Originally Posted by
sfvoyage
I agree that being a FA is not considered a bad job in Japan - as well as many parts of Asia - and perhaps even maintains some level of glamour. But while young girls may fantasize about being a FA one day, I'd highly doubt that the typical parents would, upon learning their teenage daughter would like to become a doctor when she grows up, disapprove and try to talk her into becoming a FA instead...
I guess you don't understand the Japanese culture well enough then. Many young women are not expected to hold very meanigful jobs until their marriage. Being a doctor is mostly a man's job, as such not many parents would actually aspire their daughters growing up to be doctors. That said, there is no shortage of female doctors opening clinic or making house calls, though, their career choice may or may not create some tension with their family ('s expectations) or even disapproved by peers. After all, many young women are expected to quit their job once they got married, at least those girls who are considered upright and "good" as opposed those young women who have 5 different colors in their hair, doesn't dress properly and etc. In Japan, occupation still has a very strong gender bias. FA is still primarily a female job and among the career choices for women, it is one of the more glamorous job and also pays very well, even relative to jobs held by men. The salaries of female FA could be higher than the average earning of a man, which is actually difficult to accomplish considering most of the high paying jobs are held by men.