Paper short abstract:

In this paper I suggest that ‘voicing up’ about gender issues in Japan is defined not so much by ‘loud and proud’ or “post-closet discourses” (Ueno 2022, Seidman 2002), but by the creation of intimate community spaces. These spaces may grant individuals control over their own narratives.

Paper long abstract:

During and since the #MeToo Movement in 2017, Japan has experienced a surge in activity from grassroots groups like Voice Up Japan and branches of international organisations like Human Rights Watch. These groups work to tackle the issue of sexual violence. Much of this violence and harassment is rooted in gender disparities, though there remain many issues related to race, ethnicity, and class.

The category ‘gender issues’ (or gendaaa mondai) encompasses many conversations Japanese youth are having now, particularly regarding changing gender roles and expectations in home, work, and school spaces. This article will examine the current discourse around gender issues contextualized in precarious Japan in order to examine youth community building around gender identity, sexuality, and relationships.

In addition to my ongoing fieldwork, I will engage with existing literature on labour immobility (Allison 2013), precarity, intimate disconnections (Alexy 2020), and queer narratives in Japan. I will use these sources in combination with the personal experiences of my interlocuters to unpack how youth ‘voice up’ and become involved in groups focused on preventing sexual violence against women, LGBTQ+ awareness, and anti-discrimination.

I suggest that ‘voicing up’ in Japan is defined not so much by ‘loud and proud’ or “post-closet discourses” (Ueno 2022, Seidman 2002), but by the creation of intimate community spaces. This article shows that smaller-scale community involvement, rather than styles of protest activism, is shaped by both institutional and individual narratives. The ‘passing on’ of such narratives is essential for youth to enact ‘survivance’ (Vizenor 2008) and find belonging in different groups.