Intimate Dependence and its Risks in Neoliberal Japan

Bibliographic Data

ID3017331
AuthorsAllison Alexy (University of Virginia, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume84
Issue4
Pages895-917
Publication date2011-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropological Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-5491 • E-ISSN: 1534-1518
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/anq.2011.0051
OpenAlexW2097447280
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited26

This paper examines how contemporary Japanese women are negotiating neoliberal standards for independence in relation to cultural norms and personal desires that encourage dependence in romantic relationships. In recent decades, neoliberal standards of maturity have become increasingly visible in Japan, and many marital counselors offer advice suggesting that independent, atomized selves are a key to happiness. Yet many women express ambivalence at this formula and instead find romantic possibility in dependent relationships. I examine how women are contesting these opposing standards by focusing on advice surrounding naming practices between spouses

Ambivalence · Developmental psychology · Happiness · Independence (probability theory) · Maturity (psychological) · Negotiation · Psychoanalysis · Relation (database) · Romance · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Japanese History and Culture · Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research · Psychology · Social and Cultural Studies · Social Psychology

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