Today, a previous SSIP intern, Kathy Tran, returned to present on her thesis topic: “Joshi Ryoku,” what it means, how it’s used in Japan, and its implications. She gave a passionate lecture on female gender roles and stereotypes in Japan, and encouraged the students to participate in scintillating discussion on the topic.
After lunch, Kathy instructed the international students on possible methods they could use to interview Japanese students on the topic of “joshi ryoku” and gender roles. She went through common reasons for misunderstandings during communication, and had the students share their own anecdotes and experience.
Once the Showa students came, Kathy facilitated and proposed different topics for discussion. Throughout the day, various students had chances to present on what they had talked about. At the end of the session, Kathy gave a moving and poignant anecdote from her own work experience in Japan, and endeavored students to always remember their agency, both despite of and in spite of the position of women in our modern-day society.
