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Chancy Anderson-Dissertation-FINAL2.89 MB
Embargoed Access, Embargo ends: 03/01/2026
Dissertation
Japan's Marshmallow World: The Community, Effervescence, and Fashion of Plus-Size Women in Japan
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006377
Abstract
This dissertation outlines the plus-size experience in Tokyo, Japan, focusing on themes of body positivity, shared experience of body shame and acceptance, infrastructure and influence on plus-size fashion, effervescence and community, and body positivity on social media. In this study I argue that (1) plus-size women are not outwardly ‘refusing’ through dress to conform to society as observed in classic subculture groups, but come together to produce a community which draws on approved models of collectivity already present within Japanese society, (2) Japanese plus-size women aim to fit in with general Japanese society and work to build an impression that they are just as trendy as their thinner, straight-sized counterparts, and (3) body positivity takes shape within the known parameters of Japanese social acceptability.
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Details
- Title
- Japan's Marshmallow World
- Creators
- Chancy J. Gatlin-Anderson
- Contributors
- Clare Wilkinson (Advisor)Marsha Quinlan (Committee Member)Bonnie Hewlett (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Anthropology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 248
- Identifiers
- 99901087515201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation