Q&A: “I was wondering if you know of any articles or websites about what it’s like being ace in Japan…”
anonymous said: Hi there….I was wondering if you know of any articles or websites about what it’s like being ace in Japan (especially from the perspective of any ace people who are natively Japanese). I’m just interested in reading people’s experiences, where they learned about asexuality, etc. I tried searching google, but so much acephobic garbage came up that I had to finally shut down my browser. D: aside from the things that @harris-hijiri writes, which aren’t necessarily about the experience of being ace in Japan, i’m afraid that i don’t know of personal writing on being ace in Japan as a Japanese person that’s written in English. i tried searching for some, but i swear if i come across another article on herbivore men or ‘the japanese sex/population crisis’ written from a Western-centric point of view i’m going to throw my laptop out the goddamn window. everything that i could…
Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2016: Asexual & Trans / Non-binary Awesomeness!
this year was the third consecutive year that myself and aces in the group that i somehow inadvertently and haphazardly manage walked in the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade and it was the best year yet! among the many awesome things that happened includes running into two of my Japanese ace Twitter friends who also walked in the parade this year and who were apparently so inspired by our signs last year that they made signs just like them! also, thanks again to Nijiiro Komachi’s awesomeness, it was so much easier to show one’s ace (and non-binary, etc) pride! which in turn not only helped raise awareness about asexuality (and gender diversity), it helped increase visibility and made it easier for aces and non-binary people to find each other! during the parade, i was even able to spot a few onlookers who had ace flags. after the parade, the most awesome…
…so this happened at TRP today.
Nijiiro Komachi kicking ass again, handmaking flags on the spot to meet demand in their booth– GAH! why are you so amazing, Nijiiro Komachi?!?! i might as well be throwing money at you. ugh, 明日はホンマに大変になってしまったね。 tomorrow’s parade is going to be crazy. hopefully in a good way.
Q&A: “In your experience, does the culture in Japan label asexuals as “otaku”, “shut-ins”, or with mental illness?”
anonymous said: In your experience, does the culture in Japan label asexuals as “otaku”, “shut-ins”, or with mental illness? Or is there not as much discrimination as there is in the asian-american community? i can’t compare Japanese culture to those of Asian American communities because i’m not Asian American myself, so i can’t comment on what happens within Asian American communities. having said that, in my experience, asexuality is even less heard of in Japan than it is in America. since society for the most part doesn’t even know asexuality is a thing, i myself am not really out outside of LGBTQIA spaces and the majority of the Japanese aces that i know aren’t out outside of LGBTQIA spaces either, i have no experience with and haven’t heard of asexuals in Japan being labeled as such. yes, there certainly is stigma towards “otaku”/オタク (which doesn’t mean the exact same thing…
Pride haul
today’s haul from Yokohama Rainbow Festa. 🙂 got a good selection of ace stuff, a non-binary necklace, a pair of aromantic earrings and the latest editions of Novia Novia (lesbian/bi womens’ mag) and LapH (FTM mag). everything aside from the magazines is from にじいろ小町/Nijiiro Komachi, a shop that gives artists a place to sell their goods. there was non-binary, genderqueer, aromantic, pansexual and asexual stuff that i didn’t buy even buy! it’s great to see artists being more inclusive when they make things. i’m pretty sure some of the artists who are making the ace things are ace themselves. i even met one of them today! 🙂 thinking about doing a giveaway at some point in the future as i really don’t need nor want all of this stuff… D; tomorrow i’ll be editing the crazy amount of video that i took in Yokohama and Tokyo zzz…
”Daily 🗓 UGHs”
random doodle about random things that i hear my students say to each other or that they say to me on any given day that make me go UGH. “SHE’s 30 and not married! lol” “you don’t have kids??” “don’t worry, you still have time! (to get married, have kids)” “lol T-chan もしかしてお前オカマ？！ (don’t tell me you’re a tranny!)” “sensei’s on OUR team!” “but you’re a girl!” “キモイ！ホモかよ？！ (eww! what are you, a homo?!)” “only girls would understand, right *given name*!” and the saddest, most frustrating part is that most of this is said by kids under 10 years old…
Yokohama Rainbow Festa 2015横浜レインボーフェスタ 2015
this is a long shot, but i ended up meeting someone at Tokyo Rainbow Pride through Tumblr earlier this year, so i might as well try again. Yokohama will be hosting its first major LGBT event, Yokohama Rainbow Festa 2015, this month. it won’t be anywhere near as big at TRP, but i know that at least one local shop will be selling ace-inclusive things and at the very least it should make for an interest day in Yokohama. i’m thinking about going on 10/31 (Sat) and making a halfassed video out of it… anyone else going???
