I'd say that the concepts still exist, but my feeling is that the words themselves feel a little out-dated. I don't hear "salaryman" much unless someone's being ironic, and I've only heard "OL" used that way, and that very rarely. However, this may be a function of who I spend time around - ie, a lot of people in their twenties who are feeling a little iffy about how Japanese society's being managed, and don't want to use older people's vocab.
"OL" strikes me as being rude, but again, I hear it very, very rarely, and it's probably got to do with who I'm talking to. The only person I know who actually says it with any regularity is a friend of mine who's spent a lot of time in the US. She complains about her friends from school "becoming sort of OLs just to find a husband." But given that we mostly talk in English, and she's sort of an American-style feminist, I think her feelings about the word aren't quite what most Japanese people's are.
I'm not totally sure about "salaryman." I've heard guys use it in sort of a self-deprecating way that makes me think it's not majorly bad, but I think it's derogatory in some circumstances. Maybe in about the same way saying "oh, he's in like middle management somewhere now" or something would be for a college student in the US?
If there are newer equivalent neutral/commonly used terms, I have no idea what they are. If I have a chance today, I'll try and ask either my friend or one of my co-workers.
Re: Totally OT
I'd say that the concepts still exist, but my feeling is that the words themselves feel a little out-dated. I don't hear "salaryman" much unless someone's being ironic, and I've only heard "OL" used that way, and that very rarely. However, this may be a function of who I spend time around - ie, a lot of people in their twenties who are feeling a little iffy about how Japanese society's being managed, and don't want to use older people's vocab.
"OL" strikes me as being rude, but again, I hear it very, very rarely, and it's probably got to do with who I'm talking to. The only person I know who actually says it with any regularity is a friend of mine who's spent a lot of time in the US. She complains about her friends from school "becoming sort of OLs just to find a husband." But given that we mostly talk in English, and she's sort of an American-style feminist, I think her feelings about the word aren't quite what most Japanese people's are.
I'm not totally sure about "salaryman." I've heard guys use it in sort of a self-deprecating way that makes me think it's not majorly bad, but I think it's derogatory in some circumstances. Maybe in about the same way saying "oh, he's in like middle management somewhere now" or something would be for a college student in the US?
If there are newer equivalent neutral/commonly used terms, I have no idea what they are. If I have a chance today, I'll try and ask either my friend or one of my co-workers.