Modern girl
Modern girls (モダンガール, modan gāru) (also shortened to moga) were Japanese women who followed Westernized fashions and lifestyles in the period after World War I.
Moga were Japan's equivalent of America's
Origins and etymology
The modern girl archetype was further bolstered by magazines such as The Housewife's Friend (主婦の友, Shufu no tomo), founded in 1917, and Woman (女性, Josei), founded in 1922; both magazines ran articles, fashion tips, and advice on the modern girl lifestyle,[6] with Josei described as "the bible of the modern girl."[7]
Behavior
The values of modern girls emphasised complete financial and emotional independence.[8] Modern girls would work service industry-style jobs and live on their own, not dependent on their family. They smoked, watched movies, and hung out at the cafes; they were sexually liberated, choosing their own suitors. Many of them participated in casual sex.[6] In a 1928 short story by Kataoka Teppei, a young typist dates three "modern boys" at the same time.[9] She is described as decadent, hedonistic, and superficial.[9]
However, the ideals of modern girls were not considered to be politically-driven, nor did young women adopt modern girl values and behaviours as a direct form of protest. Instead, modern girls sought change via themselves,[
Appearance
A modern girl's appearance was completely Western. Modern girls wore pumps and short dresses, discarding the kimono and traditional hairstyles for Western-style "garçonne" looks; similar to flappers, the bob cut was immensely popular among modern girls, who also openly wore lipstick. Much of their dress and appearance resembled Western film stars such as Olive Thomas, Clara Bow, and Mary Pickford.[6] Pickford is used as a symbol of modernism in Naomi.
End of era
The modern girl was a symbol of
See also
- New Woman
- Kogal
- in which the lead character, Hanamura Benio, is a "modern girl," or "haikara-san" ("Miss High-Collar")
References
- ^ The Modern Girl Around the World: Consumption, Modernity, and Globalization, Edited by Alys Eve Weinbaum, Lynn M. Thomas, Priti Ramamurthy, Uta G. Poiger, Modeleine Yue Dong, and Tani E. Barlow, p. 1.
- ^ The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy, edited by Roger N. Lancaster and Micaela Di Leonardo, pp. 493-494
- ^ The 'Modern' Japanese Woman, The Chronicle 5/21/2004:
- ^ Makiko Yamanashi, The Takarasienne and Moga: Modernity in the Prewar Girls' Culture Archived April 13, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-0-74869-632-1.
- ^ a b c The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy, edited by Roger N. Lancaster and Micaela Di Leonardo.
- ^ "Sex in the City: Chastity vs Free Love in Interwar Japan"
- ^ Saunders, Rebecca (December 6, 2021). "'Modern girls': Japan's first recognizable youth culture movement". The Japan Times. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ a b The New Japanese Woman: Modernity, Media, and Women in Interwar Japan
Further reading
- The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy, Vintage Books
- The New Japanese Woman: Modernity, Media, and Women in Interwar Japan
- Dunn, Michael, Taisho Chic: Modern girls and outrage, The Japan Times, May 10, 2007.
- The Modern Girl Around the World: Consumption, Modernity, and Globalization Edited by Alys Eve Weinbaum, Lynn M. Thomas, Priti Ramamurthy, Uta G. Poiger, Modeleine Yue Dong, and Tani E. Barlow
- Silverberg, Miriam (1991). "The Modern Girl as Militant." in Gail Bernstein, Recreating Japanese Women: 1600-1945. pp 239–66.