It’s Not Just About the Men!: Queer Femininity in Contemporary Japanese TV Drama

• In Event: Queer Asian Media, Practices, and Politics

Abstract

Homosexuality in Japanese television has long been depicted in Japan as either humorous (e.g. Ikko) and/or monstrous (e.g. Matsuko Deluxe). The predominant depiction of queer bodies has focused on cross-dressing trans male characters (McLelland 2000) without much critical intervention. These effeminate male characters in female clad on television often give fashion and love advice to women, long serving as commodity props for pure entertainment purposes. Yet, ironically, the disparaging act of these “male performing women better” oddly follows the traditional male hierarchy permeating throughout Japanese society.

However, with the recent political move by Shibuya ward in Tokyo, which began to issue licenses to same-sex unions, and with more visibility of LGBT activists in public places, media depiction of of queer identities have become more nuanced in recent years. Contemporary Japanese television dramas have been slowly shifting from the old paradigm of trans-male depictions; rather than being set up as simple comic relief, Japanese popular drama not only begun to humanize queer identities, but also position queer males as empowering agents to non-normative womanhood. My paper will examine contemporary Japanese drama that challenge previous depictions of queer bodies and will highlight the new possibilities and alliances forwarded by these titles.

Author

• Kukhee Choo, Sophia University