International Journal of Gender & Women's Studies

On the Relation between Gender and Space:The Case of Japanese Military “Comfort Station” System in Asia and the Pacific
Dr. Roh, Sunhee

Abstract
This research seeks a feminist interpretation of the Japanese military sexual slavery system through a discussion on gender and space. In considering the case of the Japanese comfort station system, it argues for the social relation between women’s bodies and the male-oriented space from the perspective of international politics. Through the analysis of the case of Korean comfort women and girls in the comfort station system, my arguments draw upon Foucault’s concept of ‘docile bodies in the panopticon of panopticism,’ ‘performing gender’ of Butler and ‘politics of rape’ by Rich. By noting that the comfort station system was a double-hierarchized web of relations of domination and subordination, of solidarity and co-operation under the dominant discourses in the matrices of male-oriented power, the case of Korean comfort women and girls exemplifies a double-hierarchized network starting from a local place of Korea to the global places such as Southeastern Asia and the Pacific Islands. In conclusion, this study mainly focuses on analyzing how the relations between gender and space interact within the society and further how this social relationship in the cross-borders strays into the realms of international politics.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijgws.v11n2a4