Sexual violence in the Nanjing massacre: Emotional narratives and cultural trauma

Abstract

The sociology of emotions is an interesting analytical instrument to retrospectively understand social phenomena and a sociological look at violence always thematized the centrality of emotions. The Nanjing Massacre is one of the largest violence cases in human history. Besides arson, looting and massacre, the sexual violence committed by the Japanese army against innocent women stirred up people’s anger and pain, and formed traumatic memories. This paper attempts to analyze the ways in which documentary materials, fictional works and short videos about the sexual violence during the Nanjing Massacre have participated in the construction of cultural trauma from the perspective of sociology of emotions. In this way, the connections between violence against women and emotions in a historical case of collective violence are analyzed. On one hand, through testimonies and news reports, we find that the victims of sexual violence often refuse to recall their experiences due to traditional views on chastity, and the Chinese people tend to empathize with their shame treating them as hollow symbols of national suffering. On the other hand, through films and short videos, we discover that collective memory as an emotional experience is also restructured and expressed under the influence of capital and globalization.