♫ RADWIMPS – 「光」 / “Hikari”
last month the popular Japanese band RADWIMPS released the music video for their song 「光」 / “Hikari” (”Light”) from their new album 「人間開花」 / “Human Bloom”. a song about love in the face of adversity, the music video features two women on an adventure called “love”. translated lyrics below.
「私はゲイ」自分の言葉で、自分を語る / “I’m Gay” – Talking About Myself By Myself: Gay men talk about their own identity.
→ also see: 「私はレズビアン。」”I’m a Lesbian” mirroring BuzzFeed Yellow’s “I’m ____, But I’m Not” series in English, BuzzFeed Japan has just released two videos in time for Tokyo Rainbow Week debunking various homophobic stereotypes and misconceptions about gay men and lesbians in Japan. for those who can understand Japanese, one thing that’s especially noteworthy about these videos are the differences and similarities between the homophobia mentioned in these videos and homophobia in the US and other western countries. personally, i love what BuzzFeed Japan did with these videos, more so than BuzzFeed Yellow’s. unlike in America, for example, i feel like for Japan, a country severely lacking in any and all LGBTQIA awareness, videos like these hold a lot more weight and mean all the more to the people they help. in America, it’s easier to take videos like BuzzFeed Yellow’s for granted. in Japan, i cannot even begin to convey the…
VICELAND – GAYCATION Episode 1: Japan
from VICE.com: GAYCATION follows Ellen and Ian as they set off to explore LGBT cultures around the world. From Japan to Brazil to Jamaica to the USA, the two meet some fascinating people during their travels and hear their stories. In the first episode of the series, Ellen and Ian head to Japan, where same-sex marriage is still not legal and same-sex couples often bear a social stigma. However, certain cities have begun to recognize same-sex partnerships and the LGBT community continues to thrive in the country’s vibrant culture and nightlife. Ellen and Ian find out what it’s really like to identify as LGBT in Japan and meet some of the people struggling to find their voice in a country that refuses to give them equal rights under the law. so, episode 1 of GAYCATION can be watched in full (44mins) on YouTube. if you’re interested in what it’s like…
spotted: same-gender marriage feature on Japanese news
there i was, doing stuff on my computer totally not paying attention to the news on TV, when i looked up and saw “LGBT” in big letters on the screen. i ran and got my phone to take photos lmao. the story was about an American and Japanese same-gender couple trying to get married in Japan. about how for the American it was so frustrating because same-gender marriage had finally been made legal in his home country, but here in Japan wedding agency after agency kept refusing them because they wouldn’t perform a same-gender wedding, but then finally after months of trying they found an agency who would wed them. they were even able to be wed at a shrine like they wanted. 🙂 in the end, they also got married in America too, so it was a happy ending! in Japan where LGBT/セクマイ awareness is extremely low and the…
withU: a new Japanese LGBTQIA+ social networking site
withUは「全国のLGBTが一つになれる場所」というコンセプトで運営されています。普段の生活では会うことのできなかった人達と出会い、あなたのコミュニティの輪を広げましょう。サイト内の機能はすべて無料で使うことができます。 withUの中ではあなたがLGBTであることを隠す必要はありません。サイトを通じて本当の自分を理解し合える仲間を見つけてください。 withUの参加者はみんながあなたの理解者です。 just want to signal boost a new Japanese LGBTQIA+ social networking site called “withU” for those of you who speak Japanese and/or live in Japan. so far, the site seems very interesting and promising, having gained over 1,000 members since it became public last month. it’s like what would happen if mixi.jp and OKCupid teamed up and made a Japanese site? lol so far, the site seems to be inclusive of not just the L and the G, but also bisexual, pansexual, asexual, transgender and non-binary (Xジェンダー) people. you’re able to select all of these identifiers in your profile and when searching for people. there are even two asexual groups already! 😀 that said, the site does have some kinks to work out… the site seems to load slowly. also, in your profile you are required to make a selection from a dropdown menu titled 「セクシュアリティ」 (’sexuality’) which…
TBS to air 2 hour special on “Lesbian Marriage” (May 25th @7:00pm)
tomorrow, May 25th @7:00pm on the TBS show 「私の何がイケないの？」 (”What’s wrong with me?”) will be airing a 2 hour special. the topic? “Lesbian Marriage”. apparently the show will be discussing the recent legalization of civil unions (Japan’s calling it marriage but it really isn’t) in Shibuya-ku, the “marriage” of a female geinojin to her wife, the relationship between a former Takarazuka star and her partner and a trans woman (they describe her using the term 女装, ugh) who teaches at Todai?? if anyone gets a chance to watch this, could you let me know what you thought of it? i’ll be at work tomorrow during it, but i’m already cringing a what will probably happen during the show, based on various past experiences with Japan’s media coverage of the LGBT community…
QAC 22 – LGBTQ J-Magazines: Garçon Girls + Novia Novia
so i got my hands on a couple of really interesting Japanese magazines and decided to make a video about them in the middle of a snowstorm when i was dead tired. what the hell was i thinking? sorry for the crappiness of this video! それともビデオが日本語じゃなくて英語で録画して、ごめんね！日本語が難しすぎからだ。(´Д｀)
「友情結婚」
今夜 新しい言葉や慣用語を習った：「友情結婚」 mixiのAセクシャルのグループで友情結婚のオフ会についてのメッセージがあって、Googleでその言葉を調べた。そうすると意外にもたくさんのヒットがあって、適当にクリックするとたくさんの面白いBBSが見つけた。 ．．．親から結婚しろと口うるさく言われていて困っていまして・・・自分はゲイなのでそこの所を理解している女性と友達になってゆくゆくは友情結婚出来たらいい ？？？ wow. 信じられないと言うより信じたくない辛い事実だね…それがゲイである日本人の境遇だと言うこと。 i learned a new phrase tonight: “yuujou kekkon” (lit. “friendship marriage”) there was a message posted to an asexual group on mixi about an offline “friendship marriage” meetup, so i googled the phrase and got a surprising number of hits. from that, i stumbled upon one of many interesting message boards. ….my parents keep telling me to get married, it’s so annoying […] it would be great if i could find a woman whom i could marry with the understanding that i’m gay ??? wow. that gay people in Japan feel the need to go to such lengths is a truth that hurts.
