In accordance with nature: What Japanese women mean by being in control

Abstract

The persisting ban on oral contraceptives in Japan more than 30 years after their approval abroad is often used as evidence that Japanese women are unliberated victims of male domination. In fact, many Japanese feminists oppose oral contraceptives, and many women worry about taking these chemicals into their bodies. This paper investigates Japanese women's apprehension regarding contraceptive pills. In 1995, the author interviewed 31 patients in obstetric‐gynaecology departments in Tokyo. Their narratives contain four ideas that are important in understanding their contraceptive preferences: ‘inside’, ‘the path of blood’, ‘natural rhythm’, and the relationship between self and body. Analyses of these themes indicate that Japanese women do not share the usual American preconceptions regarding oral contraceptives: they do not take it for granted that male sexual desire is uncontrollable, neither do they think of their bodies as the objects for control. Japanese women value men's willingness to use condoms although their failure rate is higher than oral contraceptives. The ability to control the relationship and not the female body is key.