Asano-Cavanagh, Yuko (2012). Expression of kawaii (‘cute’): Gender reinforcement of young Japanese female school children. In Jan Wright (Ed.), Joint AARE APERA International Conference Proceedings. Sydney: Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE). http://www.aare.edu.au/publications-database.php.
Abstract:
This paper examines the Japanese cultural key word kawaii ‘cute’. Although the kawaii phenomenon has been discussed by many scholars, there has been no rigorous semantic analysis, particularly in its use by parents, students and teachers. Teachers frequently use kawaii to show positive feelings towards objects in the classroom. Girls, too, are primary users of the word, which suggests they are acquiring kawaii as an index of female gender identity. From a linguistic perspective, kawaii is not lexicalized in other languages. While English speakers may say cute for various social actions, scholars suggest that kawaii is tied to empathy and relationships.
NSM was used to explicate the exact meaning of kawaii for non-Japanese speakers. The analysis indicates that the core meaning of kawaii is linked to the notion of a ‘child’, and the emotion is explained as ‘when I see this, I can’t not feel something good’. The kawaii syndrome reveals a Japanese cultural characteristic that puts much emphasis on being ‘gender appropriate’ in society and schools. The analysis has implications for understanding gender construction and expression in non-Western cultures.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
