A\u00a0woman by the name of Rina Bovrisse is causing some controversy in the fashion industry. A quick Google search of Japan + Prada shows just how “ugly” some of the accusations are. Bovrisse, a senior retail manager\u00a0for Prada Japan, claims that she was told by the Prada Japan CEO to fire individuals who were “old, fat, ugly, [and]\u00a0disgusting”. Bovrisse herself was told to “lose weight”. It’s not looking good for Prada Japan. You see, two more individuals stepped forward to file the same suit against Prada Japan.<\/p>\n
An even more shocking claim in the Daily Finance\u00a0is being made that, Hiroyuki Takahashi, the senior human resources manager for Prada Japan, was overheard saying that “Females over 30 without husbands and children are disgusting”. Although this issue focuses on whether there was any discrimination towards women in the workplace, I wonder if this issue is more societal in nature. There’s an old Japanese proverb called \u826f\u59bb\u8ce2\u6bcd<\/strong> (ry\u014dsai kenbo). The proverb means, “good wife, wise mother”.<\/p>\n The proverb is supposed to represent the ideal woman, one who is a wife and mother. To me, the proverb itself isn’t that offensive, but what about the common Japanese expression about “Christmas cake”? For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, have you ever heard the saying, “Japanese women are like Christmas cake, they’re hard to dispose of after the 25th”. The 25th alludes to Christmas day and how cakes are hard to sell after Christmas, and to tie it in, it’s also saying that women who are 25 or older\u00a0are less appealing as prospective marriage partners.<\/p>\n