japan Archives | Page 5 of 10 | Queer As Cat

[A]sexuality, Gender[queer], Japan[ese], Queer[ness]

botched allyship & language barriers #TRP2017

May 11, 2017 / No Comments

ie. that time when a women’s sex toy store promoted much needed awareness of diversity at Tokyo Rainbow Pride, but due to incredibly poor research on their part as well as a language barrier that is not their fault, inadvertently ended up spreading damaging misinformation about intersex people, polysexuality and ‘skoliosexuality’, among other things. and of course i kind of went off on Twitter about it because that’s what i do when i’m not going off about something on Tumblr instead. like every year, Love Piece Club, a very well known Tokyo-based shop and website for women, had a booth at Tokyo Rainbow Pride this year. at past Prides that i’ve been to (both in and outside of Tokyo) they have been one of (if not The) Only booth(s) selling miscellaneous small goods (badges, stickers, etc) in more than just rainbow flag colors. because of that, i know that they have…

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Vesper H.

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?Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2017: Parade & Ace Meetup

April 29, 2017 / No Comments

…it’s that time of year again. time for Tokyo Rainbow Pride! since 2014 myself and other aces in Japan (now known as Ace Spec Japan) have come together during Golden Week to raise awareness of asexuality by walking in the annual Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade, followed by a casual meetup elsewhere in Tokyo. this year will be as awesome as ever and anyone interested in joining us– or even just stopping by to say ‘hi’– is welcome! walking in the parade is optional, of course. date: Sunday, May 7th, 2017 time: [parade] 10:30 ~ 14:00? (parade itself sets off at 12:00) ——- [meetup] 16:00 ~ ??? location: contact me for details even if you can’t make the above times, contact me and i’ll help you find us. i’ll also be around for the Festa on May 6th (Saturday) if anyone wants to meetup then. either way, ハッピープライド！ (photos from Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2016) […

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Vesper H.

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the ‘Sin City’ asexual
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spotted: LGBT 101 on Japanese TV
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[Random] Thoughts, Japan[ese], Mental [Un]health

re: fuck my life

March 14, 2017 / No Comments

18 days and two near anxiety attacks later, the ball is finally starting to roll again after having been stalled for weeks because of Japan’s love of Red Tape™. now that it’s finally rolling again, gravity has it rapidly gaining speed down a sharp incline of 15 days until i officially move out, with smaller finish lines in the form of various deadlines along the way. sigh!

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Vesper H.

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got a new hat…! W00T!
August 9, 2014

transphobia & non-binary erasure in Japanese media
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February 27, 2019
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QAC 56 – Non-Binary In The Workplace: Job Hunting In Japan

March 5, 2017 / No Comments

navigating any job market as a non-binary and / or gender non-conforming person can be tough, especially given the current void of information and resources available on the subject. since i’ve recently found myself having to navigate Japan’s job market, i figured i might as well threw my own personal experience out there into the void. perhaps it’ll help someone else out there. please note that this video is not a ‘how-to’ on finding a job in Japan. rather, i talk about my own (limited) personal experience the job market in Japan in terms of navigating names when your actual name differs from your current legal name, navigating Japanese standards of “professional attire”, being forced to reevaluate things like HRT and “activism” outside of the workplace, etc. long video is long, so here are some jump points for ease of viewing: ?00:56 – disclaimers ?02:26 – background information ?03:19 –…

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Vesper H.

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sigh.
July 23, 2017

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Feedback, Japan[ese], Q&A, Queer[ness]

Q&A not Q&A: “I had no idea that they had any sort of queer events since it seems pretty taboo in most Asian countries.”

March 1, 2017 /

anonymous said: I’m so sorry that terfs hijacked your post like that omg. I’m a big fan of Japanese culture and I want to visit one day and I had no idea that they had any sort of queer events since it seems pretty taboo in most Asian countries. Despite terfs soiling it, I actually learned something new so thank you so much! (re: this post) no problem, anon. no matter how taboo or even illegal it may be, there will always be queer people in any given country who do more than survive; they live their life and at times come together to support each other and enjoy each others company, just like anywhere else. it’s more a matter of how private or well-known such information happens to be and i’m more than happy to help if i can re: Japan.

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Vesper H.

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Feedback: “I just wanted to thank you for your post on the alterous vs platonic thing…”
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adventures in Japanese TV: “Gathering of 13 Trans Women”

February 9, 2017 / 1 Comment

…once again i get home from work, turn on the TV to see a panel show doing a special featuring trans women. despite the title of the special, shown on the top left of the screen as「13人のオネエ大集合」 / “Gathering of 13 Trans Women”, it was actually 13+ guests divided into three groups: gay men, cross dressing gay men and trans women. click the photos to see translations / context in the captions.

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Vesper H.

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National Geographic: “Gender Revolution” (Japanese Edition)

January 11, 2017 / No Comments

just got the Japan edition of National Geographic’s special issue “Gender Revolution”. bearing in mind that i haven’t actually sat down and read through it yet, here are a few snaps along with my initial impression. prior to getting my hands on this magazine (and in fact, before it had even been released), i already had a general idea of what to expect based on snippets of featured articles that i’d come across online. plus, you know, the fact that it’s NatGeo. as such, i feel like there was never any chance of me being pleasantly surprised in any way, even though i’d set my expectations low to begin with. well, i’m glad i did, because i’m nitpicky as all hell. but we all already knew that. at a glance, there are some great things going on in this magazine, such as the increase in awareness of trans, intersex and non-binary…

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Vesper H.

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Q&A: “I read your post about transphobia of Japan….”

January 8, 2017 / No Comments

anonymous said: I read your post about transphobia of Japan. I identify myself as genderqueer and MtF lesbian. I tried to join the event for lesbians in Tokyo, but they rejected me at the entrance. Because, I have my beautiful beard and my ID says I am biologically male. I was there with my classy black dress, but they didn’t think me as woman! This is so transphobic! Also, I think the term lesbian itself is very transphobic. TERF lesbians should go to hell. We need safe space for queer and non-binary in Japan! i’m really sorry to hear about the shitty experience that you had, anon. sadly, it’s not the first time that i’ve heard of someone having this experience and i suspect that i might even know the event that you tried to go to. it’s incredibly frustrating how a lot of LG(BT) spaces / events in Japan…

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Vesper H.

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『[4ｺﾏ]☆ＡセクシュアルとAce(エース)☆』
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…one of many examples of why navigating セクマイ / LGBTQIA spaces in Japan can be painful at times.
October 7, 2016

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Masaki’s QueerESL: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About LGBTQs in Japan / あなたが知らない日本のLGBTQの５つのこと

December 21, 2016 / No Comments

“Hate crime is nonexistent in Japan,” “Japan only recently started having pride marches,” “homosexuality is accepted in Japan because of the traditional male-male shudo sexual/romantic culture,” “Japanese media are LGBT-friendly,” and “Taiga Ishikawa is the first openly gay politician in Japan” are all false! ビデオの右下にある「CC」にクッリクすると日本語字幕が見えます。

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Vesper H.

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#TRP2017
May 11, 2017
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♫ RADWIMPS – 「光」 / “Hikari”

December 20, 2016 / No Comments

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.

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Vesper H.

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…annnd that’s a wrap!
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