The seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter is now available both in print and online. Click the URL to download the PDF version.
CGS Newsletter 017 (PDF, 1MB)
Contents of the CGS Newsletter 017
Natsumi IKOMA
Director, CGS
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
CGS is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Spearheaded by the powerful initiative of its founder, Prof. Kazuko Tanaka, our members have been engaged in a wide range of activities over the past 10 years, striving to create a center that is "a safe place for anyone" and to get the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies on track. We've organized international workshops and guest lectures, nurtured young researchers, and supported the activities of the Tama Gender Education Network. We've also disseminated news and research on gender and sexuality through our annual journal and regular newsletters. At the same time, on campus, we've raised awareness of human rights issues, initiated support structures for LGBT students, organized a movement for childcare, and established the Special Counseling Room for Gender and Sexuality. We wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to all those who have supported and facilitated our endeavors over the years.
This year has also marked the retirement of Prof. Tanaka from ICU, prompting us to reflect deeply on the direction of CGS in the next decade. While we are determined to continue our activities with the same degree of intensity and enthusiasm, we are also faced with the current reality of significant reductions in our budget and human resources. Therefore, we aim to proceed slowly to find a means for sustainable management without compromising the center's influence, but we must also consider our work ethic in order to protect our staff from burn-out. This entails narrowing our focus: our priority lies in the issues of gender and sexuality in higher education and its institutions, including ICU. We will begin with the upcoming 10th anniversary symposium in November, which will offer the opportunity to consider the conflicts of gender and sexuality that are encountered both on campus and in society by shifting our perspective to see them as our own problems, not as somebody else's.
Lately, we have been receiving more and more enquiries from other universities regarding LGBT issues. We are delighted to see the fruits of the initiatives of our members and also to find that more and more people are becoming aware of the need to be sensitive to gender and sexuality issues. Yet many problems still remain unresolved in the education system, not only in higher education but also in the levels before it. In the wider society, there are also ongoing problems involving male-centrism, dichotomous gender formations, and heterosexism, to name but a few. In such a climate, we are mindful of our foremost responsibility to secure and nurture our center as "a safe place for anyone." I am deeply committed to this mission and look forward to further collaboration with staff, students, and all those involved in our activities. We sincerely appreciate your continued interest, support, and engagement.
[CGS 10th Anniversary Symposium]
Kana TAKAMATSU
Assistant Director, CGS
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
CGS will hold its 10th anniversary symposium, "Redefining Boundaries and Conviviality: Nationality, Body, Gender and Sexuality," on Sunday, November 23, 2014. CGS steering committee member Kana Takamatsu discusses the theme of the symposium, and CGS associate researchers Shingo Hori and Miho Matsuzaki and research institute assistant Yuko Sasaki introduce the individual sessions below.
[CGS 10th Anniversary Symposium]
Shingo HORI
Junkenkyuin (Associate Researcher), CGS; Doctoral Program (Sociology), Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
Recurring incidents of hate speech targeting Zainichi Koreans and foreigners have spread beyond Tokyo and Osaka to other regions of Japan over the past year. The ongoing counter-protests against this racism have also garnered attention, and hate speech is gradually being recognized as a social problem.
What can gender and sexuality studies contribute to this evolving debate? This session will critically examine the rising intensity of racism in our society from the perspective of gender and sexuality. For this purpose, we have invited two guest speakers whose research has focused on the multi-layered relationship between sexism and racism: Natsuno Kikuchi of Nagoya City University and Yeonghae Jung of Otsuma Women's University. It is hoped that their insights will stimulate fruitful discussion among all the participants.
At this session, I think it will be vital to consider the issue of "comfort women" and the Japanese army in relation to this debate. The fact that Japanese society has continued to proceed without facing up to this issue has not only fostered a climate in which hate speech can go unchallenged on our streets but also provided a foundation for the radical-right regime that is the second Abe administration. In fact, I believe that this neglect has nurtured a society that can ignore the pleas of those who have suffered from discrimination and violence. This session aims to elucidate this problem by deconstructing the conflicting narratives of states, social movements, and identities.
[CGS 10th Anniversary Symposium]
Miho MATSUZAKI
Junkenkyuin (Associate Researcher), CGS
Yuko SASAKI
Research Institute Assistant, CGS; Master's Student, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
This session will examine the Japanese university system and international students from the perspective of gender and sexuality, which is an aspect that has hitherto not been sufficiently explored. In particular, we ask, how do the various institutions and norms of gender and sexuality impact international students who are ethnic, linguistic, religious, and/or cultural minorities in Japan? How are the actual bodies of these students marginalized or made invisible in this process?
We have invited guest speakers to share their experiences in coordinating and supporting international students in Japan. The session will begin with a report by CGS Assistant Director Kana Takamatsu on how the Japanese university system handles international students and some of the challenges involved. Next, Kyoko Tanaka of the Education Center for International Students at Nagoya University will discuss the Japanese university system from the perspective of international students who are religious minorities. Then Tomoka Toraiwa of the same center will speak about the types of harassment that international students in Japan tend to be subjected to. Finally, we hope to widen the debate by inviting further discussion among all the participants.
While the asymmetry of local and international students in Japan continues to be spawned, it is also becoming less visible by the day. To address this issue, this session will examine the intrinsic link between gender/sexuality norms and institutions and the study abroad system in Japan, and provide a forum for participants to share their viewpoints on how this impacts the "bodies" who have traveled from other countries to study here. Besides introducing case studies and debating the diverse gender and sexuality issues concerning international students in Japan, we will also question the "absent debate," namely, the fact that these issues have received little attention both in research and in practice.
[Creating a Space at ICU for Sharing Our Thoughts and Feelings]
Hikari MOKUTA
Research Institute Assistant (2012-13), CGS
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
The Fuwa (Casual) Café was launched in December 2012 in response to expressions of interest for a place where people can freely share their thoughts, however vague and undefined, on gender and sexuality issues. Hikari Mokuta discusses her initiative, a concept that was based on Rainbow Action's Yuru (Relaxed and Loosely Defined) Café and Kamo ("Maybe I'm...") Café (http://rainbowaction. blog.fc2.com/).
[Creating a Space at ICU for Sharing Our Thoughts and Feelings]
Soichiro KAWAME
Undergraduate Student, ICU
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
In December 2012, CGS hosted a student-led discussion titled, "So You Think You Know What Coming Out Is All About?," as a special event under the R-Week banner. Soichiro Kawame reflects on the event, which he both planned and moderated in his junior year at ICU.
[Gender and Sexuality Issues at ICU]
Yuji KATO (compiler)
Office Coordinator, CGS
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
Since 2003, transgender or gender non-conforming students at ICU have been able to change their name and gender on the university records. The following is an abridged transcript of a round-table discussion on this issue with Tatsuo Nunoshiba (Dean of Students), Mizuho Aihara (Human Rights Advisor), Aiko Tsuchiya (Human Rights Advisor), Kazuko Tanaka (former ICU professor, who assisted in the first case over 10 years ago), and Mao Ueda (CGS Research Institute Assistant and Editor of LGBT in ICU Student Guidebook (Transgender/ GID Edition )). Note that all names are indicated by initials below.
[Gender and Sexuality Issues at ICU]
Yuji KATO (compiler)
Office Coordinator, CGS
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
Since the Nursing Room was finally established at ICU in 2012, a growing number of voices have begun calling for a childcare center on campus. The following is an abridged transcript of a conversation between ICU's Vice President for Academic Affairs, Anri Morimoto (A.M.), and CGS Director, Natsumi Ikoma (N.I.), about childcare on campus.
[News from Asia]
Koto KANNO
Visiting Researcher, Institute for Gender Studies, Ochanomizu University
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the seventeenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
2014 marks the final year of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Koto Kanno worked for many years with UNESCO, including stints at the Paris Headquarters and as UNESCO's Representative to Nepal and Head of the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu. We invited her to share her insights and current research on basic education for women in developing countries.