Paper short abstract:

By analyzing ethnographic data, we aim to elucidate how "queer spaces", such as the gender-and-sexuality-related facilities situate in Japanese universities and how these spaces are cultivated and maintained.

Paper long abstract:

In Japan, people often feel pressure to conform because of cultural homogeneity and collectivism, and those who do not fit into the social norms may be vulnerable to discrimination and exclusion. Surveys by The Life Respect White Ribbon Campaign (2014), UNESCO (2015), and Human Rights Watch (2016) indicate that sexually diverse and gender non-conforming youths in Japan often feel unsafe, and many of them had experienced bullying at pre-tertiary school. Although limited studies have been done in the college/university context, such a condition may persist due to a lack of institutional support and acknowledgment of LGBTQ issues (Kawashima, 2015, 2017).

In challenging the prevalent heteronormativity and cisgenderism, many queer scholars have offered critical analyses on queer identity and resilience. For instance, Sara Ahmed (2006) suggests that contact with other queer individuals creates a queer space that can extend itself and disturb the heterosexist world, thus allows the queers to be able to live and survive within it. College and university classrooms can be such a space by offering courses in queer theory, sexuality studies, or LGBT studies. Moreover, student groups, dedicated centers, and facilities on campus can also serve the very purpose. These spaces do not exist on their own but come as a result of the interactions of various actors.

Actor-Network Theory suggests that both human and nonhuman actors have an agency that provides a tool for tracing how they work collectively in "networks" of action. Therefore, using ANT as a framework and analyzing interviews with queer students and faculty members, we aim to explain how these queer spaces, such as the gender-and-sexuality-related facilities situate in Japanese universities by focusing on the facility backgrounds, disciplines, and activities. In addition, by looking at external factors, such as the involvement of international students, faculty members, institutions, social networking services, we aim to draw connections between various components and examine how these components perform in creating and maintaining such spaces.