Homosexuality in Japan - Grade: B PDF

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This is the second essay for Louella Matsunaga's module on Marginality in Japan. Title: To what extent is male-male sexuality marginalised in contemporary Japan?...

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U20171: Minorities and Marginality, Class and Conflict in Japan

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To what extent is male-male sexuality marginalised in contemporary Japan? Until relatively recently, the notion of male-male sexuality, at least in contemporary Japanese society, had been very much a taboo topic of discussion. However, as Japan has begun to integrate further with the world system — both economically and socially — the views of Japanese citizens on ones sexual preferences, and particularly regarding homosexuality, have become more outward looking and tolerant. Despite this, some are of the belief that homosexuals cannot be considered to be at the centre of the Japanese Ka-i worldview - the scale dictating the extent to which one can be deemed to be at the centre of Japanese civilisation. In addition to this, more tolerant depictions of life as a gay man in Japan are often trivialised by portraying them as objects of curiosity or as separate but equal to other Japanese males. This essay will firstly outline Japanese homosexuality in a historical content as a backdrop for an evaluation of the extent to which male-male sexuality is marginalised in contemporary Japan. It is important to note that for the purpose of this paper, ‘homosexuality’ will refer to male-male sexuality and not same-sex female relationships. The essay will then investigate the relationship between homosexuality and being an average Japanese ‘Salaryman’, the changing roles of men and highlight contemporary constructions of masculinity in Japan. Lastly, the essay will consider how male-male sexuality is portrayed in the Japanese media, particularly within films and manga with a female target audience to evaluate the extent to which gay Japanese man are portrayed as comfort figures and as forms of escapism from the notion of compulsory heterosexuality. All analysis will also be considered in an anthropological context, investigating ideas of the self, the other and the collective. This paper will ultimately argue that the situation is improving for Japanese gay men, however in order for male homosexuals to be meaningfully accepted as Japanese, Japan and its people must transition away from the popular belief that their nation requires an almost compulsory homogeneity. Japanese Male-male Sexuality in a Historical Context Historically, homosexual relationships in Japan have never been frowned upon in the same way in which those in the Western hemisphere had tended to. Scholars including Watanabe and Iwata (1989: 26) have argued that from the seventeenth century, homosexuality in Japan was even embraced and entered it’s ‘golden age, comparable to that of ancient Greece’. It was always well known among the Japanese that homosexuality was prevalent within their society, particularly within Samurai groups, however Watanabe and Iwata also note that within this ‘golden age’, homosexuality spread as a popular cultural tradition and was espoused by all classes of people from monks, to peasants, to the bourgeoisie. Ultimately, there was very little in the way ‘othering’ of homosexuals during this period. However, we must question why then, if the times were so good several centuries ago, this notion of open acceptance began to fade in order to understand the situation in contemporary Japan. For this, we

may draw upon the work of Makato (1994), who argues that this tolerance ended as the Meiji era approached. He cites the disappearance of both the Samurai culture and hundreds of Kagema (male prostitutes, often cross-dressing), of whom many considered to be the embodiment of beauty. Watanabe and Iwata (1989: 13) build upon this, arguing that the ‘decline of the homosexual tradition was strictly parallel to beauty being taken over by women’. They go on to argue that the inception of the Meiji period and the subsequent industrial revolution also played a role, as the Meiji government sought to move the idea of beauty away from men through the dispersion of ideology in the newly founded print media. The print media was similarly used by the Meiji government to vilify homosexual acts in order to pit a heterosexual collective against an alien group to be fearful of (Pflugfelder, 1999). Shortly after the Meiji inception, a sodomy law was enacted in 1872 which remained on the statute books for eight years. From this era onwards, the Japanese, if they dared defy their compulsory prudishness, tended to speak of homosexuality as a sexual anomaly or a form of deficiency. We can therefore argue that male-male sexuality in Japan, within a historical context, displays a mixed picture. Despite the growing inwardness following the inception of the Meiji period, prior to this, academics tend to agree that male homosexuality was never considered to be a type of defect. Thus, we could make the argument that homosexuals were in fact marginalised to a lesser extent to what they are in contemporary Japan. Male-male Sexuality, ‘Salaryman’ and the Changing Constructions of Masculinity The notion of the ‘salaryman’ (salaried male worker) encapsulates what it means to be, and what is expected of, a heteronormative Japanese male in contemporary Japan. Hidaka (2010: 392) writes that the ideal of the salaryman encapsulates Japan’s hegemonic masculinity, setting the bar for what is culturally acceptable and expected within Japanese society thereby justifying its patriarchal social structure. Baring this in mind, the relationship between this compulsory masculinity and male-male sexuality warrants further investigation. After all, as McLelland (2005) argues, Japanese society not only expects the salaryman to be productive at work, but reproductive at home too. McLelland notes that many Japanese gay men face problems in the workplace due to their reluctance to get married and father a child, thus resisting conformity to the ideal of the salaryman. Similarly, his analysis of the homosocial bonding which underpins work practices in Japan is also helpful. He writes of the discussion between heterosexual colleagues of ‘women, cars and sports’. One of his informants also described how he would be afraid to speak up during discussions of women. Allison’s (1994) ethnographic account of a Tokyo strip club builds upon this, citing examples of corporate masculinity in hostess bars in which homosexual men would clearly feel uncomfortable even speaking about women, never mind interacting with them. Nevertheless, the coerciveness of corporate masculinity and the belief that partaking in it is almost a ritual for the

successful Japanese man forced them to not only hide their sexuality but ultimately take part in the use of women as sexual objects, leaving them insular and degraded. Despite this, one can put forth the view that the construction of masculinities in contemporary Japan is changing from one of a structural rigidity as we see in the salaryman ideal, to a hybrid of interpretations. Robertson and Suzuki (2003) argue that the rise in dual worker households in which both parents are employed have had a significant role to play in this. This is a new concept in contemporary Japan, having began to transition from a society in which the male was the sole breadwinner. However, recently much more emphasis has been placed on creating a culture in which men should take on the role as a caring father figure alongside their employment. An arguably positive repercussion of this changing construction of what it means to be a Japanese man is that personal qualities such as being caring or nurturing are gradually becoming more valued — personal qualities which have a tendency to be attributed to homosexual males. In an earlier article by Robertson (1992), she also argues that popular culture in Japan is allowing for greater acceptance of an ‘androgynous’ Japanese society. This is not meant in the literal sense of an intersexed body, but rather she refers to the development of a society in which gender markers are scrambled and thus, contributing to the prevention of the marginalisation of homosexuals. Ultimately, although we can argue that masculinity in Japan is gradually gaining fluidity, it is difficult to dispute the fact that conformity still plays a large role in how male homosexuals act. Therefore, the idea of the ‘looking glass self’ is still an important one here, whereby gay Japanese men are expected to project themselves in a particular way dependent on who they are with and the location they are in. We must also be careful not to assume that the rise in dual worker households is sufficient evidence to prove that male-male sexuality is no longer marginalised. Whilst it has effected the extent to which male homosexuals are marginalised (and it may be welcome), it is a mere byproduct of another change in contemporary Japanese society. This paper argues that a real, meaningful and direct effort must be made by Japan and its people to address the issue of the marginalisation of male-male sexuality as its own issue, in order to afford to homosexuals the dignity and equality that they deserve. Male Homosexuals as Comfort Figures and a Form of Escapism Whilst perceptions of male-male sexuality in Japan have taken a cultural turn, the argument could be made that even the most positive projections of homosexuality are trivialising male same-sex relationships. We will investigate this by studying the portrayal of male-male sexuality in the Japanese media — more specifically, in film, and within manga targeted at Japanese females. To begin, we again draw upon McLelland (2000). His content analysis of differing forms of mainstream Japanese media has sought to understand the differing representations of male-male sexuality and the purpose that these representations hold. He specifically focuses on media types

aimed at women, and one significant conclusion that he draws, citing examples of films including Okoge and Kira kira hika, is that almost consistently in Japanese film, gay men are portrayed as nonthreatening, nurturing and feminine figures. We could argue that this is both positive and negative. On the one hand, it reflects the changing attitudes towards Japanese males moving away from the traditional constructions of masculinity. However, because these feminine representations are almost exclusive, these films are excluding those gay men who do not ascribe to these ‘feminine’ personalities. This may give the impression that these particular homosexuals are unable to reach the highest ranks of the social strata like the salaryman, even if they so wished. This paper suggests then, that to further combat the marginalisation of male-male sexuality in Japan, gay men in the popular media must be portrayed in all forms, similarly to heterosexual men. One particularly interesting notion regarding homosexual representation in Japan is that of homosexuals being used as a form of escapism for heterosexual females who feel trapped in a society which promotes compulsory heterosexuality. McLelland (2000: 70) too discusses this, writing that although women are statistically the most accepting of male-male sexuality in Japan, one of the major reasons for the permeation of ‘boy love’ in to female manga was to replace a ‘worn out idea of femininity’. As with male-male sexuality in Japanese film, representation of male homosexuals in the mainstream media and the positive attention it draws is always beneficial for fighting marginalisation. However, what would be extremely unfortunate, is if this reasoning of needing a new beauty ideal to improve readership and boost sales was the sole reason for extending the representation of male homosexuals in to female manga. Despite this, McLelland’s work focused on manga comics in the 1980-90s and as a result this paper makes the argument that this is somewhat outdated as improvements are gradually being made, at least to a certain extent. Lee (2016) demonstrates this with a particular example of a comic featuring two homosexual centaurs as a strange ‘other’, misunderstood by those who live near them. The aim of the comic is to highlight the marginalisation of homosexual men, and in the comic they must live separately from the rest of their community — with regards to where they can run, where they can house themselves and which bathrooms they can use. This essay welcomes such a representation for the most part. Whilst it is important to inform readers of the problems which homosexual men face on a daily basis, the centaurs are still not portrayed as ‘normal’ townsfolk who live similar lives to everyone else. Thus, whilst manga’s portrayal of male-male sexuality is improving, they still perpetuate a notion of male homosexuals being as being separate but equal. Conclusion Ultimately, this paper could simply argue that Japan is undergoing a transition to a more outward looking perception of male-male sexuality and that attitudes are gradually improving. However, this essay has sought to understand the extent to which male homosexuals are marginalised in contemporary Japan. Knowing the situation in a historical context, we may argue that what we are

really seeking to understand is the extent to which Japan has begun to reverse its view of impurity towards male homosexuality which, prior to the inception of the Meiji era, was unfounded and led to Japan eventually bucking the trend of the rest of the Western world. This essay takes the view that homosexuals are currently in a liminal space within Japanese society, as is the case with many minority groups as they wait for a significant cultural turn to take place. As a result, we must consider the preconditions needed for this cultural turn to take place, in order for the marginalisation of male-male sexuality to fully reach an end. First and foremost, Japan must continue to promote the acceptability of the salaryman taking on caring, family-oriented roles in order to continue the transition towards a more fluid construction of Japanese masculinity. However, as we have noted above, homosexuals should not settle for their acceptance being conditional on a byproduct of a change in views towards heterosexual men. Malemale sexuality must also begin to be represented in the Japanese media in all roles — not as comfort figures, or as a form of escapism and certainly not for purely commercial purposes. The final transition that Japanese society must make, and perhaps the most difficult, is away from the notion of a compulsory homogeneity. As the rest of the Western world continues to stride forward in their march of progress, Japan remains, to an extent, stuck in old ways, believing that they can continue as a nation state free of ‘others’. Ultimately, if Japan is to successfully make this cultural turn, it must cease its isolationist outlook on its society, understand that all communities globally are undergoing major changes and begin to embrace the cultural diversity that minority groups bring. Only when this happens will male homosexuals, along with a host of other minorities, begin to feel comfortable integrating in to a society where they can expect to be free from marginalisation. 2434 Words!

References Allison, A. (1994). Nightwork: sexuality, pleasure, and corporate masculinity in a Tokyo hostess club. The Journal of Japanese Studies, 32(04), pp.451-456. McLelland, M. (2000). Male homosexuality in modern Japan. Richmond: Curzon. McLelland, M. (2005). Salarymen doing queer. In: McLelland, M. and Dasgupta, R. Genders, transgenders and sexualities in Japan. 1st ed. London: Routledge. Hidaka, T. (2010). Salaryman masculinity: the continuity of and change in the hegemonic masculinity in Japan. Leiden: Brill. Lee, A. (2016). A Centaur in Salaryman's Clothing: Parody and Play in est em's Centaur Manga. New Voices in Japanese Studies, 8, pp.55-76. Makoto, F. and Lockyer, A. (1994). The changing nature of sexuality: The three codes framing homosexuality in modern Japan. US-Japan Women's Journal. (7), pp.98-127. Pflugfelder, G. (1999). Cartographies of desire. 1st ed. Berkeley: University of California Press. Robertson, J. (1992). The politics of androgyny in Japan: sexuality and subversion in the theater and beyond. American Ethnologist, 19(3), pp.419-442. Roberson, J. and Suzuki, N. (2003). Men and masculinities in contemporary Japan. 1st ed. London: Routledge. Watanabe, T. and Iwata, J. (1989). The Love of the Samurai. 1st ed. London: Gay Men's Press, pp13-.26....