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The eightteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter is now available both in print and online. Click the URL to download the PDF version.
CGS Newsletter 018 (PDF, 0.4MB)

Contents of the CGS Newsletter 018

Natsumi IKOMA
Director, CGS
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the eighteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]

CGS was created not only as a research institute for gender and sexuality studies, but also as a communication space open to all, including students and non-ICU visitors. This has always been one of our most important missions. A university research institute can often be quite intimidating for students. In order to make CGS more welcoming, we regularly organize events such as reading groups and tea parties, and the center is usually open all day on weekdays throughout the semester and vacation periods, so students can drop in for a chat or borrow books from our library.

As a result, CGS had over 4,200 visitors in AY2014. In particular, the number of students who visit CGS almost daily increased by 50%. Many of these students come to the center upon arriving on the campus, stay here until their classes begin, and come back again when their classes are over. This proves that CGS functions as a safe and comfortable space, which we are delighted about. However, we also realize that this may indicate that some students feel unsafe or uncomfortable in other spaces on campus. It is worrying that we are encountering more students who complain that CGS is the only place where they feel that they can talk about gender and sexuality issues. Such feedback reminds us of the many unresolved issues on campus, which CGS must continue to pressure the university to deal with.

Sadly, the campus environment is not yet minorities- and women-friendly. This manifests itself at times in clearly discriminatory behavior or expression, but more often as ignorant words casually expressed by friends or professors, which may not have had any harmful intention but cut deep. In order to change this situation in which students can only feel safe at CGS, we need to put more eff¬ort into awareness raising.

Another noteworthy point in the statistics of AY2014 is the increase in the number of enquiries from external sources. Since we published the first guidebook for LGBT students on campus in 2012, the number of enquiries into the way ICU deals with and supports LGBT students has shot up. There are enquiries from media outlets and local municipal offices. The majority of the enquiries are, however, from educational institutions such as high schools and other universities, which attests to the gradual rise in the visibility of LGBT students, whose existence has not been recognized until now. ICU in this case has drawn attention as "a leading model," but there is still much that remains to be done.

Currently, CGS functions as an office to deal with issues related to gender and sexuality, but this does not directly result in the university as a whole becoming more aware of these issues. There are many more challenges ahead for CGS to tackle in order to realize a campus where everyone's rights and dignity are cherished. Thank you for your continuing support and guidance. We appreciate you all very much.

Yoshimi TAKADA
Advisor, Special Counseling Room for Gender and Sexuality; ICU graduate (1985)
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the eighteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]

The Special Counseling Room for Gender and Sexuality fi¬rst opened its doors at ICU in December 2013. The advisor, Yoshimi Takada, is a clinical psychologist who majored in gender and sexuality studies at university. She outlines the services provided, which include consultations as well as liaising with other institutions both on and off campus.

Soichi
ICU graduate (2015)
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the eighteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]

ICU is the only university in Japan that offers a structured interdisciplinary major in gender and sexuality studies. ICU students receive support from CGS, which organizes study groups and serves as a friendly space for discussing gender and sexuality issues. Soichi, who graduated in March 2015, shares his thoughts on his time at ICU.

Tomomi YAMAGUCHI
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Montana State University; ICU graduate (1990)
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the eighteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]

In recent years, many policies and laws have been proposed in Japan to support and promote the greater participation of women in the workforce. But are there any hidden pitfalls lurking behind this seemingly positive progress? Who will end up being marginalized when only a select few can take advantage of the changes? We invited Tomomi Yamaguchi to share some insights from her research on feminism and Japanese politics.

Yudai SHIMIZU
Ampersand Administrative Scrivener Office (http://andlaw.jp/); ICU graduate (2005)
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the eighteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]

There has been much debate over an ordinance passed by Shibuya's municipal assembly in March 2015, which enables certain same-sex couples to receive partnership certification. Yudai Shimizu, an ICU graduate who now works as an administrative scrivener in support of sexual minorities, outlines the advantages and limitations of this ordinance and expresses his hopes for further advances that it may stimulate.

Features : Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

OHASHI Yukako
SOSHIREN, freelance writer and editor; part-time university lecturer
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the eighteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]

The prohibition of abortion has prevailed in the Penal Code of Japan for about 110 years. SOSHIREN's Yukako Ohashi discusses the history of Japan's problematic abortion and eugenic laws, which fail to recognize a woman's right to self-determination and autonomy over her own body.

Features : Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Tomoko YONEZU
DPI Women's Network Japan
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the eighteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]

There has been widespread media coverage of a human rights complaint ¬led to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) on June 23, 2015, by a woman who was forced to undergo sterilization under Japan's former Eugenic Protection Law. Tomoko Yonezu from DPI Women's Network Japan discusses the discrimination and exclusion suffered by women with disabilities and the history of the disability rights movement in Japan.

News from Asia

Genya FUKUNAGA
East Asia Queer Film Project
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the eighteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]

Gender and sexuality movements progress through negotiation with legal and administrative systems, and the path woven by every movement di ers depending on the country or region. Genya Fukunaga, whose research focuses on sexual minorities in East Asia, is also involved in organizing the China Queer Film Festival in Japan. In this article, he discusses recent developments in China.