Nightwork

Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club

Author: Anne Allison
ISBN: 9780226014876

In Nightwork, Anne Allison opens a window onto Japanese corporate culture and gender identities. Allison performed the ritualized tasks of a hostess in one of Tokyo's many "hostess clubs": pouring drinks, lighting cigarettes, and making flattering or titillating conversation with the businessmen who came there on company expense accounts. Her book critically examines how such establishments create bonds among white-collar men and forge a masculine identity that suits the needs of their corporations. Allison describes in detail a typical company outing to such a club—what the men do, how they interact with the hostesses, the role the hostess is expected to play, and the extent to which all of this involves "play" rather than "work." Unlike previous books on Japanese nightlife, Allison's ethnography of one specific hostess club (here referred to as Bijo) views the general phenomenon from the eyes of a woman, hostess, and feminist anthropologist. Observing that clubs like Bijo further

Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publish Date: 1994-05-28

Subjects: Social Science / General, Social Science / Customs & Traditions, Social Science / Popular Culture, TRAVEL / Asia / Japan

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Women's Center (Location: Anthropology)