"opening the kimono" (1979?, 1984)

[Wilson Gray]

On Jun 18, 2005, at 1:32 AM, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at RCI.RUTGERS.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "opening the kimono" (1979?, 1984)
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> --------
>
> On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 22:53:05 -0400, Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>
> wrote:
>
>> On Jun 17, 2005, at 3:50 PM, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:
>>
>>> Here's a definition from "The Microsoft Lexicon" (see also Susie
>>> Dent's
>>> _The Language Report_ and Wordspy.com):
>>>
>>> -----
>>> http://www.cinepad.com/mslex_2.htm
>>> Open The Kimono: A marvelous phrase of non-Microsoft origin, probably
>>> stemming from the rash of Japanese acquisitions of American
>>> enterprises in the '80s, that has been adopted into the Microspeak
>>> marketing lexicon. Basically a somewhat sexist synonym for "open the
>>> books," it means to reveal the inner workings of a project or company
>>> to a prospective new partner.
>>
>> Isn't calling this phrase "sexist" a bit overly PC? Both men and women
>> wear kimonos and there's no obvious reason to assume that the kimono
>> being metaphorically opened is one worn by a woman.
>
> I'd say that in the American consciousness, the opening of kimonos
> would
> be overwhelmingly associated with geishas and other iconic depictions
> of
> Japanese women conforming to a coy, submissive stereotype. Or at least
> this was probably true c. 1980 when the term was popularized. (I
> believe
> the popular _Shogun_ miniseries of the time had a kimono-opening
> scene.)
>
> Remember also that the expression was coined in a male-dominated
> business
> world where one might expect a fair amount of sexist language. The
> "Buzzkiller" contributor who recalled the phrase from the late '60s
> said
> that it was "a more colorful alternative to 'lifting the skirt' - the
> obvious reference to tantalizing a prospect with a peek at the wares."
>
> But yeah, in theory, kimono-opening is non-gender-specific, as in this
> JSTOR cite from 1959 (U. A. Casal, "The Goblin Fox and Badger and Other
> Witch Animals of Japan," _Folklore Studies_ 18:84):
>
> -----
> Apparently it was believed of old that the wolf was shameful of sexual
> things, having no strong sexual instincts. He would never disclose his
> organ, but hide it behind his hanging tail. Should a person perchance
> see
> his sexual act, he or she would have to open the kimono and disclose
> his
> or her own organ, so as not to shame the wolf.
> -----
>
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>

If a person knows the full background of a term, there may be some
reason for that person to give that term a label like "sexist." But
suppose a person has no idea of a term's history and uses the term
simply because other people use it. Would such a person be sexist?

There are terms from black slang used by white kids, which terms are
too stunningly obscene to us black senior citizens to be used by girls
and women. "Boody"/"Booty" and "funk" are but two examples. Hearing
someone say out loud on the street, "Oh, those shoes so funky!" or "I
think I have a nice booty" grosses me out. When I was a teenager, girls
weren't even supposed to know those words, let alone use them in
public. Even for a guy to use such words out loud in public was
disrespectful and evidence of a total lack of "background." But to the
white teenaged girls using them nowadays, they're merely words like
other words. Should such girls be condemned as foul-mouthed slatterns
for what they don't know?

That's why I feel that condemning the "kimono" bit as sexist is
somewhat extreme. If your sole reason for using the term is that you
know its sexist history, yes, I'd call that sexist. But if you're using
the term in all innocence, there shouldn't be a problem.