Thousands of Japanese women have joined a social media campaign against rules for what kind of clothing is acceptable at work. The campaign also rejects expectations that women wear high heels in the workplace. The movement is called #KuToo. The term #KuToo is a play on the Japanese word “kutsu” for shoes and “kutsuu,” meaning pain. Yumi Ishikawa launched the campaign after leaving a message on the social networking service Twitter. She wrote about being forced to wear high heels for a part-time job at a funeral home. The 32-year-old said the requirement is an example of gender discrimination. Ishikawa also works part-time as a writer and as an actress. She has started on online appeal to demand the government bar companies from requiring female employees to wear high heels on the job. As of Tuesday, nearly 20,000 women have signed the appeal.
