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ABSTRACT
This paper not only gives an overview of the transgender word in
contemporary Japan but also attempts to illustrate the male to female
cross-dressing (MTFCD) community in Shinjuku, Tokyo, which plays an
important role in the overall transgender world and how people in the
community think and live, by conducting the comprehensive fieldwork. The
MTFCD community consists of amateur cross-dressers and their patrons, and
it is formed around about 10 bars/clubs in Shinjuku. This community
differentiates itself from the gay community in their customs and
consciousness; they tend to recognize gender based on gender performance
rather than biological sex, which is usually accepted for distinguishing
sex. Therefore, a MTF cross-dresser with feminine performance is
considered as a “woman,” regardless of one’s physical and biological
conditions. Because of this recognition of gender based on gender
performance, people in the community are able to develop the
“quasi-heterosexual” relationships as men and “women.”
Author’s biography:
She is a part-time lecturer at Ochanomizu University where she teaches
transgender and sexuality studies. Her research area covers gender
studies, socio-historical sexuality studies, and transgender studies. She
is also co-editor of Japanese Gay and Transgender Cultures in Post-War
Japan戦後日本女装・同性愛研究 and author of numerous book chapters and articles about
Japanese transgenderism and sexuality.
Translator’s biography
She is a part-time lecturer at Sagami Women’s University in Japan, where
she teaches English and American culture. She is also
translator/interpreter of English and Japanese. She is interested not only
in sexuality and transgenderism but also in cross-racial relationships
between African-Americans and Japanese and transnational racialization in
the late 19th centuries. Her essay works include “The First Japanese
Graduate of Howard University: Jenichiro Oyabe” (2006). |