Abstract

One of the most widely noted facts about Japanese train passengers is that so many of them fall asleep.” But things happening in a Japanese train carriage can be manifold, from activities as innocuous as napping (inemuri), to silent crimes such as groping (chikan).

In her talk at CUGSS , Dr. Steger will explore the Japanese binary public gender relations by looking at the various behaviour of men and women on public transport. In a society where salarymen dominate the power relations in most settings, in what ways do men exert their privileges during commutes, and how do young women demarcate their own spaces of behavioural freedom?

About the speaker: Dr. Brigitte Steger is an Associate Professor in Modern Japanese Studies at the University of Cambridge with a research interest in everyday life. She has published widely on the social and cultural aspects of sleep. More information can be found on her homepage: https://www.ames.cam.ac.uk/people/dr-brigitte-steger