Gender Inequality in Japanese Fairy Tales with Female Main Character

Abstract

Gender at root is a system of inequality that is founded on cultural beliefs about status differences between men and women. Women usually became the one who are disadvantaged in a relatively similar-situated men. This paper discusses the gender inequality upon women that can be found in Japanese fairy tales that have female main character entitled Kaguyahime and Tsuru no Ongaeshi. Fairy tales chosen as the object of this study because as a traditional story that is told from generation to generation, fairy tales are able to absorb aspects of life found in the supporting community groups, both in the form of social problems, ethics, and others. The results of feminist literary criticism on the object f this study are that both of the fairy tales has four forms of the gender inequality acts toward women, which are marginalization, subordination, stereotyping, and gender-related violence; and none of them has the double workload form. This could be due to the fact that when this fairy tale made, there were none of any women’s activities are performed in the public sphere, as well as being a housewife in their domestic sphere.