated, at least in the Kansai area.

[furiousmilksheikali]