The scholarly research on Comfort Women studies has grown significantly over the past three decades, focusing on the experiences of women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. Early works primarily centered on the historical and legal aspects, analyzing the testimonies of survivors and the geopolitical ramifications of Japan's wartime actions. Studies such as Yoshimi Yoshiaki's Comfort Women (1995) and the testimonies collected by organizations like the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery highlighted the widespread nature of the system and the ongoing struggles for justice. Starting with works like Dangerous Women: Gender and Korean Nationalism (1997) edited by Elaine H. Kim and Chungmoo Choi, more recent scholarship has expanded to interdisciplinary approaches, incorporating feminist, postcolonial, and memory studies to explore themes of trauma, identity, and collective memory.

Despite this growth, limitations in Comfort Women studies persist. Many works focus predominantly on the Korean experience, with relatively less attention given to other affected groups, such as Chinese, Filipino, and Indonesian women. This regional focus has created a skewed understanding of the full scope of the system. Furthermore, much of the research remains confined to historical and legal frameworks, often neglecting the cultural and psychological impacts on survivors in the long term. Moreover, while survivor testimony is central to the field, challenges related to the preservation of historical accuracy, as well as varying interpretations of the testimony, complicate the broader understanding of the comfort system. These limitations highlight the need for more inclusive, nuanced, and multidisciplinary approaches to fully comprehend the complexity of this issue.

This panel seeks to address this limitation by suggesting a comparative approach to Comfort Women studies. We invite proposals for presentations that explore the question of how to develop a comparative Comfort Women studies framework that incorporates an intersectional critique of imperialism, militarism, and global patriarchy. We are interested in work that moves beyond the national and historical boundaries that often limit discussions of this issue. Works that employ intersectional approaches to highlight how multiple systems of power—imperialism, militarism, and patriarchy—intersected to create the conditions for the exploitation of women in the comfort system will particularly be appreciated.

Because global patriarchy plays a critical role in understanding how these systems intersected and patriarchal structures were used to justify sexual violence as a normal part of militaristic endeavors, where women’s bodies were objectified and commodified, a comparative approach would expand the scope to include diverse experiences of Comfort Women, such as those from Indonesia or the Dutch East Indies, recognizing how global patriarchal values intersected with both local and imperial practices to create a transnational system of sexual violence. Such a framework offers a deeper understanding of how these overlapping power dynamics shaped the lived experiences of Comfort Women across different contexts.

Furthermore, expanding Comfort Woman studies to include examinations of slavery, particularly sexual slavery, in various historical and contemporary contexts is essential for a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding these dehumanizing experiences. While the central focus of this panel is the Japanese comfort system during World War II, sexual slavery has occurred in numerous other settings, including in other wars, under colonial rule, and even in peacetime within trafficking networks. By broadening the scope of research, scholars can better address the shared patterns of exploitation, control, and dehumanization faced by victims across different periods and regions. This broader perspective will allow for a more nuanced comparison of the psychological, social, and political factors that sustain systems of sexual slavery, while also facilitating global dialogues about justice, reparations, and the ongoing fight against sexual violence.

Here are some potential topics for exploring comparative Comfort Women studies:

• Comparative National Experiences: Analyzing the experiences of Comfort Women across different nations (e.g., Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Taiwan) and their varying historical, cultural, and legal contexts.
• Intersectionality and Race: Exploring how race and ethnicity influenced the selection and treatment of Comfort Women in different colonies and how racial hierarchies shaped the system of sexual slavery.
• Military Imperialism and Gender: Examining how military imperialism used gendered violence as a tool of conquest, focusing on how militarism and patriarchy intersected in the exploitation of women across different regions.
• Post-War Justice and Memory: Comparing the post-war responses, reparations, and legal battles faced by survivors of Comfort Women across various countries, highlighting differences in national acknowledgment, remembrance, and justice.
• Survivor Testimonies and Trauma: Comparing survivor testimonies from different countries to examine how narratives of trauma, healing, and memory differ based on cultural, social, and political contexts.
• Global Patriarchy and Sexual Violence: Investigating the role of global patriarchal systems in facilitating and justifying sexual violence, exploring how Comfort Women were viewed and treated within broader frameworks of exploitation.
• Political Impacts on Advocacy Movements: Comparing how various countries' political and diplomatic relations with Japan shaped the advocacy movements for justice and reparations for Comfort Women.
• Transnational Feminist Perspectives: Analyzing Comfort Women studies through a transnational feminist lens, considering how feminist movements in different parts of the world have engaged with the history and struggle of Comfort Women.
• Cultural Representations and Media: Investigating how Comfort Women have been represented in films, literature, and art across various cultures, and how these representations shape public memory and perceptions.
• Colonialism, War, and Sexual Exploitation: Studying the relationship between colonial histories, wartime sexual violence, and the systemic exploitation of women, and comparing the comfort system to other forms of wartime sexual slavery in different historical contexts.

Please send a 250-word abstract and a 100-word bio to Seon-Myung Yoo (seonmyungyoo@gmail.com) and Min Ji Kang (kangm@denison.edu) by March 1, 2025.