Contestation Of Gender Ideology In Contemporary Japanese Women’s Fiction: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Yunita El Risman

Authors

Yunita El Risman universitas hasanuddin; universitas Gadjah Mada

Keywords:

gender ideology, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Japanese literature, women writers

Abstract

This article examines the contestation of gender ideology in contemporary Japanese women’s fiction through the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis. Literature is approached as a discursive practice that not only reflects social realities but also actively produces and normalizes ideological meanings related to gender. Using Fairclough’s three dimensional model of discourse, this qualitative study analyzes how gender ideology operates at the textual, discursive, and social levels in three novels written by Japanese women authors: Hebi ni Piasu by Kanehara Hitomi, Chichi to Ran by Kawakami Mieko, and Konbini Ningen by Murata Sayaka. These novels were selected for their critical engagement with dominant gender norms in contemporary Japanese society. The analysis focuses on discourses of the female body, reproductive roles, work, normality, and power relations as constructed through narrative strategies, descriptive language, and character positioning. The findings reveal that gender ideology in these texts is not presented through explicit moral discourse or overt resistance, but is normalized through seemingly neutral narrative styles, repetitive everyday language, and the absence of evaluative judgment. Such discursive strategies function to naturalize gendered discipline across intimate, domestic, and institutional spheres. This study contributes to Japanese literary and gender studies by demonstrating that gender ideology in contemporary women’s fiction operates primarily through discursive normalization rather than thematic confrontation. By foregrounding the role of narrative language in sustaining and contesting gender norms, the article highlights literary texts as critical spaces for examining the subtle workings of ideological power in everyday life.

Dimensions

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