I lived in Japan for a year, about two hours north of Tokyo. Maid cafes are pretty standard - the city I lived in was considered "backwater" and almost rural, but we had a new maid cafe open a few months before I left. I was never able to go there, partially in a moral sense, and partially because I forgot about it.
I think, in a Japanese cultural context, this is very positive. Done in America, Western Europe or Australia might mean very different things, more than likely negative. It seemed to me that because Japanese culture had such a group mentality, something like this is extreme and very attention-getting. These young women, who were probably picked on and bullied, are showing very radical ideas about body acceptance and self-awareness. That's not to say that all Japanese people think this way, but there is not a mainstream support for things like feminism and body acceptance.
I have to say that I am in support, because from these women's cultural perspective, this is a huge risk financially, emotionally and even physically. They're really challenging the people around them and the status quo. Maybe not the "best" way, by encouraging a certain amount of fetishism, but they're putting themselves out there and really making a statement.
My mother used to live in Japan and said there seemed to be only two sizes of women there: tiny and large. She was a 5'7" blonde American woman, I imagine things were tough to come by for her, clothes-wise. I think she was also saying that their society didnt really catch the middle of the road, which might be why these seemingly rather normal looking waitresses are considered "chubby", because they aren't the tiny side, so they must fit the large side only.
To add a little context, many women in Japan are tiny. Clothing sizs in department stores go up to about a size 8 and shoe sizes stop at a 6 1/2. I was commiserating with a manager at Takashimaya who was my height (5'8") and a size 12, and she said she had to special order her clothes, or shop in Hong Kong.
Those girls are cute... I know there's the fetishism issue, but I really would like to see Japan embrace larger girls a little more. If you think the fat hate is bad in America, Japan isn't much better if not worse. It's good to see these girls feeling better about themselves.
All that said, I do not look forward to trying to buy clothing in Japan.
@Plum Spaniel: I have no idea how I'd clothe myself if I ever ended up in Asia-- which I hope to; I'm applying for a fellowship-- never mind all the interesting reactions I'd get as a result of my stature and other features (see: 5'11", size 12, jewfro)!
@Raspberry Swirl: Dance Party Coordinator: the only thing I was able to buy, clothing wise, was a shirt in the men's department at the Gap. If there are ex-pat stores, I couldn't find them.
But my goodness, the housewares. The pottery. The fabrics. I ended up buying gorgeous indigo and other fabric that I brought home and had made into things here.
@brendastarlet is on it: I'd be worried I'd buy too many little trinkets and whatnot that shipping them home would be a nightmare. I tend to overshop. A lot.
@Plum Spaniel: I get the feeling specially ordered clothes for me would be ridonkulously expensive. I'm all for ordering online, though. And Etsy's just awesome. I need to lose some weight before any travel abroad. And I totally get the irony of saying that on this post.
@Raspberry Swirl: Dance Party Coordinator: the one thing the Japanese know how to do is ship. Any department store will pack your purchases so that you can take them to a post office (or your office) and mail them home. There is a special "book" rate. I shipped 12 boxes of "books" home.
@Raspberry Swirl: Dance Party Coordinator: also, you will lose weight in Tokyo because you will walk so much. I lost 15 pounds in three months simply from tromping up and down subway stairs.
@Raspberry Swirl: Dance Party Coordinator: Can I go old-school and say Princess Tutu? Or even further back to Bubblegum Crisis (the original)? I feel like an old lady when I talk about anime, I haven't watched anything new in like 5 years.
@lijakaca: I haven't seen those, but then again, I'm not much of an authority on anime. The last I watched was Paranoia Agent, which I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend.
I think that the girls' attitudes are great, and if the cafe plays a part in that, then great! They seem like wonderful, well-rounded (NO PUN INTENDED OKAY?) women.
Also, we as Americans may not think they're fat, but the average woman's BMI in Japan is drastically lower than in America.
That said, it's ridic that these have to exist. Even if it's not some dank brothel catering to men with a fat fetish, it kind of still speaks about our standards of beauty as a whole. But, let it be known that I applaud these women.
@morninggloria: I found it like one of those dreams where your doing normal stuff but everything is weird somehow. It's a highly developed country (as we all know) but it was just so...different - food, light switches, body language.
Of course as someone who grew up on a small island with special codes of behaviour, it gave me some perspective on life in the UK.
@morninggloria: I always kind of think it would be fun to drop some acid and go wandering through Tokyo. I told my friend this who had been there and she shrugged and said all you need is some highly sugared beverage and it is the same thing. Something along the lines of "Save the acid for where you need it, like..Des Moines"
@Gundam_Halo: oh damn, they were the one and only time I ever went to Japan in the Nineties and I was stunned by them. I actually decided you could tell a lot by a country's vending machines.
For example Germany is nice enough to have cigarette vending machines in the street and to give you change with them whereas England overcharges you for cigarettes in their vending machines and gives you less fags than you would get in a shop.
@emilyanne: And the place that gave us the fem-bot, those girls who dress like Victorian children, and those creepy lap-pillows from the other day. At this point, I'm sort of like WTF Japan?
@funnyface: oh wow those are cool. We have paperback book vending machines at the London Tube stations (well some of them) that I also think are good. See vending machines rock.
@emilyanne: Soooo true. I'm from Canada and am constantly shocked when I see shit like hamburger and/or pizza vending machines in the US. It speaks volumes of our subtle cultural differences.
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I think, in a Japanese cultural context, this is very positive. Done in America, Western Europe or Australia might mean very different things, more than likely negative. It seemed to me that because Japanese culture had such a group mentality, something like this is extreme and very attention-getting. These young women, who were probably picked on and bullied, are showing very radical ideas about body acceptance and self-awareness. That's not to say that all Japanese people think this way, but there is not a mainstream support for things like feminism and body acceptance.
I have to say that I am in support, because from these women's cultural perspective, this is a huge risk financially, emotionally and even physically. They're really challenging the people around them and the status quo. Maybe not the "best" way, by encouraging a certain amount of fetishism, but they're putting themselves out there and really making a statement.
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All that said, I do not look forward to trying to buy clothing in Japan.
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But my goodness, the housewares. The pottery. The fabrics. I ended up buying gorgeous indigo and other fabric that I brought home and had made into things here.
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@Plum Spaniel: I get the feeling specially ordered clothes for me would be ridonkulously expensive. I'm all for ordering online, though. And Etsy's just awesome. I need to lose some weight before any travel abroad. And I totally get the irony of saying that on this post.
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It's also made me realize that maybe that's not such a bad thing...
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Once you go down that rabbit hole, you won't be able to un-see what Japan has to offer.
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I feel like an old lady when I talk about anime, I haven't watched anything new in like 5 years.
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Also, we as Americans may not think they're fat, but the average woman's BMI in Japan is drastically lower than in America.
That said, it's ridic that these have to exist. Even if it's not some dank brothel catering to men with a fat fetish, it kind of still speaks about our standards of beauty as a whole. But, let it be known that I applaud these women.
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Of course as someone who grew up on a small island with special codes of behaviour, it gave me some perspective on life in the UK.
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"Save the acid for where you need it, like..Des Moines"
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DREAMS, OH DREAMS.
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If this restaurant "caters to a fetish," what say you of the restaurant where all of the maids are very thin? Is that also a fetish of sorts?
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For example Germany is nice enough to have cigarette vending machines in the street and to give you change with them whereas England overcharges you for cigarettes in their vending machines and gives you less fags than you would get in a shop.
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