Please tell me that this isn't a boob vending machine
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The machine itself is bad enough, but the next one over is full of Winnie the Poohs. WTF kind of place is this?
Japan. Enough said.
Yep, the whole culture's fucked. We can't expect any sort of class from those CRAZY Japanese!
Right?!
What is in the back, there? hair? It really does look like a freak show.
I think the article you are linking to was actually cross-posted here a while back:
http://community.feministing.com/2009/03/your-daily-dose-of-horrifying.html
Yes - I wrote that Community entry, and cross-posted it at Women's Glib (my group blog).
Oh, sorry I didn't catch that, Miranda! Been loving the glib btw. :)
Only in Japan. Sigh.
Nope, not only in Japan. Thanks for the linky love, Jessica!
Yup, boob mouse-rests.
I have to admit, that picture made me laugh. I think they want to get twice as much money out of teenage boys than they otherwise would, because, you know, you need TWO boobs, so anyone who wins one, will just keep going until they win another.
If it makes you feel better, it ISN'T a boob vending machine, but it IS a boob claw machine. You have to try really hard and waste a lot of quarters to get the boob.
Hah! This might be totally inappropriate but the phrase "get the boob" just struck me as hilarious.
Unfortunately, it is disembodied boobs.
Tora3 (Tora cubed, or 'Tiger' cubed... having nothing to do with the movie 'tora tora tora' or ??????) is the name of a band in Japan... even knowing that I still don't get why the machine is called that. :p I've never heard or seen it used as a euphemism for anything breast related so I'm stumped.
I guess the posting system doesn't like hiragana, lol (for those wondering what the ?????? was)
????????=tora tora tora. The rest of the font is too blurred and small, or I'd attempt a translation
Just seeing if it would work for me, either. Preview did it.
The white sign with the pink text says "oppai."
(That's "breasts" in Japanese.)
The name of a band? Yes, but it's taken from the name of a movie from the 1970's about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which anecdotaly gets it's name from Japanese codes used during the attack.
What makes me cringe the most (not that it's wrong to have this in the first place) is how they look piled up. Excuse me if this sounds a bit disturbing, but they remind me of the piles of prisoner's belongings at the concentration camps in Europe.
In before Japan ha--oh wait, there it is. Three comments in, GG.
Come on, people, this stuff happens in America and Europe and Canada, too. Lets cut the racism.
I have to say, I'm European and I've never come across anything like this before. Maybe I just haven't been to the right places : /
God I hate female body part novelty items with a burning passion.
Thank you for this.
I'm really tired of the way every time someone posts an example of sexism in Japan, somebody comments on how sexist Japan is, or 'only in Japan' or something. There's sexism in every country - just because it comes in a slightly different package in Japan doesn't make it inherently worse or more perverted than the rest of the world. This is no different to all the American disembodied boob products, and Japan has vending machines for many things, so it's no surprise that sexism would be found in that area as well.
Not racist. A lot of shit that comes out of Japan is very unique to its culture. The English speaking interwebs is just more exposed to Japan's culture and so can recognize it when they come across it.
And Japan is super sexist. Familial roles are so entrenched into the society. It's not as bad as some places, but certainly much much worse than a lot of the western world.
People always fixate on the country of origin when it's Japan, though, and in a way that just isn't done with other countries. The only time people usually make those kind of comments about countries other than Japan is if they happen to be from the country in question.
What bothers me isn't people calling out sexism in Japan - I'm certainly aware that it's a big problem, and I have no issue with people drawing attention to it. I do have a problem when people get caught up in this idea of Japan as 'weird' just because it's a different culture.
Seriously?
The only place a business could get away with this is in Japan. Name one other country where this would not be illegal, or more likely, strike up such a moral outrage it might as well be. Even if it's in a Spencer's where you can buy a boob mousepad, because in most of the world crane machines are targeted towards children.
Now, of course, there is sexism everywhere. However, "only in Japan" would we find this KIND of sexism-- the crane machine with disembodied boobs kind. Just like only in an Islamic culture would we find the burka kind. Does it mean those countries are worse than others? Not necessarily. Does it mean that America's sexism is better somehow? Again, no. But this particular style of sexism is unique to Japanese culture, like purity balls are unique to American culture (AFAIK). So the phrase "only in Japan" is, in fact, correct.
The fact that we go, "Only in Japan" when this kind of sexism pops up is racist. We don't do it for anything else. Imagine if we went, "Only in the Middle East" every time a burkah issue came up. It's not that it's not accurate (although this stuff does happen in America and Europe, even if we don't have vending machines we've still got plenty of disembodied female body parts), it's that it's racist to see sexism in Japan and immediately other Japanese people by elevating their sexism above everyone else's.
And, note, I'm not talking about this one case, but the fact that it's *every* time. The only time anyone mentions Japan on this blog is to imply that it's the most sexist place you can find.
"it's that it's racist to see sexism in Japan and immediately other Japanese people by elevating their sexism above everyone else's."
replace sexism with absurdity and that's what most of the "only in japan" people are seeing.
Correct. Japan is creepy, but other places are sexist as well. It's just a different sort of objectification that we're not familiar with that's freaking us out as westerners.
I don't think the comment's necessarily racist. Japan does have a reputation for a vending machine craze that I've never heard applied to any other country. Everybody cited a statistic -- who knows whether it's true -- that it has more vending machines per capita than any other country (there are about 6 million).
they're so strange looking I thought they were onions in a vending machine. onions
That's exactly what I thought! Even when I saw the larger picture, it still wasn't clear that they're breasts because they're circular: I'm used to seeing breasts on, y'know, a human body (aka, seeing the back of the breast is just weird).
There is no way you could win that. the boob would slip right out of the claw every time.
It's like a comment on the people trying to grab them.
Isn't that the case with most claw machine prizes?
Yes. They're not as big a scam as some arcade prize games (they're the only ones I've actually *won* anything out of), but most of them are varying degrees of unwinnable.
Worst of all: in this machine they only come in one flavor!
This was posted on the community side of the blog weeks ago.
I thought it was funny then and I still think is funny now. I have a hard time being offended by what look like funny bouncy balls. If I was there with my friends I might buy one as a joke and play with it haha!
I don't find this funny at ALL. In any way.
Really? I think they'd be a hilarious gag gift. I can see Jim on the Office putting it in Dwight's desk drawer next to his beets.
I would totally laugh if this came out of my Christmas stocking.
Right. And a lot of Jim and Dwight's interplay is heterosexist. Many people, like you, most likely find it funny...that's the problem with it. Heterosexism is funny in our (and many) societies.
I really don't feel that a disembodied penis replica dispensing game-machine would be equally inappropriate.
In fact many of my vehement female feminist friends have novelty (read: not for application purposes) penises of their own.
Note this: The humor tinted responses to this post have the highest ratings.
I don't exactly find this offensive. Ridiculous and silly? Totally. A reason to scream, "Sexism!!" Not so much.
It just kinda reminds me of the type of thing you'd find at an adult novelty store....right next to the penis shaped cookie cutters.
Penis shaped cookie cutters would be an awesome way to spice up a boring family Christmas party. haha! Oh the fun.
Google "dickerdoodles"; people do some hilarious things with phallic confections.
At my last sex toy party I made penis cookies and boob cupcakes.
Can we all, as a community of feminists, agree that for every novelty disembodied female part there will be at least one person who says "oh, usually I get your point but I don't find this particular one offensive for x reason, it's just kind of funny LOL." Please? So that we don't have to have this kind of comment on every...last...freaking...one? We've all hashed out the arguments about why something like this is considered objectification, and why that's offensive. We've also covered the whole idea that one thing like this isn't the end of the world, as such, it's the fact that female objectification happens over and over again and is part of our society. If you're not offended by one particular example of this, the overall point still holds true. If you don't get that, please read previous posts with the same tags.
Can we all, as a community of feminists, agree that we all have different opinions? Not everyone is going to find this offensive or objectifying.
really? you're asking people not to comment because you find it repetitive? then what about everyone who writes in with nothing more to say than, "that's so gross ew ew ew!" you don't agree, so you don't want to hear it?
does this strike anyone else as uncool?
Ok, maybe I was unclear and cranky in the first message. The repetition and the differences of opinion are not really what I have an issue with. What bothers me is when people are talking about something that offends them, and then suddenly a ton of comments start coming back with what seem like kneejerk "this isn't offensive!" reactions. This pattern has happened over and over in this and other blog comment sections. Now, it's FINE for people not to be offended by something according to their gut reaction. But there is a power dynamic at work. Disembodied female parts are a production of a patriarchal culture, and the expected reaction within a patriarchal system is to find them funny and not offensive. The people (usually women) who find things like this offensive are speaking against a power structure, which is difficult work. No, I'm not saying that anyone who disagrees about something being offensive is a tool of patriarchy. I just think that when someone says something is offensive, and I don't agree or don't get it, it's my job to listen first and tread lightly when offering criticism. This is part of acknowledging my own position of privilege.
okay, fair. i can buy that. thanks for clarifying.
i have a question, however: if disembodied female body parts are the product of patriarchy, then what do disembodied *male* body parts indicate? i remember beating the hell out of a penis-shaped pinata at a friend's bachelorette party.
to me, this sort of novelty, either male or female, is less about sexism than a more dadaist sense of the absurd/unexpected. i don't get offended because it's not intended to nor do i believe these objects genuinely cause anyone, male or female, to view another real person as a thing without rights/thoughts/feelings of her/his own, no more than a shampoo commercial that shows a woman with glorious long smooth hair that i want and will never have causes me to see her as just a head of hair that exists for my enjoyment.
i see it as a way of shocking each other by crossing public and private, and an "in-joke" of sorts, by using a typically-hidden body part to symbolize sex (NOT a person), we share the experience that, even when we're going about our daily lives, our desire for sex is always there. and, typically, yes, to me, it's something to laugh about.
I don't feel like I can do this answer as much justice as others have already done, but I have some linkage for you if you're interested:
Explanation of "the male gaze"
http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/faq-what-is-the-%e2%80%9cmale-gaze%e2%80%9d/
Explanation of "objectification"
http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/2007/03/23/faq-what-is-sexual-objectification/
Gender Ads project:
http://www.genderads.com/Gender_Ads.com.html
Gender Ads page specifically about body parts:
http://www.ltcconline.net/lukas/gender/pages/partsa.htm
I can't seem to find the pages in the archives here where we discussed this before, can anyone help me out with that? If I search for a tag then click on archives I get a 404 error. They had great links in them, too.
AGREED.
So in that case would a white woman using a black dildo be considered a racist?
But, see, it's NOT an established fact that having boob toys out there objectify women. Or that it ads to the sexism of a culture. So it's gonna keep being talked about.
I somehow find the boob machine less offensive than some of the other examples of the Humorous Products Based On Dismembered Women genre. Maybe because you aren't meant to jam anything into them (such as a pencil or USB drive).
Which just goes to show you that while "boobs in a vending machine" *may* be a uniquely Japanese phenomenon, the odd part is the vending machine aspect, not the misogyny. The Japanese use vending machines for lots of things that they aren't typically used for in other countries.
That's what I was thinking. Walk into any Spencer's in the U.S. and you'll find a pair of breasts on a piece of fake wood like hunters put deer heads on their walls with. I find that to be much more offensive, especially considering they jiggle as well.
That being said, this IS typical of Japan. Just like the wall breasts are typical in America. Especially the vending machine part. They put a lot of stuff in vending machines. I just found out they have cheeseburger vending machines in movie theaters today.
For what it's worth, the little disembodied boob things in the machine are actually a pretty common novelty item available here in japan. You find them pretty frequently at touristy-crap/joke-gift stores. So the vending machine part is an unusual aspect (like Auriane said above, it creates a kind of depressing commentary on the player trying to grab one with the claw), but seeing those things piled up in stores is something all too common :(
I see these squishy boob things everywhere. If you don't want to waste hundreds of yen with the claw machine, you can just pop 200 or 300 into the capsule machine and get a tiny boob without overspending. (You can also buy the bigger boobies at hobby and gag shops.) Yeah, it's a little off-putting to see even in the capsule areas--Disney toys, cute kitties, Kamen Rider, boobies ... that's just ... Japan.
Japan is weird. Boobs are okay anywhere--you can see pictures of topless women on the front of some kinds of sex clubs--but GENITALS OH MY GOD NOT THE GENITALS BLUR THE DIRTY DIRTY GENITALS. But not the genitals of children. Those are okay. Show all the 5-year-old peen you want.
I'm not really offended by this. I think it's pretty lame and unfunny. Actually, the only thing I find humorous about this is the amount of money that'll be wasted by guys probably using their parents money to feel boobs, when all I have to do is lift my arm and cop a feel on myself.
Yeah, these boob squishy things have been around for a long time. They were super popular when they came out. If if makes y'all feel any better, they're often next to a UFO catcher full of bananas, the closest they can get to penises due to the strange censorship laws in Japan. So they're equal opportunity objectifies.
How about testicles? A great big glass box full of squishy testicles, with a giant metal claw ready to grab 'em? Then would it be funny?
Nope. It's just plain creepy no matter how ya slice it (yikes).
I think it'd be funny. ^_^ You could have two squishy balls in one membrane sack filled with ooze. I don't think balls are censored by the government.
I can't see squeezable testicles going over too well, but if you replaced that with big floppy dongs, then sure, It'd be funny, just as this is, if only for the absurdity.
Have you ever seen a bachelorette party/bar crawl?
There are little plastic dicks everywhere.
I'm pleased that I wasn't the only one, who on first glance, thought how strange it was to have a claw game for fresh onions.
No its not a boob vending machine its one of those claw games. Much better
I saw one of those when I lived in Japan, but it had different skin tones of disembodied boobs to choose from, not just white-ish ones. I tried to win one for my sister, but it was too hard to grab those little suckers.
I think this is one of those situations where intent changes everything.
For example: a girl sells a hand sewn pillow shape like a vulva on Etsy. I find it great!
A company makes a claw machine filled with boobies so teenage boys can get them and walk around squeezing them and giggling all day. EEEEEW.
On the other hand, were it not for the article and caption explaining what was under the glass, I would have thought it was a pile of Vidalia onions.
Can anyone please inform me why disembodied boobs are creepy but women using disembodied penises (e.g. dildos) are considered empowered?