Ike Tamanaha

Comparing Medical and Mass Media Discourse on Male Prostitutes in Occupied Japan, 1945-1952

Introduction

Comparing medical and mass media discourse on male prostitutes in occupied japan, 1945-1952. Explore medical and mass media discourse on male prostitutes in Occupied Japan (1945-1952) to understand postwar societal chaos, emasculation, and changing social norms.

Abstract

What can media representations of male prostitutes in Japan during the Allied Occupation (1945-1952) tell historians about the postwar period? This paper explores male sex workers in the wake of Japan’s World War II defeat to revise male-female centered historiographies of this seven-year period. While the population of male prostitutes remained stable—if not decreased—from before to after 1945, they became subjects of psychiatric case studies and popular magazine articles as unique symbols of postwar societal chaos. 1 Though Japanese lives changed dramatically after August 15, 1945, journalists and psychiatrists projected society’s “emasculation” and collapsing social norms onto male sex workers who had been part of society long before World War II began. This paper argues that postwar Japan lingered between tensions of real and perceived social instability, where psychiatrists and journalists alike wrote disorder, emasculation, and chaos into their depictions of male sex workers’ bodies.

Review

This paper, "Comparing Medical and Mass Media Discourse on Male Prostitutes in Occupied Japan, 1945-1952," presents a compelling and novel inquiry into the immediate postwar period. It aims to interrogate how representations of male sex workers in both psychiatric case studies and popular magazine articles illuminate the societal anxieties of Occupied Japan. The central argument posits that while the actual population of male prostitutes remained stable or even decreased, they became potent, if often misleading, symbols onto which journalists and psychiatrists projected the era's perceived "emasculation" and collapsing social norms. This projection, the paper argues, effectively "wrote disorder, emasculation, and chaos into their depictions of male sex workers’ bodies," thereby endeavoring to revise existing male-female centered historiographies of the seven-year occupation period. A significant strength of this research lies in its innovative interdisciplinary methodology, juxtaposing medical and mass media discourses to reveal a nuanced picture of public and professional perceptions. By focusing on male sex workers, the paper offers a unique lens through which to examine postwar societal instability, challenging conventional narratives that might overlook or misinterpret the complexities of male experiences during this transformative era. The paper's assertion that these representations were largely projections of perceived instability, rather than reflections of demographic reality, provides a critical insight into the construction of social anxieties and the powerful role of media in shaping collective consciousness during a period of profound national defeat and restructuring. This study is poised to make a substantial contribution to several fields, including Japanese history, gender studies, media studies, and the history of medicine. By meticulously dissecting how notions of "emasculation" and societal chaos were inscribed onto a marginalized group, the paper offers valuable insights into the dynamics of moral panics and the creation of social deviance during times of national crisis. Its focus on the tension between "real and perceived social instability" is particularly salient, underscoring the enduring power of discourse to shape lived realities and historical understanding. This promises to be an essential read for anyone interested in the cultural and social history of Occupied Japan and the broader mechanisms through which societies grapple with profound change.

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