lgbt in Japan Archives | Page 2 of 8 | Queer As Cat

Gender[queer], Japan[ese], Q&A, Queer[ness]

Q&A: “I just saw how to say you’re non-binary in Japanese and it was super exciting for me…”

August 30, 2017 / No Comments

anonymous said: Hi. I just saw the ask you answered about how to say you’re non-binary in Japanese and it was super exciting for me to see. I’m a non-binary teen living in Japan, and it’s amazing to see that because it’s a sign that there is an active community of non-binary people that is large enough for these words to exist. It’s wonderful. ( re: this post ) hello, anon. thanks for stopping by to drop me this ask because it’s exciting for me to hear that my post was able to reach someone like you. awesome! while awareness of Xジェンダー people still has a long way to go in Japan (as it does for non-binary people around the world), there definitely are active Xジェンダー people in Japan. in Japanese, many describe themself as MtX, FtX, Xジェンダー or any of the other terms i mentioned in the post that you…

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Vesper H.

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ARTICLE: “Why Transgender People In Japan Prefer To Be Told They Have A “Disorder””
August 17, 2016

Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2015 (4/26/15)
May 10, 2015

VICELAND – GAYCATION Episode 1: Japan
March 3, 2016
[A]sexuality, Japan[ese], Q&A, Queer[ness]

Q&A: “do people in japan know about asexuality or intersex , graysexuals , aromantics…?”

August 30, 2017 / No Comments

anonymous said: i was wondering, do people in japan know about asexuality or intersex , graysexuals , aromantics…? they know about lgbt but what about these? is there any kind of awareness to it? ( i discovered that im ace flux and still questioning whether demisexual or graysexual, but also that im biromantic seemingly and was wondering if it would be a problem there? are people accepting or aware of them or just lgbt?) it’s hard to make a broad generalization about an entire country of people, but generally speaking, i’d say that awareness of intersex people, the ace spectrum and the aro spectrum– and indeed, LGBT everything– is behind where it is in, say, the US. at the same time, Japan is a very diverse place. within the same country, even among the same demographic of people, awareness can vary greatly. everything i’m saying and about to say is…

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Vesper H.

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one of many reasons why “QUEER” means so much to me.
September 23, 2016

QAC 37 – Forced Out of the Closet: 1.5 Years Later (Non-Binary Asexual)
June 16, 2015

Cosmopolitan: “Everything You Need To Know About Demisexuality”
March 20, 2017
[A]sexuality, Gender[queer], Japan[ese], Q&A, Queer[ness]

Q&A: “Would you mind telling me some basic LGBT vocabulary in Japanese?”

August 30, 2017 / No Comments

hush-hush-little-heart said: Hi! I just found out about your blog, and I’d like to ask you something. I’m part of the LGBT community, and next year I’m going to study a Japanese Philology at the university. Would you mind telling me some basic LGBT vocabulary in Japanese? Just so I can understand and talk a bit about it, please ♡ (I’m a trans boy, and pansexual btw :3) oh also! (sorry i forgot to write it in the other ask) Do you know anything about getting hormones (testosterone, in my case) in Japan? Is it easy? Just in case, because I’d like to have a job/live there in a future, at least for some time hi. 🙂 sorry for taking so long to get to your asks. regarding LGBT terminology in Japanese, it’s a little hard to answer that question because it’s so broad…. so instead, i’m going to…

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Vesper H.

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QAC 11 – Growing Up Ace (Asexual)
July 21, 2013

literal “social distancing” from the ace community
April 1, 2020

Re: QAC 51 – #ProudToBe Black Non-Binary Bi Pan AND Asexual
June 23, 2016
[Random] Thoughts

two new pages have been added to the QAC Tumblr blog

August 21, 2017 / No Comments

unimportant meta announcement, but: #VesperSpeaks* …so every now and again i sit in front of my laptop and bang away at it like Keyboard Cat, usually resulting in long-winded rants or random posts about feels… or something. Tumblr being Tumblr, those posts are subsequently lost to the abyss that is this blog soon after i post them, never to be seen again without digging through tags. this page is a non-exhaustive compilation of some of the things i’ve “written” with videos sprinkled in, organized in descending chronological order by category. #LGBTQIA in Japan* i often get asks asking me about things related to Japan or the Japanese language and from time to time i write spontaneous posts related to my experiences in Japan. this page is a compilation of some of those posts. disclaimer: in case this isn’t already clear, please note that everything on this page and on…

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Vesper H.

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Snapchat rant #163
July 2, 2016

QAC 75 – Questioning In Silence?: Identity | Self-Discovery | Stigma || Random Thoughts
February 27, 2019

#asexual pride shirt
October 27, 2013
[A]sexuality, Japan[ese], Q&A, Queer[ness]

Q&A: “I heard that “nonsexual” means non-aro ace and “asexual” means aro ace in Japan.”

July 16, 2017 / 1 Comment

anonymous said: I heard that “nonsexual” means non-aro ace and “asexual” means aro ace in Japan. I’m still confused about general Japanese terms in the ace community. If you don’t mind, could you please explain the most commonly used terms? hi, anon. you heard correctly, “asexual” (Aセクシャル) doesn’t mean what it means in English in Japan.

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Vesper H.

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QAC 02 – The Road to Asexuality
May 17, 2013

an example of intersectional acephobia if ever there was one…
December 16, 2015

「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.
May 6, 2016
Japan[ese], Queer[ness], YouTube[r]

YouTube Pride Academy 2017

July 1, 2017 / 1 Comment

ever so aptly timed with YouTube’s second attempt at spotlighting LGBTQIA YouTube with the hashtag #ProudToBe, the first ever Pride Academy was held at YouTube Space Tokyo today. the name of the event itself being a play on one of YouTube’s programs for creators, Creator Academy. the event was aimed at encouraging and offering support to LGBTQIA people in Japan who might be interested in creating a channel on YouTube– regardless of the content that they chose to put on their channel. another aim of the event was to host a 交流会 (networking event) after the presentations in the hopes of fostering community among LGBTQIA youtubers in Japan by giving them a chance to meet each other. to that end, Google promoted the event at its booth during Tokyo Rainbow Pride this past May and i was pleasantly surprised to see the turn out, given the current state of LGBTQIA…

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Vesper H.

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Pride haul
October 31, 2015

Studio Ghibli’s 『思い出のマーニー』 // “When Marnie Was There”
August 11, 2014

Snapchat rant #457
July 15, 2016
[A]sexuality, Japan[ese], Queer[ness]

Japanese gender / queer theory, anyone?

May 22, 2017 / No Comments

…so i randomly went to Book Off (used bookstore) today after work and happened to find two used books on gender studies / gender theory that not only ① explicitly discuss binarism and how society ignores those who are neither of the binary genders (male / female) nor either of the binary sexualities (gay / straight)– there’s also ② explicit mention of asexuality and the alphabet soup where the acronym LGBTIAQ is used and I is defined as “Intersex”, A as “Asexual” and Q as “Queer”. notably, these books were published in ① 2013 & ② 2006 and are original works by Japanese authors rather than books imported into Japan and translated into Japanese. below are super rough (because i’m starving, exhausted and need to go to bed damnit) English translations for the above snippets.

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Vesper H.

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QAC 06 – Coming Out as a Panromantic Asexual
June 1, 2013

…one of many examples of why navigating セクマイ / LGBTQIA spaces in Japan can be painful at times.
October 7, 2016

QAC 54 – Confusing Gender Envy & Admiration with Attraction || Non-Binary | Asexual
October 10, 2016
[A]sexuality, Art[sy Fartsy], Gender[queer], Japan[ese], Queer[ness]

Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2017: PARADE

May 15, 2017 / 2 Comments

when you turn and see someone’s face as they lose composure while looking your way as you approach them, you know it was all worth it. (featuring photos by: @7a6u3, @gonoi and @mom1615) see also: TOKYO | FESTA | ACES & ENBIES

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Vesper H.

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QAC 24 – Labels: Why They’re Important + Why I Use Them
March 17, 2014

QAC 35 – Body Image: An Intersection of Black, Non-binary & Asexual Identity
March 16, 2015

Ash Hardell’s “The ABC’s of LGBT+” in Japanese!
November 25, 2017
[A]sexuality, Art[sy Fartsy], Gender[queer], Japan[ese], Queer[ness]

Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2017: FESTA

May 15, 2017 / 2 Comments

if only ten photos or even four posts of photos were enough to capture the spirit of #TRP2017. see also: TOKYO | PARADE | ACES & ENBIES

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Vesper H.

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commentary: “Where Is The Asexual Representation in LGBTQ Pride?”
June 10, 2017

comments on my “QAC 36 – What Acephobia & Asexual Erasure Looks Like” video.
November 26, 2015

landscapes and fissures: navigating ace terminology in Japanese & English
June 1, 2018
[A]sexuality, Art[sy Fartsy], Gender[queer], Japan[ese], Queer[ness]

Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2017: TOKYO

May 15, 2017 / 2 Comments

random glimpses of rainbows around Shibuya & Shinjuku. should’ve gone to Odaiba too, チェッ… see also: FESTA | PARADE | ACES & ENBIES

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Vesper H.

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QAC 75 – Questioning In Silence?: Identity | Self-Discovery | Stigma || Random Thoughts
February 27, 2019

sigh.
July 23, 2017

identity politics leave little room for agency; a thought.
July 21, 2017