ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I present young single women’s perceptions of their own lives as seen through the prism of magazines targetted at them. Because these magazines offer ideas and images of independence and freedom, they represent an alternative to the dominant morality that is sympathetic to trends towards leisure activities before marriage, later marriage and later, less frequent childbirth. 1 The large number, popularity and accessibility of these magazines call for an exploration of what images and articles in the magazines attempt to convey to young single women. This is one aim of this chapter. However, young women participate in schools, families, and work situations that strongly encourage group cooperation and womanly nurturance. Thus women’s perceptions are situated among contending ideas and practices. The question of what magazines attempt to communicate must be expanded to ask what the targetted women are thinking and doing. This chapter poses the question of the extent to which the images and ideas of young women’s magazines fit with the lives of the women they address. Ultimately, I ask what positions young Japanese women take in relation to the often contradictory ideas and images through which they build their lives.
