VOA慢速英语2019 日本女性抗议穿高跟鞋上班（在线收听）

Japanese Women Stand Against High Heels

Thousands of Japanese women have joined a social media campaign against rules for what kind of clothing is acceptable at work. The campaign also rejects expectations that women wear high heels in the workplace.

上万名日本女性加入了一场社交媒体运动，反对工作场所的着装规定。这场运动还拒绝了人们对女性在工作场所穿高跟鞋的期望。

The movement is called #KuToo. The term #KuToo is a play on the Japanese word “kutsu” for shoes and “kutsuu,” meaning pain.

这场运动被称为#KuToo运动，KuToo这个术语是日本单词鞋子（Kutsu）和疼痛（Kutsuu）的双关语。

Yumi Ishikawa launched the campaign after leaving a message on the social networking service Twitter. She wrote about being forced to wear high heels for a part-time job at a funeral home. The 32-year-old said the requirement is an example of gender discrimination.

石川由美（Yumi Ishikawa）在社交媒体网站推特上发布消息，发起了这项运动。她写到自己在殡仪馆做兼职工作，被迫穿上高跟鞋。这位32岁的女性表示，这项要求是性别歧视的一个例子。

Ishikawa also works part-time as a writer and as an actress. She has started on online appeal to demand the government bar companies from requiring female employees to wear high heels on the job. As of Tuesday, nearly 20,000 women have signed the appeal.

石川由美还兼职作家和演员。她开始在网上呼吁，要求政府禁止公司要求女性员工在工作中穿高跟鞋。截至周二，已经有近2万名女性在这项呼吁中签名。

Ishikawa wrote that wearing high heels causes health problems for women with their feet and in the lower back. “It’s hard to move, you can’t run and your feet hurt. All because of manners,” she wrote, noting that men do not face the same expectations.

石川由美写道，穿高跟鞋会导致女性脚部和腰部出现健康问题。她写道：“穿高跟鞋很难运动，没法跑，脚也会受到伤害，这一切都是因为礼仪。”她指出男性就不会受到类似的期望。

Japan’s gender discrimination

日本的性别歧视

While many Japanese companies may not exactly require female employees to wear high heels, many women do so because of tradition and social expectations.

虽然很多日本公司可能并不完全要求女性员工穿高跟鞋，但是很多女性会因为传统和社会期望而这样做。

Ishikawa said she had been the target of online harassment over the campaign, mostly from men. “I’ve been asked why I need to make such a big deal about this - can’t I just work this out with your company?” she said.

石川由美表示，她在这项运动中成为了网络骚扰的目标，其中多数来自于男性。她说：“人们一直问我，我为什么要在这件事上大费周章，你不能跟你的公司解决这件事吗？”

Ishikawa told the Reuters news agency, “We need people to realize that gender discrimination can show up in lots of small ways.” She noted the way women are treated by their supervisors and expectations that women will do all the housework and childcare - even if they work outside the home.

石川由美对路透社表示：“我们需要让人们意识到，性别歧视表现在很多小的方面。”她提到了女性被她们主管对待的方式，以及人们期望女性会做所有家务和带孩子，即使她们也在外工作。

Japan, she said, is “way behind other countries in this regard.” Japan finished in 110th place out of 149 countries in the World Economic Forum’s gender-equality ratings.

她说：“日本在这方面远远落后于其它国家。”在世界经济论坛的性别平等评级上，日本在149个国家中位列第110位。

Until recently, Japanese businessmen were expected to wear neckties at work. However, that has changed since the government launched a campaign in 2005 to persuade companies to turn down air-conditioners and reduce electricity use.

直到最近，日本商务人士还被期望在工作中打领带。然而，自从政府在2005年发起一项劝说公司关小空调减少耗电的运动以来，情况发生了变化。

“It would be great if the country had a similar kind of campaign about high heels,” said Ishikawa. The health ministry said it was considering the appeal, but had nothing more to say.

石川由美表示：“如果日本有类似关于高跟鞋的运动该有多好。”厚生劳动省表示正在考虑这一呼吁，但是没有给出更多评论。

In Britain, Nicola Thorp launched a similar appeal in 2016 after she was sent home from work for refusing to wear high heels.

在英国，尼古拉·索普（Nicola Thorp）在2016年因为拒绝穿高跟鞋被辞退后，发起了类似的运动。

A parliamentary investigation found there was discrimination in British workplaces, but the government rejected a bill banning companies from requiring women to wear high heels.

英国议会调查发现在英国的工作场所存在歧视，但是政府否决了禁止公司要求女性穿高跟鞋的法案。

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

heel - n. the part of the bottom of a shoe or boot that is under the heel of your foot

gender - n. the state of being male or female

manner - n. the way that something is done

harassment - n. constant or repeated action to annoy or bother someone