Enlightenment on Life: Love Between an Older Woman and a Younger Man

Abstract

This chapter compares Chinese television dramas with television dramas from Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, analyzing the differences and similarities of gender roles and relationships in these programs. The difference in age between romantic partners is still a primary concern in East Asian culture. While Japanese television is more tolerant of relationships between older women and younger men, television dramas from China, Taiwan, and South Korea still follow the patriarchal portrayal of gender roles in terms of the woman’s greater age. These dramas depict older women with strong personalities and special talents; however, instead of furthering their own self-realization, they are required to help their men become prototypically masculine. This type of representation reveals that gender relationships are still limited by cultural stereotypes: powerful men and caring women. The female characters’ seniority is represented as a flaw, even though they are portrayed as strong and capable.