Wagamama and Embodied Gender Norms in Japan: Cultural Drivers of Disaster Vulnerability

Abstract

In the decade since the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR), there has been a growing recognition of the importance of integrating gender into disaster risk reduction (DRR). Achieving gender equality by 2030 remains a key objective of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, gender considerations are often insufficiently incorporated into policy design and implementation, with limited attention to how gendered experiences, particularly those shaped by deep-rooted cultural norms and social practices, influence people’s vulnerability, resilience, and recovery in disasters. This article examines how embodied gendered norms in Japan, especially those associated with women’s self-restraint and fear of being labelled Wagamama, exacerbate their vulnerability during disasters. Drawing on feminist scholarship and published testimonies from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, we argue that these unspoken and embodied social norms, particularly those structured around Wagamama and expectations of self-restraint, disproportionately constrain women, girls, LGBTQI+ people, and persons with disabilities, heightening their vulnerability during disasters. By shaping perceptions of roles, entitlements, and appropriate behavior, these norms operate as powerful mechanisms of social regulation that influence both exposure to risk and access to support in disasters. Recognizing these mechanisms is crucial for developing culturally grounded and truly inclusive DRR policies and programs.

Keywords

Cultural norms / Disaster / Gender / Habitus / Japan / Wagamama

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