Otenba

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Otenba (おてんばっ娘 Otenbakko?) is a Japanese term that is the equivalent of a tomboy. It could also mean an "active" or "mischievous" girl, without implying that the child may present herself in a masculine image. Otenba is unusual in that it is not Japanese in origin but Dutch, from the word ontembaar, meaning “untimely, unruly, ungovernable".[1]

In both the original Dutch and modern Japanese the word is not explicitly reserved for either gender, however in popular usage the word almost always describes girls, possibly because boisterous boys are often considered unremarkable while boisterous girls confound traditional gender stereotypes.[1]

By its strict definition the word otenba is not pejorative, however some commentators have argued that its use is illustrative of the position of women in Japanese society. Parents, for example, may use the term to describe an energetic, uncontrollable daughter who needs to be taught to behave modestly and humbly.[2][3]

The otenba is a common theme in Japanese comics and cartoons.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Eylenbosch, J. M. (July 1940). "Foreign Survivals in the Japanese Language". Monumenta Nipponica 3 (2): 587. Sophia University. 
  2. ^ Davies, Roger J.; Ikeno, Osamu (2002). The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture. Tuttle Publishing, 63-64. ISBN 0804832951. 
  3. ^ Cherry, Kittredge (2002). Womansword: What Japanese Words Say about Women. Kodansha International, 33. ISBN 4770028881. 

[edit] See also

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