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Imperialism and Girls’ Norm —Focused on Takarazuka Girls’ Revue in the Modern Period of Japan—

Bae Myojung 1

1서울대학교 예술문화연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Takarazuka Girls’ Revue in the first years of the 20th century compressively shows the process of girls that exist as modern subjects being standardized through various institutionalizing mechanism. In the process of standardization and institutionalization that expands from the norm of homes, schools, and ultimately to that of the nation state, girls are defined as an entity enslaved and tethered by triplicated structure of norms, and in this dissertation, this phenomenon is termed “Girls’ Norm”. The girls’ communities of modern Japan have confirmed and verified their own identity through the norm of chastity requested by the patriarchal system, and the Girl Cadets of Takarazuka Music School(TMS) have practiced this further as an unassailably intimate school norm. Then the wholesome norm of Takarazuka Music School which is abstracted as the phrase of ‘Be Pure, Proper and Pretty’ expands naturally into the norm of imperialistic nation state. The point is that the norm practiced by the Girl Cadets was not only a compulsory obligation forced ab extra, but also a choice made by themselves intentionally and autonomously ab intra. Hence, in this dissertation, I investigated the process of practicing girls’ norms and the duplicity of the subject who practices the norm herself. The main purpose and significance of this analysis lies on questioning the infinite extendability and latent riskiness of normalized perception and revealing the peculiar relationship between the Takarazuka Girls’ Revue and the imperialistic politics.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.