“the ace community goes overboard with words?” i.e. word vomitted “nah”
note: this post has been ported over as-is from Tumblr for my own future reference. anonymous submitted: (i had a long question, so, i hope it’s ok to use submit instead of sending multiple asks.) as a disclaimer, i ask this as an ace person who usually just ids as queer ace or grey ace. i’m not asking to be combative or make anyone feel bad.
Q&A: what’s it like being a QPOC living in Japan?
anonymous asked: Hey! Since you’re living in Japan and are a Lgbt Person of colour, do you get discriminated or something like that? (Cuz You’re not white (asian) or because you’re lgbt+?) I want to move to Japan (or south korea) and I’m also a poc and Trans*, so I wanna know how it is to live there as a Lgbt+ Person of colour. (Sry for my english haha it’s not my first language~) hi. 🙂 ahhh, this is a complicated question with complicated answers, but the short of it is “yes” regarding discrimination / prejudice based on race and “yes and no” regarding discrimination / prejudice based on sexuality / gender. you might be interested in checking out my #black in japan tag and / or #LGBTQIA in Japan page for more information, but generally speaking… life for me in Japan may or may not be anything like what life for you…
Q&A: “I share very similar feelings on the topic of asexuality [in Japan]….”
anonymous asked: I share very similar feelings on the topic of asexuality. I am also an asexual living in Japan, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I just recently learned the words and meanings for Aセクシュアル and ノンセクシュアル. Since I am not aromantic, that would mean I’m “nonsexual,” but I feel like the “A”/”ace”/”asexual” word itself is a big part of my identity. I feel a little upset over it. I want to still identify as asexual, but I also don’t want to confuse and have to explain thoroughly everytime. Thoughts? Ty! (for those interested, see: [ these ] [ relevant ] [ posts ] and [ this page ] of links) i felt and still feel the same way, so i just use Aセクシャル / アセクシャル / Aセク and deal with whatever confusion or misunderstanding may eventually result from that on a case-by-case basis. that, or i straight up…
Q&A: “I thought that my feelings for a certain someone was platonic, but…”
anonymous asked: May I ask you a question? For a long time, I thought that my feelings for a certain someone was platonic, but after reading up some things you wrote (mainly, “romantic = wanting to be as close as possible physically”), I suddenly feel uncertain. I don’t know if I’m having a crush or a squish. The bottom line is that there is this person I’m fond to be with, and want to help out 24/7. I don’t want to be in a relationship with him but tbh I’ll take anything I can. What do you think? hi, anon. sorry for taking so long to respond to your ask. you’re more than welcome to ask me a question, although i may not have an answer for you. before i respond with my thoughts regarding your situation, i feel the need to express confusion at having ever said what you’ve…
Calpis / Antiblackness / Japan
queernigga: since conversation about blackface in japan is springing up again and summa y’all want to act brand new as if this is isolated and never happens let’s talk about the original mascot of Calpis, used from the 1920s until the fucking 1980s. Lemme also link one of my old videos about an experience with blackface drag in 新宿二丁目。 literally walked past a vintage ad for Calpis with this character on it yesterday at an antiques store in Kamakura; that was my first encounter with Calpis’ history with this character. can’t say i was surprised, but definitely disappointed. to this day, not only blackface but also redface and yellowface (re: depictions of people of other asian ethnic groups) is still very much alive and well in Japan– especially in the 芸能界 / entertainment industry. and without fail, every time something like this happens– if it even makes it into the…
Q&A: “I don’t have any interest in a romantic or sexual relationship, but I know I can feel romantic attraction…”
anonymous said: Hi Vesper. I’m pretty certain that I like on both the aro- and Ace-spectrums; I’m not exactly sure where, but I’m not comfortable using the q word (I’m not sure what your blog’s policy in the word is, but better safe than sorry). I don’t have any interest in a romantic or sexual relationship, but I know I can feel romantic attraction. I’ve recently started just describing myself as “basically Aroace” and was wondering what your thoughts on the acceptability of this are. my opinion is that you should and have every right to use whatever words feel comfortable for you in describing yourself and that any and all consideration given to the “acceptability” of it can and should get the fuck out of your way if its making things difficult or uncomfortable for you, but that’s just me. having only gotten 6ish hours of sleep over the…
Q&A: “what do you use for recording and editing your videos?”
anonymous said: If you don’t mind my asking, what do you use for recording and editing your videos? I’ve thought about doing youtube before but have little idea of what kinds of equipment to invest in. i don’t mind at all, anon. actually, i wouldn’t recommend investing too much, if anything at all, into YouTube starting out. a lot of people have really strong intentions starting out and rush out to buy a nice camera, but end up not continuing with their channel for whatever unforseen reason. also, until you’ve actually given YouTube a try, it’s hard to know what exactly works best for you in terms of equipment, setup, etc. having said all that, to finally answer your question, i use some relatively high-end equipment that isn’t at all what i started out with, nor what i’d recommend to someone just starting out. i have a Canon 5D Mark…
Q&A: “I identify as homoflexible, it’s what fits me best, but I didn’t realize it was biphobic…”
anonymous said Hi I saw your post about homoflexibility and I wanted to ask you about it. I think I identify as homoflexible, it’s what fits me best, but I didn’t realize it was biphobic and I’m really freaked out because I don’t want to be biphobic it’s just what fits me best. I don’t consider myself bi because while I occasionally can have attraction to guys I don’t want a relationship(or sex) with a guy, I just don’t. But I’m not a lesbian either because I can occasionally experience attraction to guys. hi anon, first of all, sorry for taking so long to respond to your ask. i hope you’re well. i’m guessing that the post that you’re referring to is this one? as i tried to make clear in the original post, i was only voicing my own personal qualms with common definitions of homoflexible (and heteroflexible) and…
Q&A: “do you happen to know of resources about autism in the Japanese community…?”
anonymous said: Hi I’m sorry if this is worded weird or not a good question but do you happen to know of resources about autism in the Japanese community and/or the US Japanese community? I’ve been having trouble finding any. hi, anon. sorry for the delay in replying. i’m afraid that i won’t be of much help to you on the topic of autism (自閉症 / jiheishou) in Japan or within the Japanese-American community. if you can read Japanese or are looking for information to pass on to someone who can, the Autism Society of Japan’s website is probably as good a place as any to start? i can say, however, that having taught in Japanese schools for 7 years, i’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that much like that organization’s ridiculous, late 90′s, cookie-cutter website design and content, general resources and even just public awareness of anything related…
Re: growing up and dealing with antiblackness in Japan [video]
queernigga: !!! So my friend sent me this video on growing up and dealing with antiblackness in Japan and it’s SO. REAL. It’s only in Japanese (sorry non-Japanese speakers). I encourage you to watch and share. For students of Japanese language – the dialogue is super clear and you might be surprised at how much you understand! 人権啓発ビデオ 「わたしたちが伝えたい，大切なこと ～アニメで見る 全国中学生人権作文コンテスト入賞作品～」（1/4）【差別のない世界へ】（字幕あり） i really like this up until the “you should make yourself vulnerable and explain yourself and your hurt feelings to your bully” and the subsequent, mildly offensive optimism of said bully responding with “oh geez, i never thought about or noticed your feelings. i’m sorry! i won’t do it again” bit– but eh. i’m a jaded as all fuck black gaijin living in Japan who has zero experience actually going through the Japanese school system as a student. i would say that. that aside, i do like this video. it’s easily the best…
