QAC 55.5 – Life Update: Post-Election Mental Health | Staying In Japan | Outted To Dad
two weeks ago any vague plans that i’d had for my immediate future were abruptly shattered when America elected Trump as the next president of the United States. two weeks later, i’m still struggling to cope with the news and the resulting blow to my already poor mental health. in this video, i give voice to my thoughts on being forced to navigate HRT in Japan and forgo (for the time being) other gender-related medical things that i’d hoped to pursue in America. i also talk about possibly moving to Tokyo in a year’s time, having been outted to my dad via Twitter and a new book by Ashley Mardell that i highly recommend. longass video is long, so here are some jump points for those of you only interested in specific things. @00:00 – post-election mental health @03:50 – shattered future; staying in Japan @08:55 – name change, HRT…
…one of many examples of why navigating セクマイ / LGBTQIA spaces in Japan can be painful at times.
first the context: the above screenshot is from the registration form for a meetup that i’ll be attending that is exclusively for trans men and non-binary people who are AFAB who have not medically transitioned in any way. the meetup is being hosted by a group that itself is a support group for trans men and non-binary people who are AFAB and who have not medically transitioned in any way + their partners………..
本の紹介:「Xジェンダーって何？」
screaming! rushing out the door on my way to work i found a totally unexpected package in my mail box which turned out to be this book! the first ever (in so far as i know) book in Japan written by, about and for non-binary people in Japan! the book is the product of crowdfunding by the non-binary group Label X well over a year ago and i totally forgot that the book was said to be released around now. the book isn’t available on Amazon (not at the moment anyway), but it can be found online here and the book will be sold in bookstores! how amazing is that?! really is exciting times right now. 🙂 i’m at work right now so can’t look over the book at all and will be working overtime all week, but i look forward to checking out the book more thoroughly this weekend.…
Q&A: “Any recommendations for meeting other trans/non-binary either Japanese or gaijin in Japan?”
nerdyglitterpatrol said: Hey Vesper. I’m a non-binary transman (fledgling danso) living in Japan. I came here very recently, at the end of July, so it’s been about 2 months now. I’ve been curious about finding other non-binary or trans individuals that I could be friends with to generally explore the lgbt and non-binary parts of Japanese life, culture, and society. Any recommendations for meeting or making friends with other trans/non-binary either Japanese or gaijin in Japan? Second part of my question. I’ve considered using mixi, but I have no idea how it works and while I’m decent at conversational Japanese, reading it is another story. I’m also hesitant to come out as non-binary trans to Japanese people because the concepts seem to be underdeveloped in Japan, Japanese people don’t seem to know what to do with non-binary/trans individuals. And it’s hard for me to come out to my cis friends…
“lesbian night”
since some people said they’d be interested in hearing about my experience at a “lesbian night” event at a local gay bar this past weekend…. here’s a tl;dr word vomit post about the night that can pretty much be summarized as: i had a good time, but awkwardness was awkward and culture shock was shocking, as always in Japanese LGBT spaces.
otsukaresama deshita!
[cross-posted in part to Ace Spec Japan] had a great time at the ace meetup today. there was a great turn out and it was nice to see some new faces. it’s amazing to see how much the group has grown in 3 years, especially since it’s mostly happened via word of mouth and Tumblr. personally, i always enjoy the stimulating conversations (and rant sessions) that are much harder to have with most Japanese people for various reasons…. looking forward to the next meetup! although at this point, i’m not sure when that’ll be. hoping that i’ll be able to visit the Kansai area sooner than later and organize a meetup down there as well because it feels rather… unfair? that all the meetups and such have thus far only be held in Kanto, which is out of reach for some. plus i just really want to visit Kansai, damnit. oh…
Re: Re: “Why do you think some nb genders are becoming more well known than other nb genders?”
nextstepcake: queerascat: nextstepcake: queerascat: anonymous said: Hey Vesper! I have a question. I’ve noticed that within the nonbinary and larger trans and queer and so forth communities, some nonbinary genders seem to get more recognition than others. Some- especially maverique as I’ve noticed- are hardly known of by many other nonbinary and/or trans people, while others such are gaining recognition in trans, nb, and other circles much more quickly in comparison. Why do you think some nb genders are becoming more well known than other nb genders? hi anon, this is a really tough question. not just because of how subjective it is (i mean, what even counts as ‘recognition’, let alone what counts as ‘more’ or ‘more quickly’), but also because there are an infinite number of factors involved in why any non-binary gender gets any amount of recognition at all. imho, some non-binary genders are more commonly recognized…
Q&A: “Are there any (commonly used?) gender neutral pronouns in Japanese like there are in English?”
anonymous said: Are there any (commonly used?) gender neutral pronouns in Japanese like there are in English? I love your blog btw, your posts about Japanese are fascinating 🙂 (see also: this post) ah, thank you! although at this point i feel the need to throw out a huge disclaimer. [image reads: i’m totally a non-fluent, non-native speaker of Japanese and as such, i might not even know wtf i’m talking about! :’D but thank you for asking anyway! – Vesper] anyway, i’m inclined to say no, there are no gender neutral pronouns in Japanese like there are in English. in English, “gender neutral pronouns” generally refers to third-person pronouns used by one person to refer to another person. in Japanese, third-person pronouns aren’t used anywhere near as frequently as in English and it’s relatively easy to avoid gendering a person without using actual third-person pronouns at all, making gender neutral third-person…
Q&A: “How do I tell someone I’m non-binary in Japanese?”
anonymous said: How do I tell someone I’m non-binary in Japanese?
『[4ｺﾏ]☆Ｘジェンダー☆』
…sigh. you know, i really want to be happy about these LGBTQIA 4-koma comics that Chii is doing to try and help raise awareness for lesser known genders and sexualities, but gah. i just can’t. because i suck. the linked comic that went up a couple days ago about Xジェンダー / non-binary is the last one i’m going to whinge over, i swear. for now. but first, an English translation of the comic to give context to my whinging. What’s “X-gender”? Xジェンダー (X-gender) people who, without deciding between “male” or “female”, take the stance or identity of being neither gender. referred to as “MtX” if designated “male” at birth and “FtX” if designated “female” at birth, however also referred to simply as “X” when not wanting to refer to one’s designated gender at birth. there are many definitions, but it goes something like this. red and white*: i want to be between male and female.…
