A clip from the anime Welcome to the NHK
Watch from (11:10 to 12:10)
The main character is introduced to Maid Cafes for the first time
Maid Cafes Serving Since 2001
Meido Cafes or as they are know in the west, Maid Cafes are not your traditional coffee shop. Built with the intention of servicing the growing otaku (people who are immersed in the anime/ manga lifestyle) culture in Japan. Maid Cafes special sell are the maids, who wait on customers, cook and socialize with the patrons, all with an attractively bubbly attitude.
Kawaii! More Moe!!!
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| A meme about Moe, a Japanese fetish emerging from Otaku culture |
The image of maid's have been popularized by the increasing use of short skirted, maid characters in anime, gal games (visual novels), manga, etc. The heavy use of maids in Japanese media has created a new fetish of Moe maids. Usually, male patrons would go to maid cafes looking to see the real life manifestations of their desires fulfilled. An establishment to serve their perversive natures.
What can I get you Master?
Upon entering a Maid Bar, you are greeted by the all-women staff, bowing, bent at the hip, while in unison say "Okaerinasaimase, goshujinsama", translated into 'Welcome Home, Master". Meiko Cafes give the customers the luxury usually reserved for the rich, their own personal maids for the low, low price of purchasing a slice of cake. Girls at these cafes are there to fulfil the fantastical role of someone like a pseudo Moe mother.
The Maid Cafe Experience
In this video, the women's kneeling and shows extreme politeness suggests the male patrons have dominance over her. Her demeanour nearing the Q&A session of the video is also not as excited as when she is working, suggesting a misrepresentation of women's attitude and a stereotype that women should be fun and cute.
In this video, the women's kneeling and shows extreme politeness suggests the male patrons have dominance over her. Her demeanour nearing the Q&A session of the video is also not as excited as when she is working, suggesting a misrepresentation of women's attitude and a stereotype that women should be fun and cute.
Maid Cafe Staff do basic cafe duties like:
- Cook cakes, cookies, and savoury dishes
- Clean after their patrons
But cafe staff also are expected to do extra duties like:
- Greet/Send off customers ex: 'Welcome home, Master" or "Please return Master"
- Spoon feeding customers
- Cooling Service (ie: blow hot soup)
- Kneel during table services (ie: when mixing customers sugar/cream in coffee)
- Entertain customers with table service
- Play games and socialize with customers
- Smile all the time
- Be pure and sweet
- Grooming Services
- Massages
- Take Photos with Patrons
- Refer to customers as Master
- Dress in costume maid outfits that includes short skirts/ beautify themselves
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| A typical maid's costume |
To refer to general male patrons as 'Master' is deeming and reinforces the stereotype that women are below males in the social hierarchy. A Meiko Cafe is a brothel in disguise, with its whole purpose to serve men and to satisfy their sexual fantasies. This emerging trend/ fetish for this fantasy girl is concerning and can manifest itself into expectations of girls in the real world.
Maid cafes are only the beginning, they are a sub-category of the cosplay cafe trend. There are also cuddle parlours with maid playing women who snuggle with patrons who pay a base fee. They also offer head petting services, spooning and whispering compliment services. Women in these trades are being subjected to sexist perversion of the customers. The fact that such establishments exist raises concern for what is becoming considered a norm in society.
For further reading look into this topic read this article about the first maid cafe opening in New York city.
http://nextshark.com/meet-the-owner-of-new-yorks-first-japanese-maid-cafe/
Food for Thought
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| Maid from iMaid Cafe, a Maid Cafe in Toronto |
Every year Toronto host a maid cafe of its own, Cafe Delish, as one of the events during the largest anime convention in Canada, Anime North. Do you see this culture spreading to western cities? If yes, is it concerning?
Do Maid Cafes constitute as innocent entertainment?
Why do Maid Staff choose to work in Cafes? Is it because of the respect oriented culture Japanese people are raised/ live in that makes the work feel normal?
Should Moe characters be idolized or fetishized? Why aren't the strong female leads as popular as the Moe characters in anime?
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ReplyDeleteI have two opinions regarding the maid cafes. I think that Western cities are more so moving away from the concept that women are inferior to men. Like you stated, at Starbucks, no male customer can expect their server to kneel when serving them the drink they ordered. On the other hand, I feel that women have a long way to go in terms of achieving an equal status to men. The fact that this culture may be spreading to western cities is very concerning, since this whole stereotype is what women are trying to get away from. These maid cafes, which is the norm in Japan is very sad to see, because it seems as though no matter how hard women fight to become equals, we just keep getting reminded of the stereotype that society has for women.
ReplyDeleteMaid cafes do not constitute as innocent entertainment since it is degrading to women and in the pure interest to please men by serving them in short skirts and showing off your body, as shown in the video. Nothing about this “entertainment” should be considered innocent in my opinion. The things that these maids have to do such as kneeling, calling the males masters at all times (which is very degrading) and spoon feeding them are just purely sexist. It follows the stereotype that all men are superior and that the job of a women is to make food and take care of a man. I truthfully do not understand why women would want to servants in these types of cafes, although it may be because of the culture Japanese people have lived in.
Moe characters should not be idolized at all in my opinion. As I stated before, it just re-enforces the stereotype that all men like female who are cute, innocent looking, and submissive. Looking at these maids working in cafes from a feminist’s lens, it shows that woman are vulnerable and weak and that their only place are at the men’s feet to serve them. Since I have seen anime before, I can tell that strong females are definitely not as popular as the Moe characters. The reason for that is because there are men today who do not like to face the reality that women are just as capable as they are, and are not all vulnerable. The men like the feeling of putting themselves in the position of the anime characters, so that they can imagine that they are superior to women. For others, they may just consider it the norm that women are meant to serve men in society. I think it shows that men would not like women who have just as much power as they do, and are not yet ready to face the change that women have a different purpose in life, rather than spoon feeding them.
To what lengths do women need to go to, to stop them from being stereotyped against? What more do they have to prove to be equals with men? Do you think that these anime conventions in Toronto, will start taking place more frequently?
I strongly agree with Radhika on the ridiculous idea of this just being "entertainment". Although in regards to the maid cafe opening in New York, I do believe that unless they change the nature of the cafes there will be tons of backlash from the community. I also think that what was said by the owner of the New York cafe could be true. In Japan respect and rankings are very important and is engraved into their culture. Looking at the cafes from that point of view I can imagine how the mannerisms could just be a form of respecting the customers, but I still do feel as though the outfits are unnecessarily provocative and sexual.
DeleteIn regards to Radhika's question about the anime conventions, I can't say whether they will happen more often but I feel as though they do play a role in this. Many animes and mangas tend to promote the cute, shy, lovable, bubbly girl as an 'ideal' type of girl, and for the various amounts of young girls who see these things it could easily influence them.
Many anime and even live actions dramas produced in Japan and Korea have very submissive type female leads. You will notice that their is always the male, the bad guy with the good heart character, strong, the leader of the pack, trying to save or protect her. The dominant discourse is that women are lesser because they can't take care of themselves. Women need protectors. This is apparent in the very language of these countries. In Korea, the women refer to older males/ a brother as 'Oppa'.But, you may have heard of this term as an endearment for males in relationships. However, their is no female equivalent that males must refer to their girlfriends. This shows that even this mindset is ingrained in the very society of the state, in the pyramid, females are still lower.
DeleteIn English we have some equivalents like, HIStory, mailMAN/congressMAN, MANkind, MANpower, chairMAN, etc; sexist language = sexist society.
I would have to agree with you on that. In Korea, there are many exceptions on how a women is supposed to look. They are not that accepting of women who are plump or do not look the same way as actresses do. Apart from that though, women in Korean dramas are slowly moving towards a society where they can look out for themselves such as City Hunter, Three Days, Boys over Flowers, and Heirs. The lead women can protect themselves physically, and do not necessarily depend on the males all the time.
DeleteI strongly believed that this should not be idolized because for one, we are teaching our next generation to act this way and like Radhika it will just re-enforce the stereotype and our next generation will look up on this and say "OH I want look like that because the males like them therefore in order to be liked by males, I must act like this and be shy, cute, submissive, do w.e they say, act however they want me to act because I want to be accepted". I don't think western societies are turning towards this because for one, our generation know that women are just as equal as men and we are just as capable of men. This video presents men as superior and women as inferior and we have so moved on from that idea. Then again, I am looking at this in a Canadian perspective, and some what a Turkish perspective. This exactly doesn't happen in our society however, something more indirect does. For example, If I was to go to moxies, I would see short, livable, skinny, fit, mainly white girls serving food. They would be dressed in all black dresses. Keep in mind I said "dresses" I have not been to moxies and saw a girl not wear a black dress, it was either 1 in a million or no chance. This video is more direct but if we look more broad, these things will happen in our society. They don't have to say "master" but we still kind of follow the dress code but not as excessive as the maids in this video.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, in the first clip from the anime, later on one of the female leads dresses as different Moe characters in order to get the attention of the male character seen in the maid cafe for the first time. Females are being influenced by the effects of the increasing amount of Moe/ Maid type characters. And, it's no wonder with the ever-growing otaku culture all around the world and all the kids being sucked into watching hours and hours of anime, reading manga, and playing games (gal games).
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