ABSTRACT
Women in the Western as well as in the Eastern sphere live in male-dominated societies which make neither men nor women happy. They live in societies which have to be changed, and this change has already begun. I would like to quote the Japanese feminist Ueno Chizuko, who pointed out the importance of a newly developing ‘women’s world’, of jo en or ‘woman-to-woman bonds’ (Ueno, 1987:141; Asahi-Shinbun: 1987.4.23) for creating a better situation for women. Of the two strategies possible to liberate women – the masculinization of women and the feminization of men – she prefers the latter one (Ueno b, 1985:71) and I share her opinion. Ueno Chizuko seems to be convinced that for this task Japanese feminists are better equipped than their Western sisters, who emerge from individualism (Ueno a, 1987:112–128). This fact indicates that she also is not completely free from sterotypes, this time from the Japanese side against the Western part. In my short paper I want to point out Western stereotypes towards Japanese women. After comparing the Western and the Eastern situation, I would like to stress above all the aspect of rapid change in the situation of Japanese women or better, in the self-estimation of Japanese women.
