我在「女僕喫茶」工作：跨/次文化中的女性身體與表演勞動

Abstract

現今台灣社會，「女僕」對很多人來說是一個混雜的印象，「女僕服裝」是公眾人物吸引版面的噱頭，也是性愛情趣的衣物；女僕的身份，似乎是外籍女性家務幫傭，同時又是大量報章媒體描繪下，總穿得很少、極度陰性化的女人。她們好像與日本A片、制服酒店等讓異性戀男性慾望的色情產物有關，或是一種被「御宅族」幻想投射的可愛女性身體形象。

事實上，女僕工作原本確實是源自於18、19世紀，歐洲貴族與中產家庭的一種家務幫傭契約制度，並反映在歐洲社會的小說文本中。然而，此一題材越洋到了日本大眾文化ACG（動畫、漫畫、電玩）領域後，開始結合日本當地文化風情，產生不同於歐洲的新「女僕」文本，提供ACG次文化迷社群慾望、想像與再創作的空間。「女僕喫茶（女僕咖啡館）」就是此脈絡下的產物，其出現於2000年後的日本東京，是一種真人扮演「女僕」、服務「主人」的餐飲店，並在日本ACG產業集散地－秋葉原蔚為風潮。

而台灣由於政治、歷史、經濟等條件，以及九○年代日本ACG產業全球化，使得日本ACG產品得以加遽輸入，形成具有跨日本文化性質的台灣ACG次文化。台灣的「女僕喫茶」於此誕生，並常常被以「女僕店」稱呼，被社會主流文化視為「好像有點怪怪的地方」、一個想要來觀光、當「主人」、感受刺激與冒險的奇異國度。而這種「女僕喫茶與女僕」的現象，在台灣亦存在兩種評價立場，一是女性主義觀點式地，將其視為性別化勞動、物化女體、色情與販賣陰性氣質的性別化工作論述，另一則是以日本ACG次文化台灣同好者為主，強調「女僕」與現實世界無關，純屬次文化、Cosplay的「迷」實踐。

本研究試圖與這兩種立場對話，先解釋台灣ACG同好活動的日本跨文化現象，並且，透過研究者深入「女僕喫茶」，從事「女僕」工作的過程，分析其物質空間、「女僕」身體勞動機制，和「主人」顧客與「女僕」服務生兩者，他/她們在性別社會脈絡、主流文化與次文化交錯的實作過程中的反身性與能動性，以及「女僕喫茶」勞動所具有的表演性意義，以藉此釐清跨/次文化、女性身體和勞動工作之間的關係。

Nowadays, most people have a complex image with ‘Maid’ in Taiwan: Maid dress is a public figure’s gimmick and sex appeal; Maid’s social status is not only a foreign female domestic, but also a more sexy femininity woman by mass media. They seem to be related with a pornography production including Japanese adult video and uniform club for heterosexual males; or the cute female body illusion of ‘Otaku’.

In fact, ‘Maid’ is a female domestic work originated from a contract system belonging to the European nobles and bourgeoisie’s household in the 18th and 19th century; such phenomenon was also reflected in the novel text of European society. However, after transferring into the ACG (Anime, comic, game) area of the popular culture in Japan, this subject matter combines with Japan’s local culture and becomes a new text called ‘Meido,’ which differs from that of Europe, and offers a field of desire, imagination and recreation to the ACG fans group. After 2000, ‘Meido Kissa (Maid Café)’ is the production of this context in Tokyo, which was a kind of café/ tea shop with real females who costumed in the ‘Meido’ dress to serve the ‘Master’. It is popular in Japan’s ACG commercial center - Akihabara.

Because of the political, historical and economic conditions in Taiwan, the globalization of the Japanese ACG industry has accelerated its imports to Taiwan in the 90s, and formed the Taiwanese ACG subculture with this Japanese cross-culture. Thus, ‘Taiwan Meido Kissa’ was borned on this way. Now it is often called ‘Meido club’, viewed by the mainstream culture as ‘something-strange place,’ a fantastic wonderland where one wishes to visit for sightseeing, being the ‘Master,’ and experiencing excitement and adventures.The phenomenon of “Medido and Meido Kissa” arouses disputation between two positions. One regards it as the Gender Work under the discourses of Labor, associating with the idea of materialized women, pornography, femininity and women trafficking originated from Feminism. The other is from the Taiwanese ACG hobbyists, who on the contrary, consider the ‘Meido’ excluding from the real world, and is a pure “fans’ practice” in the subculture and Cosplay.

This paper tries to communicate with the two positions. Firstly, it explains the phenomenon of Japanese cross-culture in the Taiwanese ACG hobbyists’ activities. Further, it digs into the ‘Meido Kissa’ through the author’s working experience as a ‘Meido,’ analyzing its material space, the body of working mechanism, and the reflexive and agency practiced by the (‘Master’) customers and the (‘Meido’) waitress within the interlacing gender social context, dominant culture, and subculture; and finally, it explores the Performativity of labor in ‘Meido Kissa’, to clarify relations among Cross/ Subculture, Female Body and Labor.