Post-war Women Appreciation Project
“Was post-war Japanese culture really only created by men? The Post-War Women Appreciation Project, or How TGT Members Get Their Names”
Inspired by the Guerrilla Girls’ tactic of naming themselves after deceased women artists, Tomorrow Girls Troop members each adopt a unique pseudonym. The following article, translated from Japanese for our patrons, gives more context about how TGT members choose their names and why they are important.
Original article link (in Japanese): http://ashitashoujo.com/post/146085035187/gimei
Post-war Women Appreciation Project
Tomorrow Girls Troop operates on anonymity and all are welcome to participate freely. But for emails to outside correspondents, blogs, and press inquiries we use pseudonyms for convenience.
The pseudonyms we use are taken from women and sexual minorities who were active and known in their respective fields, as well as those who contributed to advocating for gender equality.
Did you know that the history textbook published by Ikuhousha, which has been in circulation since 2016, was overseen by an all-male editorial staff, with content that is extremely male-centric?
For details, we invite you to read Tomomi Yamaguchi’s review of the textbook, “The Ikuhousha Textbook Review: There are too many things to point out, I don’t know where to begin.” (In Japanese.)
We turned our attention to a page in this textbook titled “Post-War Culture” in which of the 18 historical figures mentioned, there was only one woman, the famous singer, Hibari Misora.
Was post-war Japanese culture really only created by men?
If women really could not contribute to the center-stage of the cultural scene in the post-war era, shouldn’t that, in hindsight, be considered a social issue?
We researched cultural and social scenes in post-war Japan and we found that there were incredible women in every field.
In our society, there are not enough opportunities to learn about the contributions of women.
The objective of this project is to bring to light these people who tend to be forgotten in our male dominated society.
If you see the name of a Troop member, please take a moment and look up the name on the internet. You will be sure to find amazing women that contributed to Japanese society.
