SEKUHARA (Sexual Harassment) as a Representative of Gender Discrimination in Out Novel by Natsuo Kirino

Abstract

Natsuo Kirino is currently the best-selling author in Japan for the suspense novel. Natsuo Kirino is a writer who dares to make a new breakthrough in the realm of modern Japanese literature which has been dominated by male authors. The Out novel, published in 1997, made it a success. In addition, the novel led him to become the first Japanese writer to be nominated for the prestigious MWA Edgar Allan Poe Award as the best novel in the suspense category (2004).
In Out, Natsuo Kirino tells the life of four working class women with their respective burdens and having the same fate, namely no happiness and no freedom.
They are Masako from her ostracized life, Yayoi from domestic violence, while Yoshie and Kuniko are out of financial trouble Therefore, Out is considered interesting to be investigated because it shows the figure of a woman who fights against oppressive patriarchal culture. This work shows a claim against moral norms prevailing in society which is often used as a tool of male domination which is legalized by the patriarchal system to place women as objects of domination. The lawsuit is influenced by the women's transformation movement through the feminism movement which aims to break down the patriarchal ideology which is detrimental to many women.