Ambivalent Hopes, Gendered Desires: The Potential of Japanese Pornography

Session Submission Type: Organized Panel Proposal Application

Abstract

Japan’s pornography market is one of the largest in the world and yet it remains a neglected field of study. This panel examines pornography’s ability to educate, excite, and propel the behavior of fans and consumers from various perspectives. The four papers in this panel consider the potential of pornography, the agency of performers and consumers, and ultimately probe whether pornography is a space of hope in Japan today. Thomas Baudinette explores the construction of masculinities within Japanese gay videos, examining how pornography commoditizes the straight male body and subverts normative understandings of homosexuality. Naoko Mori delves into the world of pornographic manga to consider the sexual fantasies of female readers and the medium’s positive impact on consumers’ perceptions and knowledge of sex. Jamie Coates considers the popularity of Japanese former adult video star Aoi Sola in China, arguing that Aoi’s transnational success acts as a symbol of hope for both Japanese AV performers and for Sino-Japanese relations. Finally, Alexandra Hambleton examines female-friendly pornography by studying male stars’ appeal to a growing market of female consumers and its role in creating a sex-positive, active sexuality for women. The pornography industry is often viewed as undesirable, exploitative, and even dangerous. While the scholars on this panel are under no illusions that porn is always a force for positive change, their work moves beyond the common perception of pornography as a media for heterosexual male consumption and offers a nuanced consideration of the potential for hope in a diversifying industry.

Area of Study

• Northeast Asia

Session Organizer

• Alexandra Hambleton, Bunkyo Gakuin University

Chair

• Alexandra Hambleton, Bunkyo Gakuin University

Individual Presentations

• Fetishizing the Straight Man: Hegemonic Masculinity in Japanese Gay Pornographic Videos - Thomas Baudinette, Monash University

• The Positive Effect of Pornography: Consumers of Women’s Pornographic Manga in Japan - Naoko Mori, Kansai University

• Desiring one an-Other: Japanese Adult Video as a Site of ‘Hope’ in East Asia - Jamie Coates, University of Sheffield

• Face to Face with Desire: Female-Friendly Pornography and Fandom in Contemporary Japan - Alexandra Hambleton, Bunkyo Gakuin University

Discussant

• Akiko Takeyama, University of Kansas