Trans Japan: Gender Diverse Experiences of Belonging in Japan [Postdoctoral Project]
Institution
Funding
Start date
Purpose
Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, Japan [in affiliation with NTNU, Trondheim, Norway]
JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Standard Postdoctoral Fellowship)
31 March 2023
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To study how gender-diverse people in Japan are finding ways to cope or even thrive despite the lack of complete sociolegal recognition. The project will examine how gender-diverse people work individually and communally to make sense of their experiences and envision their futures in new ways.
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To analyse the interviews through the contextual lens of Japanese culture and history, in order to understand how and why gender-diverse people in Japan interpret and respond to their experiences as they do.
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To promote a post-colonial framework for understanding gender-diversity in Japan. The project will demonstrate the limitations of the conventional Euro-American framework of human rights and happiness and provide an alternative method of understanding gender-diverse rights in Japan.
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Individual interviews and Participant observation (activist meetings and events)
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How do gender-diverse people in Japan navigate the dynamic terrain of gender norms and carve out spaces for subjectivity, community-building and social/national belonging?
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How are the experiences of gender-diverse people in Japan informed by global and local discourses around gender diversity rights, and how might they adapt these discourses in strategic ways?
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What can the personal narratives on belonging tell us about the limitations of the Euro-American rights framework for understanding the conditions faced by Japan’s gender minorities, and how can they contribute to a more holistic approach for research on gender-diverse lives in non-Western contexts?
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How can these stories of belonging help the nascent field of trans/gender studies better reflect the nuanced realities of being trans in the Euro-American context?
The research findings will be shared with the general public, the international academic audience, and NTNU and Ochanomizu. I will produce the following, most in collaboration with fellow (gender-diverse Japanese) researchers:
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Website of the project, continually updated
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Three peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles, co-authored with Japanese LGBT researchers
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A one-day workshop for students and activists to come together, at Ochanomizu
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An academic conference, at Ochanomizu
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Findings report at the end of the project
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Speak on the project at conferences, workshops, seminars, and network meetings; (mostly in Japan)
Fieldwork
Research questions
Output
Collaborators