Modern girl

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For other uses, see Modern girl (disambiguation).

The modern girl (モダンガール, modan gaaru) appeared in Japan in the 1920s as a representation of changing gender roles and related societal shifts. Called the moga for short, these modern girls are often likened superficially with the American flappers of the 1920s. The stereotypical modern girl, as represented in magazines and other media outlets, and as discussed in the intellectual discourse of the day, was something of an imagined ideal, though many women likely embodied elements of this ideal.

Most scholars today, in agreement with contemporary writers at the time, make a point of distinguishing the "modern girls" from flappers, as a result of their social and cultural environment being so different. Though the outward fashions and behaviors may have been very similar, the cultural and societal norms being quietly, subtly rebelled against were quite different.

"Modern girls" were discussed at great length in contemporary magazines with titles such as Josei (女性, "Woman") and Shufu no tomo (主夫の友, "Housewife's Friend") which, much like certain women's magazines of today, covered topics ranging from fashion to household tips. It is important to note that "modern girls" were not a political movement; the stereotypical girl sought to be as free and independent as a man culturally and socially, and was distinct and separate from the suffragette movement. They also did not necessarily seek to challenge men for high-paying white collar jobs, and did not protest in an organized fashion like that of the American suffragettes or the later feminist movements, but simply sought to establish themselves, individually, as free cultural consumers. They watched films, smoked, kept up with the latest fashions, and enjoyed an assortment of male companions. This seductive, independent woman on the street was a radical departure from the quiet, subservient woman of the house.

However, much contemporary discourse admitted that it was not aimed at documenting social change, but at imagining the new kind of woman who could be emergent. In other words, there were not necessarily individual specific people who embodied these virtues; they were not necessarily real people like the flappers, but a hypothetical ideal of a type of modern woman. Of course, there was not simply one, strongly defined type of modern girl; the idea came out of the combination of a number of different descriptions. Some magazines described a hardworking, independent woman, earning her own pay and spending it how she chose. Others focused more on the playful and free aspect of the modern girl, describing someone who lived for leisure and pleasure. Kataoka Teppei wrote at the time:

When we say the Modern Girl exists in our era we are not in particular referring to individuals named Miss So-and-so-ko or Mrs. Such-and-such-e. Rather, we are talking about the fact that somehow, from the midst of the lives of all sorts of women of our era, we can feel the air of a new era, different from that of yesterday. That's right; where can you folks clearly say there is a typical modern girl? That is to say that the Modern Girl is but a term that abstractly alludes to one new flavor sensed from the air of the life of all women in society.^[1]

The idea of a modern girl can also be seen in the fiction literature of the time, particularly that of Junichiro Tanizaki, whose character Naomi, in the novel Chijin no ai can be said to be a perfect example of this type. Naomi, a young cafe waitress, is fashioned into a trendy, glamorous, modern woman by a salaryman who ends up becoming subservient to the very seduction and independence which he fostered in her.