Emotions of perpetrators and victim-survivors: multi-layered violence against Chinese women during the Asia-Pacific War

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay uses a microhistory of Chinese comfort women during the Asia-Pacific War to illuminate the gendered dynamics of violence and the contrasting emotions experienced by both sexually abused women and their Japanese perpetrators, forming a perpetrator-victim dyad. The essay employs the concept of intersectional emotions within a micro-historical framework to demonstrate that this violence against Chinese women, marked by racialization, constitutes one of the many facets of wartime violence. This violence manifests in two contrasting emotional responses that characterize the dyadic interactions against the backdrop of widespread violence during the Asia-Pacific War. This analysis is highly relevant in contexts of power-saturated sites defined by multi-layered violence that is racial, gendered, and imperial. By investigating the dichotomy of emotive dimensions of violence, this essay contributes to a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay among emotions, violence, gender, race, and imperialism. This examination reveals insights into the emotional framework governing the dynamics of violence and challenges the prevailing assumption of uniformity in studies of violence against victim-survivors.