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My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki is a 1999 novel with two central female characters Ozeki shines light on the stereotypical gender roles, and identities of Japanese women both in American culture and in Japan using meat as both a prop and analogy. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Sei Shonagon's The Pillow Book that foreshadows what will happen next. As Jane seeks to find authentic American wife to exemplify the stereotypical American dream family, she is tied down by the requirements the women must meet to qualify for the show. Ozeki also addresses the issue of DES, a growth hormone, and the not-so-pretty side of the meat industry. The two main charters of the book, Jane and Akiko, are able to bridge a relationship through the television show My American Wife despite their geographical distance and overcome the hardships they face as Japanese women.
After Jane Takagi, an unemployed Japanese American documentarian, takes a job as the producer of My American Wife, her life is changed forever. Jane will become entangled with many of the women she chooses for the show. As each wife showcases a new dish for the upcoming episode, Jane often uninvited, manages to peak into the imperfect aspects and secrets of their lives. What Jane fails to do is look at the imperfections of her own. Once her affair with Sloan, a musician from Chicago, leaves her pregnant and she attempts to balance both her career and the well being of her unborn child, you can see the modern American woman' s struggle. Jane, affected by
the DES hormones her mother took when she was a fetus, will not be able to procreate and is gravely affected by it. Until her pregnancy she fails to see herself as a complete woman partly also because of her physical appearance. Very much of Janes identity is based on her outer appearance. She wears her hair short and speaks mens Japanese because of her Amazon build. Once she gets pregnant Jane has to live with the choices she makes as a workingwoman. She has to protect her unborn child, but has also has to do her job. Ozeki shows there is no room for maternal weakness in the industry of Japanese men. Jane's loss of her unborn child leaves her feeling like a failure. Janes retreat to her mothers place allows the reader see the softer maternal and feminine sides of both characters.
Akiko is used to show the stereotypical housewife of a Japanese man. Her sole purpose is to provide John with a son. Akiko's infertility comes from John's abuse, and her inability to conceive only makes him more abuse towards her. Akiko, like many others, doesn't know where to turn or how to escape John. She prepares all of the meals from the show for John to try, but he's often unsatisfied with her attempts. Akiko is presented as a small, frail, and quiet woman, both physically and in her personality. She endures much physical and emotional abuse from John for her inability to gain weight. A combination of her cultural upbringing and John's constant abuse leaves Akiko a very apologetic individual that blames herself for everything. Akiko's character exemplifies the gender roles of Japanese women and the importance of childbearing placed on them. Eventually Akiko, with the support from other women, frees herself
from John and runs off to America to start a new life for her and her unborn child.
John, Akiko's husband, exhibits the other side of the gender role. He is the abuse, domineering male character in the book. John doesnt limit his sexist behavior to his time at home. He brings it along to America and attempts to Rape Takagi. John seems to have the same opinion towards all women treating them as stepping-stones to his final destination. He takes what he wants from the women weather it be their sexuality, freedom, or independence. He oppresses the smaller more timid Akiko with his voice and his physical abuse, and tires to do the same to Jane with her sexuality. John uses the fact that these women are indeed women to control and demean them. His attempted rape of Jane is a perfect example of him trying to make her nothing but a sexual oasis for his penis. Even in a woman he is attracted to, like in the Texas strip club, John still fails to humanize his female counterparts. Unable to take responsibility for his failure, blames Akiko for everything, even his inability to produce an erection. As the novel unfolds and the reader is introduced to more American housewives, the issue of identity becomes prevalent. The women that Jane selects for the show have to be the type of women that Japanese women across the world can identify with. Jane has an identity struggle of her own, but she is aware of the expectations people have of her due to her ethnicity. Shes supposed to be smart and articulate, but not threatening or abrasive. She admits herself that Americans are conditioned to believe what she says simply because of the way she looks. Akiko is also struggling with her identity. Initially Akiko was just Johns wife. There was nothing
more to her as a person, but as her character develops you being to see her find herself. She questions her sexuality, her marriage, and her desire to have a child with a man. A major part of both Janes and Akikos identity rely heavily on their fertility. Since a good wife is considered to be one that births a son, Akiko has a hard time identifying herself one. Jane divorced because of her failure to conceive, calls herself safe. Their inability to produce the major thing required of them as women leaves a daunting shadow over their identity.
The very easy to remember motto provided to Jane, pork is possible, but beef is best, is the platform on which stereotyping takes place in My Year of Meats. Beef is the standard all American wife, most desirable and most appetizing. Any other meat that isnt beef is second-class much like any housewife that isnt white, attractive, and living an attractive, clean, wholesome lifestyle. The further away the women get from the lifestyle exemplified by beef, the less desirable they become for the show. The less desirable families like the Martinezs and the Beaurdouxs are of the second-class meats. They will do, but its really more desirable to have a white authentic housewife. Ms. Helen, the black housewife, isnt selected to be on the show at all regardless of her meat and the lesbians, Laura and Dyann, cause a huge uproar behind the scenes for Jane. The lesbians being the furthest removed from the idea of the authentic beefcooking housewife, present vegetarian recipe.
My Year of Meats was a very eye-opening book for me. Although it isn't my first
time reading about the experiences of Japanese women and their roles in society, the story was still shocking. While I personally couldn't relate to Akiko, I can understand and sympathize with her situation. I found her charter much stronger than portrayed in the book. Akiko, after enduring much abuse from John, makes no attempt to get revenge. In fact when she runs off to America, she withdraws only two thirds of their joint account. Most women after suffering that kind of treatment would have emptied out the account and found other ways to get their revenge, but Akiko still kind and gentle hearted, leaves John with something. On the other hand, I was able to relate to Jane on multiple levels. Jane shares the same experience of growing up as a multicultural individual in America as I do. Much like mine, Jane's relationship with her mother is affected by the cultural gap between them. When I picked up My Year of Meats, I was expecting to read the woe is me tales of a single Japanese woman, but what I found was something more shocking, and diverse. As I started reading I was able to see the same type of westernized consumerism I am familiar with in Ethiopia. If you place the right products under the idea of the American dream, it sells. Like many other companies BeefEX was using the American dream to make a profit. However, the use of DES and other growth hormones was a very unfamiliar subject to me. After reading of the slaughterhouse, the feed, and the process used to bring the animals to size, and all the other gruesome occurrences, I became highly intrigued about the meat industry. My Year of Meats has also changed the way I look at certain things. Anything can be used as an advertisement as long you tap into what a group of people are lacking, weather it be
In her novel My Year of Meats Ozeki explores the relationship between Japanese and Japanese American women thorough a television series using meat as a buffer between the two cultures. While beef is a pivotal part of the show, meat is usually used as an analogy or a metaphor in the book. Ozeki helps the American reader visualize the life of one Japanese housewife by comparing and contrasting it with the lives of the many American wives. During her production of the show, Jane discovers certain truths about American wives that go beyond the stereotypical beef-cooking housewife. In her search to find the most authentic American wives, Jane finds herself on a journey of exposing untruths in the American meat industry and discovering the truths in her own life.