Japanese Female Aidoru Identities

Abstract

Identities are constructed using various tools, both linguistic and non-linguistic. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between ideologies (images/understandings/views), linguistic styles, other aspects of style (e.g., clothing and physical appearances) and identity construction in the social interactions of Japanese female pop-idols (i.e., aidoru), taking as its basis theories and methods from sociolinguistics and anthropology. In this research, CD jacket covers, song lyrics and documentaries were analyzed from two aidoru groups from different time periods, Onyanko Club in the 1980s and AKB48 in the present era of the 2010s. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses reveal (1) how aidoru are portrayed in the images on CD covers and song lyrics, and whether contemporary portrayals of aidoru images differ from those in the past, (2) how aidoru view aidoru identity and position themselves accordingly, (3) has the aidoru ideology, including images and social expectations, have changed over time, and (4) what kind of linguistic features aidoru use to project certain identities, and whether contemporary language use of aidoru differ from the past. The findings in the present study point to a multitude of identities for aidoru. Images on CD jacket covers, lyric content, and linguistic features in lyrics suggest that Onyanko Club embodies young female, kawaii “cute” identities, based on the members’ smiling faces, school uniforms, colorful accessories, and cutesy costumes. On the other hand, AKB48 demonstrates not only kawaii images, but also more complex traits including sexy, kakkoii “cool,” and even toughness, drawing from their various expressions which depict the members as sometimes smiling, but also sometimes serious and stern; their costumes including both cutesy and boyish school uniforms, bikinis, and tough martial arts’ garb. Thematic discourse analysis has demonstrated how AKB48 members maintain some aspects of cute and innocent aidoru identities but additionally, they portray seemingly atypical aidoru identities including demonstrating professionalism and leadership. Turning to the use of language in conversation, the quantitative results indicate that Onyanko Club members employ both masculine and feminine expressions more frequently than AKB48 members. Japanese pop culture has seen intense globalization and has therefore received much attention worldwide. However, research on aidoru from a sociolinguistic standpoint has, as of yet, been underperformed. The present research argues that such analysis is an important step in revealing the links between language use, identity construction, and social ideologies. The findings generate implications for researchers interested in sociolinguistics, gender studies, anthropology, Japanese pop culture, and media studies.