During the “Dialogue under Occupation” conference that NEIU from Nov. 7 to 11, Christine De Matos was the only speaker to address how “in some ways, Japan is still occupied.”
De Matos, who came from the University of Wollongong in Australia, engaged the audience in a discussion on gender roles and stereotypes. When she commenced her speech, she began by stating that she was not a linguist but a historian.
The paper she delivered to an audience of about 13 explored the roles of women in Japan as both the occupiers and the occupied.
Through slides and articulate speech, she was able to illustrate how distant two cultures were with one another, despite living in the same area. She said Australians were expected to “engage with the culture, [but] not so much the people.”
De Matos also explained how Australian language, both in Australia and in Japan, changed to portray the Japanese negatively in an “elegant” manner.
The Japanese government provided military men and their families with workers. These workers were paid, and yet they were claimed as property.
Australian women also demeaned both Japanese men and women by calling them “Jap houseboys” and “Jap housegirls.” De Matos explained how Japanese women were also illustrated as domestic slaves through modern Australian literature.