From an “Internationalist Woman” to “Just another Asian Immigrant”: Transformation of Japanese Women’s Self-Image before and after Permanent Settlement in a Western Country

Abstract

Young middle class Japanese women who speak English identify themselves as career-oriented “internationalist women.” They hold positive self-images; however, their self-images become convoluted with negative images as they experience changes in their lives. When they marry white males and become permanent residents in Western countries, their self-identities transform into “just another Asian immigrant” out of many. Many Japanese wives of white husbands deny their association with their compatriots when they actually do associate with other Japanese immigrant women. They also deny racial factors in their attraction to their white husbands. I argue that these behaviors are harnessed to redevelop a self-identity by renouncing the stereotypical images of Eurocentric Japanese women. This paper will describe the transformation of Japanese women’s self-images before and after permanent settlement in a Western country and the process of their redevelopment of self-identity.

Keywords

• Japanese immigrant women
• internationalist
• self-identity
• interracial marriage
• Eurocentrism