Snow Country Sexism

In the novel Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata, Shimamura makes a comment to Komako; “‘You're a good girl [...] You’re a good woman’” (Kawabata 146-147). These comments said, almost one right after the other, anger Komako. The shift between the words of “girl” and “woman” is what angered Komako. Age is an important factor for women and men. As a social standard, it is better for women to be younger. Japan is a male dominant society so this means men has the upper hand and say on all things. This is quite different than society in the United States. Women are pushed to be independent despite the fact women face sexism even there. However, Japanese women face larger examples of sexism than American women. One example is the fact it is completely …show more content…
Most Japanese men prefer the younger ladies due to their innocence and beauty. So popular female figures are structured and shaped to please the targeted audience, the males. Females are objectified because of their beauty, and this is all for the of pleasure of men. Females are conditioned to watch their looks. It is important for Japanese women to look young. So that being said, the older a women is, the less beautiful and value she is to other males. This is the reason why the makeup industry is doing so well in Japan. If a female was to have an arranged marriage, she would have a harder time finding a partner if she was older. Females are compared to “Christmas cake”, the older they are, the less value they have towards men. This connects to why Komako is angry from the transition from “girl” to “woman”. The term “girl” is connected to young and naive while the term “woman” means to be grown up and serious. Komako is a geisha so her age and beauty is important. Shimamura indirectly calls her old and she took great offense to the comment. Komako is deeply in love with Shimamura, and to have him insult her made her angry, “‘A good woman-what do you mean by