Misogyny
Chizuko Ueno’s *Misogyny* dissects the deep-seated misogyny embedded in Japanese culture, spanning literary tropes, royal traditions, workplace hierarchies, and intimate family dynamics. Using vivid real-world examples—like the tragic double life of a Tokyo Electric Power elite female employee, the rigid gender rules of the imperial family, and shifting Edo-period shunga art—Ueno unpacks how men enforce patriarchal systems: objectifying women as fantasy vessels or reproductive tools, using male homosocial bonds to police gender norms, and weaponizing sexual double standards to control women’s bodies. She also confronts the overlooked internalized misogyny that passes from mothers to daughters, trapping women in cycles of competition and self-sabotage. Finally, Ueno outlines a path forward, challenging women to confront their own self-hatred and men to reject toxic masculinity definitions that fuel these harmful systems.