The Costs of Grooming: Bodily Scrutiny and White-collar Masculinities in Japan

This article explores the everyday policing processes surrounding men’s bodily grooming and white-collar masculinities in Japan. Amidst increasing scrutiny of men’s bodies, research has highlighted how men understand their grooming in relation to masculinities privileged by class, race, and sexuality. Less is understood, however, about men’s experiences of everyday policing processes surrounding grooming. Japanese white-collar cultures where good grooming stands for professionalism provide fruitful contexts to address these gaps. Interviews with 33 socially privileged white-collar men in Tokyo demonstrate how participants understand grooming vis-à-vis masculine ideals of professional competency. Participants are particularly conscious of scrutiny from superiors, colleagues, and subordinates. While past scholarship has often overlooked the vulnerability of privileged men’s positions, for white-collar men in Japan, being subject to often cruel policing processes threatens their place on gendered hierarchies. Thus, I argue that even for privileged men, policing of their grooming presents real costs to their hegemonic status.