- Convenor:
-
Wolfram Manzenreiter
(University of Vienna)
Send message to Convenor
- Discussant:
-
Andreas Eder-Ramsauer
(University of Vienna)
- Format:
- Panel
- Section:
- Anthropology and Sociology
Short Abstract
Interversity is a new and critical way of thinking about social change and diversity. Scholars from different generations and academic fields demonstrate that interversity in Japan is comprised of multiple categories of otherness and their intersecting and interrelated features.
Long Abstract
In recent years, research on immigration and the politics of multicultural co-existence has shaped the image of a new Japan that is carefully embracing ethnic diversity to maintain national stability. While these studies indicate a trend toward social, cultural, and ethnic diversification, they run the risk of disproportionately privileging one facet of diversity over others within a much larger transformation process. We argue that movements of people and the dissemination of ideas across regional boundaries and social media platforms, and the way that (im-)material cultural elements have become part of the social fabric of evolving gender roles and identity politics, new lifestyles and social alliances challenge narrow interpretations of diversity. “Increasing diversity” is not unidirectional, but a process that is multi-layered, multi-directional, and sometimes contradictory. It can produce new forms of segregation, restrict or force the movements of some groups, or cause/lead to counter-movements against various facets of diversity.
Against this background, this panel shifts the focus from diversity to interversity – an innovative and critical conceptualization of social diversities developed by the Vienna School of Japanese Studies. Papers within this section are therefore united by the common interest in the interplay and intersectionality of otherness and how features of differentiation, either in isolation or in interrelatedness, are creating, reinforcing, or offsetting subjectivities, positionalities, and agency within the social hierarchy of a changing Japan.
Heißenberger situates transgender literary characters within their historical and socio-political contexts, thereby tracing how the diversification of their portrayal reflects real-world developments in policy-making and public discourse. Malzahn investigates how the ongoing diversification of gender roles and the simultaneous persistence of traditional gender norms in families and the workplace effect male views on love and romantic relationships. Manzenreiter draws from original survey data to analyze how subjective loneliness affects attitudes towards various facets of social diversity.
Together with findings and arguments from the Interversity panel 2, these studies substantiate in theory and practice the claim that interversity in Japan is comprised of multiple categories of otherness and their intersecting and interrelated features.
| Abstract in Japanese (if needed) |
Accepted papers
Paper short abstract
This paper integrates the case of Japan into the emerging international concern about links between loneliness and political radicalization. Drawing on original survey data, I analyze whether and how subjective loneliness shapes hostile attitudes toward various facets of diversification in Japan.
Paper long abstract
Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly recognized as social and political problems in post-industrial societies. Japan is no exception in this regard. While concerns over loneliness and social isolation as well as related phenomena such as hikikomori (“shut-ins”) or kodokushi (“lonely deaths”) are not new, they gained additional salience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with the establishment of a designated bureau within the Cabinet Office in 2021 to combat loneliness and social isolation. A growing body of research in behavioral and social sciences investigates causes of loneliness and evaluates public and private responses, often with a focus on particularly exposed risk groups such as children or the elderly. However, the political effects of loneliness and social isolation have so far remained understudied.
In Europe and the US, recent studies point to the links between loneliness and anti-feminist and xenophobic views, support for radical right (populist) parties, anti-democratic and authoritarian attitudes, or increasing social distrust. Japan also has seen the rise of right-wing movements mimicking their rhetoric and talking points, though no study so far has addressed the link between political radicalization and subjective loneliness. To address this gap, we draw on data from a representative survey (n = 5,300) conducted in November 2025, which uses a short Japanese version of the UCLA loneliness scale and extracts attitudes towards various dimensions of social diversity (gender roles, gender identities/sexual minorities, lifestyles, migration), “authoritarian” attitudes and electoral behavior. The analysis aim to validify our assumption that Japan is an important but hitherto understudied case to further understanding of the linkage between loneliness, social isolation and extremist beliefs and opinions.
Paper short abstract
Using bell hooks’ concept of love as practice, this paper examines heterosexual intimacy under economic precarity, gender politics, and antagonism towards women. Based on masculinity research and interviews with men’s rights groups, it asks how patriarchy shapes men’s capacity for relational love.
Paper long abstract
This paper seeks to explore men’s views on love and romantic relationships with women and how they might be impacted by broader political and economic pressures. Research on masculinities, globally and in Japan, has shown that patriarchy fails to support men in nearly as many ways as it puts them in positions of power. This especially concerns their abilities to engage with emotions and the subsequent difficulties they may face with intimate relationships (Itō 2005; hooks 2001; hooks 2004). Academic inquiries identified neoliberal economic logic, falling birthrates and the erosion of the male breadwinner model as some of the most protruding structural influences shaping men’s experiences with intimacy.
However, there remains a blind spot when it comes to investigating men’s ability and willingness to seek out and embrace loving heterosexual relationships. “Incel” and “tradwife” culture, antagonism towards women choosing singlehood and a general return to traditionalistic gender roles may all be considered elements of a current backlash against notions of increasingly diversifying societies globally and, specifically, in Japan. In turn, economic precarity, increasing loneliness among single men and evolving, as well as persisting notions of hegemonic Japanese masculinity deeply shape private practices of intimacy. Furthermore, the so-called “male loneliness epidemic” may speak to an increase in men’s longing for love and intimacy that seemingly co-exists with reactionary views of women and femininity.
bell hooks suggested a view on love that considers it a practice rather than a feeling. Drawing on this idea, this paper is going to utilise her framing to analyse how men and women can “do” love in troubled times and explores the links between practices of masculinity and the ability to form connections built on care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect and trust. The methodology rests on discursive research rooted in feminist theory and in interviews conducted with men’s rights groups to answer the following questions: Are Japanese men still able and willing to form and maintain intimate romantic relationships with women? And how much do patriarchal dominance and power impact their ability to love?
Paper short abstract
This paper situates transgender literary characters within their historical and socio-political contexts. Preliminary findings show that their portrayals have diversified over the past quarter-century, reflecting Japan’s real-world policy changes and public discourse.
Paper long abstract
Literary fiction is never completely detached from reality. It explores various topics and issues, introducing readers to a multitude of imaginable social realities. Based on this understanding of literature, this paper examines the interactions between socio-cultural views and the portrayals of transgender characters in contemporary Japanese literature.
Since the turn of the millennium, the number of Japanese literary works featuring fictional transgender characters has increased, even more notably after 2018, coinciding with socio-political developments such as the ban on forced sterilisation of transgender individuals, backlash from the anti-gender movement, and growing public interest in the topic. Despite increased media coverage surrounding these issues, the portrayal of transgender literary characters remains largely understudied – globally, but especially within the Japanese context. My contribution addresses this gap by demonstrating how the development and diversification in the portrayal of fictional transgender characters reflect changes in Japanese laws and attitudes.
This paper is part of a larger research project in which I employ a multidisciplinary framework to identify emerging patterns in the portrayals of transgender characters in contemporary Japanese literature. For analytical purposes, I focus solely on prose works of fiction published after 1945. This paper aims to provide an insight into the corpus by situating the literary works within their historical, linguistic (e.g. identity labels, derogatory terms), and socio-political contexts. Preliminary results show that the characters’ occupations and social roles have become more diverse. Another finding is that, in recent years, transgender characters have shifted from being secondary characters to protagonists or narrators, indicating that it has become socially permissible for readers to experience the plot through the eyes of a transgender character. Additionally, the struggles of transfeminine and transmasculine characters are portrayed as being different, both in terms of their impact on daily life and whether they are related to gender identity. The observed developments in the portrayal of transgender characters reflect real-world Japanese policy changes and media coverage, further highlighting how socio-political issues are – sometimes more explicitly, sometimes less – explored within literary fiction.