censorship cont....

[Max Bliven]

John Dougill writes:
      I wonder what gave you this curious idea?
	
	Well, I only lived there for one year as an exchange student from
'89-90, so I guess I really can't say from the amount of time that you
have lived there I'm sure you have a much more realistic grasp of these
things. I'm not sure that repression was exactly what I meant, but it
was definitely in the right area. I suppose every society and culture
has its defects, and I as an American adapting to Japan, trying to fit
in (which I'm sure you know is impossible, at least that was my
experience) was just noticing things that weren't present in American
sexual conduct. People definitely expressed themselves, although
brought up to express myself a completely different way and not really
knowing why it was different, but acutely aware of this difference made
me seize upon any tangible element that would help me understand, and
thus adapt to their society better. What I noticed is an extreme
segregation between the sexes, and this fundamental element is echoed
in all aspects of the society, from lunchtime in the classroom all the
way to the horny business man who picks up porno from a vending maching
on his way home from work.
     Again, John, since you lived (and I'm guessing still live) in
Japan for a lot longer I hope you could express this sentiment, or
disillusionment, as it may be, with a finer grain of truth. It has been
so long since I truly lived in Japan, and so have any grasp of what it
is like there, that my memories and impressions of that life are at
times as distant as can be, but since I still converse with Japanese
here in America on a daily basis, and correspond I still maintain some
semblance of what life was like over there for me.
Response?
M at X