雙語:拒穿高跟鞋 日本女星發起網上聯名

#KuToo no more! Japanese women take stand against high heels

上班必須腳踩高跟鞋,哪怕腳已經被磨破,你有過這樣的經歷嗎?最近日本一位女星發起了一場反對在職場穿高跟鞋的社交媒體活動,已經有上萬女性表達了支持。

(Shutterstock/Antonio Guillem)

A social media campaign against dress codes and expectations that women wear high heels at work has gone viral in Japan, with thousands joining the #KuToo movement.

日本最近興起一場反對着裝規範和職場女性穿高跟鞋的社交媒體運動,成千上萬的人加入了了這場#KuToo運動。

dress code:着裝規範

Nearly 20,000 women have signed an online petition demanding the government ban companies from requiring female employees to wear high heels on the job - an example of gender discrimination, says Yumi Ishikawa, who started the drive.

近2萬名女性在網上籤署請願書,請求政府下令禁止公司要求女員工穿高跟鞋上班,發起這項運動的石川由美說,這種要求是性別歧視。

The #KuToo campaign is a play on the word for shoes, or “kutsu” in Japanese, and “kutsuu” or pain.

“#KuToo”運動的名稱來自日文中鞋子(kutsu)和痛苦(kutsuu)諧音

Ishikawa, a 32-year-old actress and freelance writer, hopes the petition she submitted to the health ministry will lead to changes in the workplace and greater awareness about gender discrimination.

現年32歲的石川由美是一名演員兼自由撰稿人,她希望自己提交給日本厚生勞動省的請願書能改變工作環境,提高人們對性別歧視的意識

She launched the campaign after tweeting about being forced to wear high heels for a part-time job at a funeral parlor - and drew an overwhelming response from women.

她在推特上發佈了被迫穿高跟鞋在殯儀館做兼職的消息後,發起了這項活動,並得到了女性的熱烈響應

funeral parlor:殯儀館

“After work, everyone changes into sneakers or flats,” she wrote in the petition, adding that high heels can cause bunions, blisters and strain the lower back.

她在請願書中寫道:“下班後,每個人都會換上運動鞋平底鞋”,並補充說,高跟鞋會導致拇囊炎水皰和下背部拉傷。

“It’s hard to move, you can’t run and your feet hurt. All because of manners,” she wrote, pointing out that men don’t face the same expectations.

她寫道:“穿着高跟鞋很難走路,你不能跑,腳會疼。穿高跟鞋都是出於禮儀要求”。她指出,男性不會面臨同樣的境況

很多國內網友也對這一活動表達了聲援

While many Japanese companies may not explicitly require female employees to wear high heels, many women do so because of tradition and social expectations.

雖然許多日本公司或許沒有明確要求女性員工穿高跟鞋,但很多女性這麼做是出於傳統社會期望。

Ishikawa said her campaign had received more attention from international media outlets than domestic ones, and there was a tendency in Japan to portray the issue as a health one, not a gender one.

石川由美說,國際媒體對她這個活動的關注超過了國內媒體,而在日本,這個問題傾向於被描述成健康問題而不是性別問題。

“Japan is thickheaded about gender discrimination,” she told Reuters in an interview. “It’s way behind other countries in this regard.”

她在接受路透社採訪時說:“日本在性別歧視問題上頭腦遲鈍。在這方面它遠遠落後於其他國家。”

thickheaded :adj.愚蠢的,笨的

Japan ranks 110th out of 149 countries in the World Economic Forum’s gender-equality ranking.

世界經濟論壇的性別平等排名中,日本在149個國家中排名第110位。

“We need people to realize that gender discrimination can show up in lots of small ways,” Ishikawa said, from how women are treated by their bosses to expectations that women will do all the housework and child-rearing even if they work.

石川由美說:“我們需要人們認識到,性別歧視可以在很多微小的方面表現出來。”從老闆如何對待女性,到人們期望女性即使工作,也要做所有的家務和撫養孩子

In decades past, businessmen were expected to wear neckties, but that has changed since the government started a “cool biz” campaign in 2005 to encourage companies to turn down air-conditioners and reduce electricity use.

在過去的幾十年裡,人們希望商務人士打領帶,但自從日本政府在2005年發起了一場“清涼商務”運動以來,情況發生了變化。該運動旨在鼓勵企業減少使用空調,減少用電量

“It would be great if the country had a similar kind of campaign about high heels,” said Ishikawa.

石川由美說:“如果日本也能開展類似的拒穿高跟鞋運動,那就太好了。”

She said she had been the target of online harassment over the campaign, mostly from men.

她說,在活動期間,她一直受到網上騷擾,主要來自男性。

“I’ve been asked why I need to make such a big deal about this - can’t I just work this out with your company?” she said.

她說:“有人問我爲什麼要把這件事看得那麼重要,我就不能和公司商量解決?”

“Or that I’m selfish, that this is just part of etiquette.”

“有的說我很自私,這只是一種禮儀而已。”

The health ministry said it was reviewing the petition and declined to comment further.

日本厚生勞動省表示,正在審閱這份請願書,並拒絕進一步置評。

In Britain, Nicola Thorp launched a similar petition in 2016 after she was sent home from work for refusing to wear high heels.

2016年,英國的尼古拉·索普因拒絕穿高跟鞋而被趕回家後,也發起了類似的請願活動。

A subsequent parliamentary investigation into dress codes found discrimination in British workplaces, but the government rejected a bill banning companies from requiring women to wear high heels.

隨後英國議會對着裝規範的調查發現,英國職場存在歧視,但政府否決了一項禁止公司要求女性穿高跟鞋的提案。