Domination in the Name of Love

田岛阳子 / Lü LingzhiGuowen Runhua Culture Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd. · ChinaOct 2024

Rating 4.0
Word count
80K words
Chapters
77
ISBN
9787512515994

Tags

Society and Culture East Asian SocietySocial ObservationFamily of OriginFamily BondsPsychological InsightSelf-ReflectionFeminismFemale Perspective

Summary

The first Chinese introduction of a representative work by Yoko Tajima, a legendary figure in Japanese feminism. The psychology of craving to be loved is a lifelong trap for women. Drawing on her own experiences, the author recounts her intellectual journey of growing into a "feminist" under "kinship oppression." This book explores survival issues that resonate deeply with women across East Asia and boldly exposes structural discrimination in areas such as family of origin, marriage and romance, work, and childrearing. It answers questions such as "Why is life so hard for women? How can they free themselves from pain? How should they strive going forward?" Critics consider it the best introduction to Japanese feminism and an important work of contemporary feminist thought.

Editor's review

"Domination in the Name of Love" is a powerful work by Yoko Tajima, professor at Hosei University in Japan, analyzing the power structures of contemporary intimate relationships. From sociological and feminist perspectives, the book calmly deconstructs those dominating behaviors packaged in romantic discourse—from emotional blackmail and economic control to psychological oppression—revealing the power imbalance hidden behind "for your own good." With her solid academic background, Tajima integrates abstract theory into numerous interview cases, giving the discussion both academic depth and real-world texture.

The book's core value lies in providing clear cognitive tools: it helps readers distinguish healthy care from hidden control and breaks the myth that "love means sacrifice and devotion." The analysis of phenomena such as the "gaslight effect" and "emotional labor" is especially compelling, applicable not only to intimate relationships but also to family and workplace contexts. Notably, the author does not wholly reject emotional connection but advocates building "mutual relationships" based on respect and equality. This balanced perspective avoids extreme conclusions and makes the book more constructive.

As an editor, I believe the book has important enlightening significance in today's society. When terms like "PUA" and "love-struck" are popular but lack deep discussion, this book provides a systematic framework for reflection. When reading, it is advisable to maintain moderate critical distance in light of your own experience—gaining inspiration while avoiding over-identification. Tajima's clear and restrained writing style allows this book on sensitive topics to retain rare rationality and readability.

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Reading tips

  1. It is recommended to read the case chapters first to build intuitive understanding, then return to the theoretical parts to deepen it
  2. While reading, use sticky notes to mark passages that resonate or raise questions, for later reflection or discussion
  3. Read alongside related works such as "Misogyny" and "The Art of Loving" to build a more three-dimensional cognitive system

About the publisher

Guowen Runhua Culture Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 2003

Guowen Runhua Culture Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd. is a book planning organization whose main publishing areas are foreign literature, science fiction and social novels, with 34 titles in its catalogue. Its representative list combines Korean and French literature, ranging from Choi Eun-young's Even with the Faintest Light and Kim Cho-yeop's The World Just Left Behind to Georges Perec's W: My Private Auschwitz; works such as Hwang Sok-yong's The Familiar World and Welcome to the Bookshop in Hyunam-dong reflect an attention to social reality and everyday experience. Its translators and authors include Xu Lihong, Xue Zhou, Fan Yanmei and Wang Jin, indicating a stable translator base for introducing contemporary foreign fiction. Because public information is limited, other publishing areas are not described here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 前言
  3. 第一章 觉醒之后已是女性主义者
  4. 寄人篱下的屈辱是我的生存原点
  5. 忍受责罚的是“反应迟钝的孩子”
  6. 无法逃离讨厌的事物的“奴性”
  7. 卧床不起的母亲用二尺长的尺子责罚我
  8. 压抑的轮回，造就了家庭版“霸凌结构”
  9. 讨人喜欢的人，都为了迎合而扼杀“自我”
  10. 无法逃离霸凌者的心理
  11. 一边洗碗，一边因身为女性而流泪的母亲
  12. 女人只有枷锁之下的自由
  13. 第二章 女人被规训成了奴隶
  14. “妖怪”支撑“绅士”的所谓国际化城市
  15. 男女关系造就的“城市中的农村”
  16. 女人只要被养着就得不到男人的尊重
  17. 男人为奴采棉花，女人为奴生孩子
  18. 桨帆船底层的划桨奴
  19. 防止女人逃走的肉体、精神、社会束缚
  20. 婚姻是女性家务劳动无偿化的制度
  21. 不愿容忍免费家务劳动的“个性”女人登场
  22. “母性”是男性社会唯一认可的女性权利
  23. 女人和男人的关系仍停留在奴隶社会
  24. 第三章 变成小小的女人吧
  25. “男人气质”是独立，“女人气质”是为男人付出一切
  26. “大男人”和“小女人”造就的悲剧
  27. 社会与家庭让女性生来便受到“女人气质”的养育
  28. 在束缚中成为小小的女人
  29. 昭示女性身份、束缚女性自由的服装
  30. 为何强制初中女生穿制服短裙
  31. 定义了女性审美和服装的男性凝视
  32. 改变被规训的审美，脱离歧视文化
  33. 成为玛丽亚或夏娃，还是成为一个人
  34. 第四章 逃离菲勒斯中心主义
  35. 侵入式的性爱是对女性身体的粗暴占领
  36. 男性本位的性爱与成为附庸的女性
  37. 非侵入式的爱
  38. 为融入男性社会而讨要爱的女人
  39. 失去自我的女人成为性别歧视的帮凶
  40. 规训女人爱慕男人的男性社会
  41. 《查泰莱夫人的情人》最符合现代日本的男女关系
  42. 查泰莱夫人的存在就是为了生产继承人
  43. 由生命的共鸣而生的性爱
  44. 男性能够超越菲勒斯中心主义吗
  45. 无性现象是希望从阳具崇拜中得到解放
  46. 第五章 如何斩断家庭的压抑轮回
  47. 男性代理人（家庭主妇）创造的家庭版军队组织
  48. 管教是以爱为名的霸凌
  49. 上到极限的压抑发条因恋爱而松弛
  50. 名为恋爱的爱憎代理战争
  51. 独立男女之间纯粹的力量对决
  52. 压抑的核心是直刺对方要害的支配力量
  53. 四十六岁那年总算切断的母亲的咒缚
  54. 为了超越自身的不幸模式而进行的治疗
  55. 与自我对话，接纳自我，在自我中发现神性
  56. 我深爱着只能活在那个时代的母亲
  57. 将自己从压抑中解放的我的“女性主义”
  58. 斩断压抑，为自我而战
  59. 第六章 寻求纯粹的女性主义
  60. 性别分工与生态资源
  61. 控制欲强的父母造就的“不孝子女”
  62. 没有自我的“贤妻良母”
  63. 亲手赚钱乃是自立之本
  64. 只要困于“母性”，女人就永无自由
  65. 活在“树形人生”中，恋爱、婚姻和生育都是分枝
  66. 但凡男人有为女人让道的度量
  67. 被迫脱离“有毒男性气质”却得到自由的男人
  68. 调整女人与男人之间的时间差
  69. 与自食其力、充满魅力的女性欣然相遇
  70. 无须戴冠的女性主义
  71. 即使拒绝社会劳动，家庭主妇也是资本主义的帮凶
  72. 关键不是谁来支付家务劳动，而是男女个体如何改变
  73. 今后需要“追求平等的心灵”和“现代化的双脚”
  74. 女性主义的目的是探索有民主而无歧视的富饶社会
  75. 后记 太郎次郎社版本
  76. 后记 讲谈社+α文库版
  77. 给我们带来幸福的女性主义

FAQ

Is the book's discussion too biased toward a female perspective? Although the author starts from women's experience, the dominating mechanisms analyzed in the book exist universally in various power-imbalanced relationships. Many male readers have reported that it helps them understand the gender-role pressures imposed by society.
Will the content intensify readers' distrust of intimate relationships? The book's purpose is not to promote skepticism but to help readers build clearer, more autonomous relationship judgment by revealing underlying patterns. The final chapter specifically discusses how to build positive relationships.
Is it highly academic? Can non-specialist readers understand it? The author deliberately avoids obscure terminology and uses many everyday cases to aid explanation. As long as readers have a basic interest in observing social phenomena, ordinary readers can read it smoothly and benefit from it.

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About the author

田岛阳子 Author

Yoko Tajima is a Japanese writer in the field of social and cultural studies, though publicly available information about her is limited. The library holds one work by her, Dominion in the Name of Love, which is classified under social and cultural studies. Judging from the title and category, the author focuses on the control and domination packaged as "love" in intimate relationships, seeking to reveal the power structures behind the language of emotion. Her writing tends to start from everyday experience, questioning and reflecting on taken-for-granted ideas about love, and carries the tone of social observation and cultural criticism. Because verifiable biographical information is scarce, her nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, and writing career cannot be confirmed and are not inferred here. Based on the available material, readers can mainly come to know Yoko Tajima through this work itself, which also offers Chinese-language readers a perspective for examining hidden domination in intimate relationships.

Lü Lingzhi Author · Chinese

Lü Lingzhi is a translator of Japanese and English who holds a master's degree in Japanese from Xiamen University. She has long worked on translating foreign literature and social science books, with more than thirty published translations spanning literature, social science and mystery fiction. Her work covers Japanese authors such as Kawabata Yasunari, Dazai Osamu and Yanagi Muneyoshi, as well as social science and mystery titles including Chizuko Ueno's From Zero: Feminism and Kotaro Isaka's Vacation for the Rest of My Life and Gravity Clown. Forty-five of her translations are included in this catalog, commonly classified under foreign literature, mystery and detective fiction, culture and social culture. In 2023 she was selected for Douban's annual list of translators, and her translations have reached a wide readership in Chinese.