로컬리티 기호로서의 혼혈아 - 오키나와 아메라시안(AmerAsian)의 경우 -

Abstract

In the mainland of Japan, 70% of international marriages are from the union of a foreign wife and a Japanese husband. However, in Okinawa, the case is reversed and 70% of international marriages are between foreign husbands and Japanese wives. Since most of the foreign husbands in Okinawa are American soldiers or affiliated with the military, international marriage in Okinawa does not merely signify a union between a man and a woman of different nationalities but can be interpreted as a social phenomenon that shows a facet of Okinawa, so-called as 'the island of military base.' In addition, the half-bloods born of American men and Okinawa women were perceived as the outcome of 'dominant sex' and were often subjected to discrimination and contempt. There have been some attempts to shed new light on and reassess the talents of these half-bloods. In other words, these attempts sublimate the racial and cultural differences to ‘outstanding entertainment ability’ and turn the half-bloods into commodities. Such attempts to overturn the negative presentation of half-bloods in a drive is likely to produce the result of concealing the structure of discrimination against them. The mode of discourse on Okinawa half-bloods were divided between the negative and the positive, and in the midst of such discourse, half-bloods were standardized as objects of disgust, pity, sympathy and charm. On the other hand, there has been attempts by Okinawa half-bloods to define themselves. One prime example can be found in the 'The AmerAsian School in Okinawa' in Ginowan city. Although limited in its will for action related to self-definition of half-bloods through alternative school system and language education, this school, nonetheless, demonstrates the possibility of half-blood population developing themselves as active subjects. The act of self-definition by half-bloods in Okinawa has important implications in that it exposes the violence and exclusiveness inherent in the dichotomous discourse and encourages honest self-reflection.