Feminism in idoldom, as inspired by Nishino Kana?

Being immersed in the world of idols often makes you blinds you to how strictly the gender lines are drawn in the idol world-- specifically, the female side of the idol world. Idols under the Hello! Project and AKB48 umbrella typically depict a very limited set of professions. When was the last time you saw your favorite idol depicted as one of the following-- a nurse, a waitress, or a stewardess? Chances are, every idol, most likely at multiple points in their career, will be shown as one or all of these people.

TL;DR: Feminism is a selling point when you're popular enough, especially if it makes your entire industry more mainstream and therefore more likely to attract positive attention, fans and customers. Therefore, idol groups like AKB who have a JE-like grip on the popular market should try to cement the idol footprint and pave the way a stronger idol presence later on in the mainstream market.

Yes, this is finally where the Nishino Kana bit of this article comes in. I found it to be a very eye-opening experience to see Nishino Kana stepping up to the plate as a role-model of sorts for her legions of female, teenage fans in her latest song, 'Alright' (watch it quick, before it's taken down)

How does this apply to the idolsphere? Comparisons and discussion after the jump.

[EVERGREEN IDOL?] What's in a name?

Today's J-Pop industry is as fierce in competition as it always has been, with veterans vying for the title of J-Pop Queen while upstarts battle it out in a fierce battle of strategy and popularity for the public's attention. Even idols at the peak of their popularity have the specter of a fall from grace looming in the back of their minds, as the AKB48 member Sashihara Riho revealed this week, much to the outrage of fans and shock of the public.

According to Tokyohive, Sashihara stated on NTV's "Odoru! Sanma Goten!!" that she believed AKB48's popularity would die down within a couple of years, and that everyone in the entertainment industry needed a special skill to survive with (going the Rina Nakanishi route, perhaps...? I kid, I kid.) And despite the controversy this stirred amongst the studio audience and netizens, one look at the cyclical nature of the J-Pop industry shows that Sashihara's pessimism is not unwarranted, if a little overboard.

After all, what artist or idol has managed to sustain their popularity for more than five years, tops? The typical go-to example of decline in popularity in idoldom is Morning Musume. Despite holding the record of highest overall sales for any female group on the Oricon charts, recent single sales hovered at no more than 40K. Meanwhile, in their Golden Era, the group pulled sales figures of over 100K regularly, quite parallel to AKB48's current success in dominating both the niche idol market and the mainstream Japanese consciousness. Now, the question of why Morning Musume simply fails to attract the public eye is a question that the idol blogosphere has ruminated over plenty of times, with the main theories falling under one of the following under the following categories.