Thank you for the Sept. 29 article "Putting the red light on human trafficking," which explores the pathways and precursors that force, or coerce, Japanese girls and women into the sex industry. As a schoolgirl, I remember vividly how the Japanese men I sat next to on the train would read their tabloids that carried visual depictions of rape.
It bothered me, but I grew numb to it. I recall the many advertisements of men's magazines hanging from the train ceiling showing half-naked girls and women's bodies. My 12-year-old mind wondered whether I had to look like them to be accepted by society. When I came home and sorted the mail, there were fliers for pornography with disturbing images and captions about the pleasure of molesting and raping women and girls. Over a decade has passed since then, and I shiver at the thought of how normal all this appeared to me as a child.
It is evident that girls are internalizing the way society treats them as sexual objects. Why do preteen girls think it's cute to have short skirts that almost expose their bottoms? It's because they know that it draws attention, but they may not realize the sexual, exploitative, dehumanizing nature of such attention.
Too many Japanese women and girls confuse men's sexual interest with love and self-worth. Media must stop sexualizing women and girls. They're sending out the wrong messages for both men and women, and preventing all of us from nurturing self-esteem and meaningful interpersonal relationships.
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