IGWS Newsletter Vol. 52

Genderless Uniforms Project is underway!

The Okazaki Nishi High School Broadcasting Club interviewed the Stereo Remove Section in 2021 on gender and school uniforms. In addition, Nagakute City introduced genderless school uniforms. These uniforms led to a discussion on what would happen if we created an entirely new genderless school uniform, unique to the Stereo Remove Section, which men and women could wear. As a result, we launched the "Genderless Uniform Project."

We held six meetings from August to November 2022 to research the history of Japanese school uniforms and determine the uniform's concept and design. As a result, we developed ten design proposals. Then, we conducted a questionnaire survey of Aichi Shukutoku University students and asked them to evaluate the ten proposals. Three of these ten proposals received high evaluations: (1) a beige blazer and checkered culottes that differentiated the uniform from other school uniforms while maintaining formality; (2) a pink knitwear that not only pursued ease of movement and comfort but also incorporated a sense of fun; and (3) a red wrap skirt that was unbound by the concept of a uniform. We plan to create actual uniforms based on these design proposals.

Activities of the Stereo Remove Division in 2022

The Stereo Remove section increased its membership significantly in 2022, with half of the members being newcomers.

We guided high school students and introduced the IGWS at open campus events held in June, July, and September. We made posters and assisted the high school students in running the events, including lectures held at the IGWS. These lectures included "How to Wear a Suit that is True to Yourself: For Job Hunting and Working People," held in July, and the 41st seminar, "Living in a 'Gender Inequal Nation': What We Have Seen from Campaign Commercial Production" held in September. We launched the Genderless Uniform Project in July. Moreover, we visited the Research Institute for Women and Careers at Japan Women's University in August and interviewed them about their activities. In November, we received a request for an online interview regarding genderless uniforms from Nagoya Nishi High School. Then, we began editing the 52nd issue of the Newsletter. Members suggested ideas for the project that they wished to conduct, interviewed people in different fields, and wrote the text.

41st IGWS seminar, "Living in a 'Gender Inequal Nation': What We Have Seen from Campaign Commercial Productions” Lecturer: Kaoru Shigezawa (Tokai Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd.)

We held the 41st IGWS seminar on November 21, 2022. We invited Ms. Shigezawa from Tokai Television to talk about "Gender Unequal Nation Japan," seen through the production of her campaign commercials. Ms. Shigezawa was unaware of "gender" in her everyday life until she started working for a broadcasting company. However, she felt confused and could not verbalize when she worked in an industry that portrayed a male-dominated society. Therefore, she decided on the issue of gender inequality in daily life as the topic of her commercial productions. The production team members spent much time discussing issues and formulating titles when editing the extended interviews with different people down to a few minutes of content. Through these discussions, they could benefit from sharing gender awareness with program creators, many of whom were men. The mass media industry may seem glamorous at first glance, but it is not a comfortable environment for women to continue working. After conveying this fact to the audience, Ms. Shigezawa expressed her hope about the new awareness sprouting among the younger generation because of the increasing numbers of male workers who can open up to their counterparts and express their weaknesses. She stated that such communication would create solidarity and become a strength in the future. Gender issues are problems that many students will realize as their own when they leave the university. This talk will be helpful for students' vision when looking ahead to careers after graduation. This 90-minute session made me want to believe that steps are being taken to achieve "gender equality," although realizing it might take time.

FY2022 Annual Report of the IGWS

In the FY2022, the IGWS revived specific activities that had been canceled for many years due to COVID-19. One such activity is the “Hoshigaoka Gender Institute,” which used to be held monthly during the term. A temporary branch of the IGWS library was set up in the corner of the Global Lounge on days when we did not have the event so that Hoshigaoka campus students could become more familiar with the Institute.

In addition, a new initiative for 2022 was a themed exhibition of the Institute's collection of books. IGWS has over 2,500 books. The exhibition was an opportunity for students to borrow books that they could not usually access.

Next, I would like to introduce some of the events held by the IGWS in addition to regular seminars. In May, we had the "Versailles Karuta" with the cooperation of Dr. Michiko Oshiyama, assistant professor of the Faculty of Creative Expression, who explained the world of the Showa-era comic masterpiece the "Versailles Rose" from a gender perspective while playing karuta. In July, the IGWS also hosted an event on "How to Wear a Suit that is True to Yourself: For Job Hunting and Working People." In January, we held the 15th Gender Diversity Perspective Graduation Thesis and Graduation Project Debriefing Session, in which eight students gave presenttions.

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