Institutionalism, Postcolonial Feminism And Comfort Women-Literature Analysis
An Uncomfortable Truth:
Historical Institutionalism, Postcolonial Feminism, and the
“Comfort Women” of World War II
Historical institutionalism (HI) has often been used to discuss the sexual slavery committed by Japanese forces against Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Dutch women during World War II. “(D)istinguished from other social science approaches by its attention to real-world empirical questions, its historical orientation and its attention to the ways in which institutions structure and shape behavior and outcomes” (Steinmo, 2008, p. 118), HI provides important insights on how such a large-scale violation of women’s human rights took place over a long period of time.
However, HI as a theory is not exempt …show more content…
As Steinmo (2008) writes, “To explain institutional change, one needs to bring ‘ideas’ into institutional analysis.” (p.130) HI sees new ideas as the explanation for change, because ideas are powerful enough to have the kind of impact that will reshape entire institutions. This is precisely where a constructivist approach like postcolonial feminism (PF) comes into the literature.
Thus we ask, in light of the prevalence of HI in key literature on comfort women, how does postcolonial feminist theory enter and enrich the discourse? This bibliographic essay will look at three works on comfort women, namely: The Comfort Women: Sex Slaves of the Japanese Imperial Forces by George Hicks (1995), Comfort women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military during World War II by Yoshimi Yoshiaki (1995 trans. 2000), and Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery and Prostitution during World War II and the U.S. Occupation by Tanaka Toshiyuki …show more content…
The book chronicles the issue of prostitution in Japan from the seventeenth century before discussing the comfort system, from the development of the first comfort station in Shanghai, to the international outcry for justice and women’s human rights. Hicks emphasizes the functionalist arguments used to justify the establishment of comfort stations, and presents evidence to suggest that they did not work. He also has the most objectivity in presenting both brutality and kindness in the lives of the women, as he notes the differences in how women were treated by soldiers, officers, and other military personnel at the time.
Like a memoir, Comfort women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military during World War II (1995) by Yoshimi Yoshiaki chronicles the painful day-to-day experiences of comfort women from the point when they were recruited, coerced, or abducted, until the book was published in 1995 when there existed untidy resolutions to the issue. The book briefly but directly addresses the question, “Are comfort women an inevitable fixture accompanying armies?” and delves into the cases of the English, American, Soviet, and German armies in addition to the
Historical Institutionalism, Postcolonial Feminism, and the
“Comfort Women” of World War II
Historical institutionalism (HI) has often been used to discuss the sexual slavery committed by Japanese forces against Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Dutch women during World War II. “(D)istinguished from other social science approaches by its attention to real-world empirical questions, its historical orientation and its attention to the ways in which institutions structure and shape behavior and outcomes” (Steinmo, 2008, p. 118), HI provides important insights on how such a large-scale violation of women’s human rights took place over a long period of time.
However, HI as a theory is not exempt …show more content…
As Steinmo (2008) writes, “To explain institutional change, one needs to bring ‘ideas’ into institutional analysis.” (p.130) HI sees new ideas as the explanation for change, because ideas are powerful enough to have the kind of impact that will reshape entire institutions. This is precisely where a constructivist approach like postcolonial feminism (PF) comes into the literature.
Thus we ask, in light of the prevalence of HI in key literature on comfort women, how does postcolonial feminist theory enter and enrich the discourse? This bibliographic essay will look at three works on comfort women, namely: The Comfort Women: Sex Slaves of the Japanese Imperial Forces by George Hicks (1995), Comfort women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military during World War II by Yoshimi Yoshiaki (1995 trans. 2000), and Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery and Prostitution during World War II and the U.S. Occupation by Tanaka Toshiyuki …show more content…
The book chronicles the issue of prostitution in Japan from the seventeenth century before discussing the comfort system, from the development of the first comfort station in Shanghai, to the international outcry for justice and women’s human rights. Hicks emphasizes the functionalist arguments used to justify the establishment of comfort stations, and presents evidence to suggest that they did not work. He also has the most objectivity in presenting both brutality and kindness in the lives of the women, as he notes the differences in how women were treated by soldiers, officers, and other military personnel at the time.
Like a memoir, Comfort women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military during World War II (1995) by Yoshimi Yoshiaki chronicles the painful day-to-day experiences of comfort women from the point when they were recruited, coerced, or abducted, until the book was published in 1995 when there existed untidy resolutions to the issue. The book briefly but directly addresses the question, “Are comfort women an inevitable fixture accompanying armies?” and delves into the cases of the English, American, Soviet, and German armies in addition to the