tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10 2009-12-22T06:01:20Z The official website of the Center for Gender Studies, International Christian University, Mitaka, Tokyo. Movable Type 3.35 tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1317 2009-12-22T05:56:18Z 2009-12-22T06:01:20Z

The Center for Gender Studies (CGS) will...

The Center for Gender Studies (CGS) will be closed on December 23rd to January 5th, due to the University winter recess. We apologize for the inconvenience. tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1311 2009-12-09T06:52:04Z 2009-12-09T06:52:40Z

Etsuko KATO Director, Center for Gender ...

Etsuko KATO Director, Center for Gender Studies Senior Associate Professor, International Christian University 【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】 From April 2009, I have had the honor of serving as CGS Director, following in the footsteps of Kazuko Tanaka(2004-2007) and Natsumi Ikoma (2008). It has "only", and at the same time, "already" been 6 years since the establishment of our center. I feel that we are now entering upon a second stage in our history.]]> The first stage was a period of intense activity when we established our organizational framework and initiated various activities and programs. We set up the Program for Gender and Sexuality Studies (PGSS), began the publication of our newsletters and journal, hosted reading clubs and tea parties, provided a communication space and library, and organized lectures. From 2004 to 2007, we hosted an international workshop series that debated the theme "Gender in Asia" from the differing perspectives of the Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Natural Sciences respectively, as part of the university's COE project. These activities highlighted the unique features of CGS, such as 1) Incorporating perspectives of sexuality into Gender Studies (which has tended to be preoccupied with women's studies) to further criticize the male/ female dichotomy; 2) Relativizing the gender theories of Europe and the United States from the perspective of "Asia"; (3) Valuing bilingualism (Japanese and English) to disseminate information from Japan to the rest of the world; and (4) Encouraging student staff members to take initiative and fully exercise their skills. This final feature in particular was what enabled us to achieve so much in such a short time. 2008 was a year of crisis for CGS. Retirement, reserach leave and maternity leave all overlapped, leaving us with few active members. Nevertheless, we managed to continue our activities thanks to the tremendous efforts of our student staff. CGS even received television coverage of its meeting in the summer with a British youth association for sexual minorities. At the same time, weak points in our organizational framework originating from past habits were revealed, and our academic staff were prompted to reflect seriously on the immense strain that was put on the student staff. We have learned much from these experiences, and this year we have welcomed various new staff members and reorganized the division of labor. In the days ahead, we plan to build a mutual aid network between gender educators from universities located within the Tama area, to serve as a bridge between gender studies in Japan and the rest of the world (especially Asia), to reinforce our role as a research institute by cooperating with researchers from diverse disciplines, and to support ICU students by ensuring that the diversity of gender and sexuality is considered within the university. CGS is still regaining its strength, but we are resolved to apply what we have learned from our past experiences and steadily advance in a new direction. We look forward to your continued support in the years to come. tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1310 2009-12-09T06:50:42Z 2009-12-16T08:38:20Z

Anonymous 3rd year student, Division of ...

Anonymous 3rd year student, Division of Languages, ICU 【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】 On May 20, 2009, I attended an open lecture on "The Politics Surrounding Names and Labels" as part of the "Approaches to Gender Studies" course. The speakers were Akira Miyama, host of the news website Delta G, and guest lecturer Yuriko Iino. The lecture questioned why it was only non-heterosexuals who were compelled to label themselves. As stated in its flyer, it discussed the political nature of names and labels, including coming out, unilateral naming and the effect of naming on one's personality.]]> Yet, at the same time, there are many risks. A "name" or "label" is associated with society's illogical prejudice and stereotypes, so it can make one vulnerable to criticism and discrimination. Of course, a person cannot be completely defined by a single "name", or by his or her sexuality. But perhaps because non-heterosexuals are usually so hidden, as soon as they label themselves, they tend to be entirely defined by their sexuality. Heterosexuals, however, do not have a need to label themselves because society is structured around heterosexism. Thus, they do not have to deal with the problem of being treated as though their entire existence can be summarized with one label: "heterosexual". Even if they were to label themselves as such, "heterosexuality" is "normal", so it would not be harmful for them in any way. These are what I felt were the main points of the lecture. I think that I particularly feel the importance of this issue right now with job-hunting looming ahead of me. Fortunately, at ICU, I have rarely been compelled to label myself, or been subjected to prejudice. However, I would like to reiterate that this occurred "rarely" but not "never". Even at ICU, there are people who are troubled by the issue of naming, and it is also something that concerns me in my daily life. The reason why I am especially anxious about becoming a full, working member of society is because I know that the relatively relaxed conditions at ICU are quite special. The negative, comical image of non-heterosexuals that flows throughout society was quite common at my high school. This heterosexist current was so strong that I couldn't even begin to think about strategically labeling myself. I remember feeling swept away and buried by this overwhelming tide of heterosexism. In short, labeling yourself in this heterosexist current is not only highly risky by also requires tremendous strength and will power. Faced with such a challenge, I worry about whether I will actually be able to go through with it, and I am aware of the immense power difference between myself and those who do not need to label themselves. But this doesn't mean that I can give up the strategic advantages of labeling myself What I hope for is a society where the active of naming will not result in power differences ? of course, I do not think this can be accomplished straight away. It will be a long, long fight. If we constantly try to defy the rapid tide and attempt to label ourselves, we would become exhausted. My challenge is to find a way to survive this complicated reality, whilst balancing the strategic advantages of the naming process with the devastatingly long, hard fight that it entails.]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1309 2009-12-09T06:48:12Z 2009-12-09T06:50:12Z

decofemi ICU graduate 【The article below...

decofemi ICU graduate 【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】 With plans for the construction of a large-scale dormitory currently underway at ICU, I would like to discuss the issue of ICU dorms in the light of my own experience. Up until two years ago, I lived in a women's dormitory on campus. All the rooms were shared, and men were only permitted entry to the communal area on the first floor. If it was necessary for any man to go upstairs (such as a university employee) one of the dorm residents would have to call out "a man is coming upstairs!" before letting them through. This was one of the many dorm rules that I simply couldn't get used to. Even the hope of preventing sex-related crimes cannot justify the treatment of people as if they were potential sex offenders. One could even argue that this prohibition of "men" reflects a simplistic assumption that "problems (only) occur between the two sexes."]]> The assumption that "same sexes" don't cause problems is also reflected in the way dorm residents are stripped of their individual privacy. For example, our bath was communal. At that time, I was what you might call a "normal girl"; a cisgender (a non-transgender) and a heterosexual, oblivious to my privileged status. However, I was very uncomfortable with the act of undressing in front of other people, regardless of their sex. But this discomfort was gradually tamed under the pressure of having to share my personal space because "we are all dorm mates." Those who can't get used to this style of cohabitation that separates "men and women" with no consideration for personal privacy are made to feel that they do not, or should not, want to live in the dorms at all. In my opinion, what the university truly wants to prohibit through the myth of safety through the separation of the sexes is interaction, namely, "sex" (of course, same-sex intercourse is not even considered). Then why not just clearly state that "Sex is Prohibited in the Dormitories"? The "division of the sexes" rule is therefore a detour, a wordless enforcement of a ban on sexual intercourse. However, this rule has resulted in a system that excludes people who are not cisgender or heterosexual from the dormitories. Despite the university's efforts, this ban on sex, with regard to the dorms, is currently unsuccessful (although, in my opinion, people should be free to have any kind of sex whenever, or wherever, they wish, as long as they don't harm others). The general opinion of the so-called majority may be that they do not want to be exposed to the sight of the "opposite sex". This wish should be respected, but should it be a dorm's responsibility to do so? Should it not, as in the case of showing a friend of the same gender to one's room, be negotiated between room-mates? Can ICU be justified in denying us this right and standardizing a ban that effectively excludes one's entire being? I cannot think of any legal reason why the sexual activities of university students should be prohibited, but the University may argue the need to prevent sexual violence. Even so, it is also necessary for the University to clearly show what is expected from students, and what is to be prohibited. Both sex and sexual violence are rampant on campus. During my time at an ICU dorm, questions of defining "women", "men", or "sex" were never discussed among dorm residents or between us and the University. It is hoped that the University will seriously consider the ridiculous contradiction of their so-called liberal stance and their avoidance of any discussion regarding sex. tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1308 2009-12-09T06:47:15Z 2009-12-09T06:48:00Z

Takako NIWA ICU Post-graduate 【The artic...

Takako NIWA ICU Post-graduate 【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】 The annual conference of the Women's Studies Association of Japan was held at Ochanomizu Women's University on June 27th and 28th, 2009. My general impression was that the association was not mired in the 30 years of its history, but was clearly looking ahead to the future. This was evident in the selection of general members for the positions of section meeting supervisors and in the fact that the symposium was held on the last day, not the first day, to sum up the whole conference.]]> The symposium featured presentations on "Re-examining Poverty and Labor from Gender Perspectives" by Takako KURITA (Freeters Free), Chieko AKAISHI (Single Mothers Forum), and Kazuko TANAKA (Women's Union Tokyo・Working Women's National Center (ACW2)). Takako Kurita explained that she is now positioned outside the traditional labor framework on two counts because she is a "freeter bachelor" (= a single woman + freeter). Therefore, she could not be a normal worker, or bow down to the mythical maternal ideal of unpaid labor. Her presentation expressed the suffering she experience when treated as insignificant by those who assumed she was going to get married anyway, and how she learned to deal with this and move on with her life. According to Chieko Akaishi, Japan has the 4th highest single mother employment rate in the world (84.5%) but this includes non-regular employment, and even those who work double or triple jobs have low incomes. She reported that single mothers need various kinds of support in order to survive. Nevertheless, due to the global trend of cutting welfare in the name of job assistance, single mothers are facing an even harsher reality. The last presentation by Kazuko Tanaka was an account of the future prospects for the study of women's labor and poverty in gender and women's studies in light of how the Women's Studies Association of Japan has undergone various transitions in line with the changing social situation. Although each presentation was made from a different viewpoint, there was a common keyword, "connectedness", in addition to the fixed themes of examining women's poverty today and presenting new alternatives for women's lives. Generally, "alignment" and "connectedness" are often indicated as solutions to problems, especially issues concerning women's studies. However, one of the most interesting aspects about this symposium was the fact that all three speakers presented a common perspective: that the awareness of "differences" is what is most important for "connectedness". This was evident in the title of Kurita's presentation, "Getting Involved with Alternate Women". The word "alternate women" is said to have been derived from the philosophical term of "alterity". Kurita emphasized the importance of accepting the alterity of the diverse people who gather under the word "woman", and of experiencing different "alternatives" even when being a woman. Thus, she did not describe "connectedness" as an ideal, but as something that prompts us to reconsider the assumptions that allow the "connectedness" itself to live on. There is a tendency for people to lean toward a common denominator, in this case the term "woman". Surprisingly, even when it is evident that all women are different from each other on an individual level, it is not clearly recognized. This is not only something that happens among "women". The dependence on common denominators gives rise to antagonism and rejection of others for their minor differences, and may trigger a vicious cycle of unity and separation. I am different from others, and others are different from me. Even when there are commonalities between us, it does not mean that we have everything else in common as well. Questioning what we can do by continually re-confirming this unchanging fact is our first step to "connectedness", and at the same time, is the lifeline on which "connectedness" depends. tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1307 2009-12-09T06:45:29Z 2009-12-09T06:46:40Z

Hinako MIYAZAWA Undergraduate, ICU 【The ...

Hinako MIYAZAWA Undergraduate, ICU 【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】 Inter-Asia Cultural Typhoon 2009 was held at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies from July 3 to 5. This year, it was a joint conference with Inter-Asia Cultural Studies that was attended by participants from around the world. Numerous panels and presentations covered diverse topics under the sub-theme "Globalization and Its Fault-Lines: Beyond Poverty, Surveillance, and Censorship." The conference venue was filled with artworks ranging from paintings and clothes to motion videos, and people also gathered outside at the food stalls and music performances. In addition to all the energy and excitement was the tension that is unique to international conferences, and it was clear that a great deal of effort and preparation had been put into this major event. The conference had a scope that transcended national boundaries, and its participants came from diverse backgrounds, in nationality, race, region, class, ethnicity, sex/gender, religion, and disability. This highlighted the growing need to consider diversity and to recognize differences among us, both as a significant perspective in academic debate as well as for self-reflection.]]> Pursuing my interest in perspectives of gender and sexuality, I attended presentations on topics such as the application of gender/ sexuality theories to the analysis of bodily expressions in art. One presenter talked about the relationship between self-inflicted injury by women and the wounds depicted in artworks. Through an analysis of photographs, she explored the limitations and regulations of gender in our society, concluding that the body is a space where gender, sexuality, and other differences are deeply inscribed. She made me see that it was possible to interpret such wounded and degraded bodies as something positive. While they have tended to be viewed in a negative light, by depicting them as works of art, one is able to read them in more diverse ways. In fact, this is exactly what cultural politics is about. Particularly since it dealt with the female body, the presentation highlighted the need to incorporate gender and sexuality perspectives in considering the politics of culture. Finally, it is interesting to note that almost all the gender- or sexuality-related presentations were given in English. Perhaps this was because many presenters were academics based overseas, and even those academics based in Japan seemed to have prepared their presentations for a foreign audience. I believe that this reflected the fact that there is not much interest in gender and sexuality issues among scholars of cultural studies in Japan. However, the international presentations at this conference would most certainly have helped raise awareness about gender and sexuality in Japanese academia. The presentations from Hong Kong and Taiwan, for example, showed the interdisciplinary cooperation among scholars there, where gender/queer/feminist studies join forces with cultural studies to effect change. So what can we learn from them? What changes are needed? I believe that what we need is to develop a curriculum and system for gender studies that is not limited to a single discipline but is open to diverse peoples, perspectives and fields of study. tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1306 2009-12-09T06:44:07Z 2009-12-16T08:35:24Z

【The article below is the same as the ar...

Hattatsu shougai toujisha kenkyuu (A Study of Developmental Disabilities based on Personal Experience), which realistically depicts the problems faced by the developmentally disabled from a personal perspective. Ayaya has also recently published Zenryaku, rikon o kimemashita (Honey I'm Filing for Divorce; 2009), a book about her marital experience as a victim of domestic violence and her road to divorce. Read on and find out how Ayaya survived domestic violence and learned to live with her developmental disability. (CGS Editor)]]> ■"What on earth is wrong with me?" "I can't seem to connect with people. I can't feel the joy of being in a group." For as long as I can remember, I have not been able to fit into a group environment. My sense of estrangement increased as the inexplicable fragility of my body and mind prevented me from doing things at the same pace as others. "I can't work outside, but maybe I can work inside the house." Coming to this conclusion after much meandering, I married. Yet, in marriage lay another pitfall. ■On Being Drawn into the Web of Domestic Violence (DV) After our marriage, my husband's work began taking up more of his time. As his alcohol consumption increased, it became customary for him to say: "I'm important, because I'm working. You're worthless because you stay at home and earn nothing!" My self-esteem was extremely low in those days, partly because I was unable to work or do household chores like other people. So, I was no match for my husband when he looked down on me for being inferior due to my inability to earn a living or my lack of education. I would think, "That can't be right," but I couldn't find the words to express this. I didn't have the knowledge or vocabulary to say, "No, you're wrong!" and I didn't have the physical strength to say, "Fine then, I'll work too and have someone look after the kids!" If I had, this story may have turned out differently. But as it was I had no weapons with which to completely defeat my husband, so he walked all over me and rapidly strengthened his hold on me. ■What is Communication Disorder? - Asperger Syndrome and DV Being diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (AS) was a huge relief for me. I felt as if I had finally discovered the reason for all of the baffling problems that had plagued me from childhood. However, it did not help my marital problems, but, rather, came to be used against me: "Your communication disorder's the reason why our marriage isn't working!" At this, I thought, "What?! Something's gone wrong again... "I had to find out more about both developmental disabilities and DV, in order to separate the two problems from each other. Based on what I learned through this process, I wrote the two books, Hattatsu shougai toujisha kenkyuu (A Study of Developmental Disabilities from Personal Experience) (Igaku-shoin) and Zenryaku, rikon o kimemashita (Honey, I'm Filing for Divorce) (Riron-sha). In Hattatsu shougai toujisha kenkyuu, I began by declaring that I would not define Asperger Syndrome as a communication disorder. Otherwise, all problems in communication, including DV, would inevitably be attributed to me. Communication is something that occurs between two people, so all communication problems shouldn't be attributed to one person by means of the word, "communication disorder". I strongly disagreed with experts who used the concept in spite of this. It's true that I often find it difficult to fit into a group. But that doesn't mean that I'm not thinking at all, or that I don't have my own logic for my thoughts. I don't think it's fair to be treated as if I don't understand anything. Anyway, the word, "communication disorder" makes me sound like I'm completely broken or out of control, doesn't it? *laughs* It's not like that ? I have my own set of rules and patterns. And I believe that I know much more about these rules than any expert. So Hattatsu shougai toujisha kenkyuu is a collection of things that I felt were different from the analyses of "experts", or things that I thought could be explained differently. With the recent "Brain Science" boom, some scientists have been saying things like "communication disorder occurs because this bit of the brain is missing." This makes me angry and uncomfortable. I mean, everyone's brain is different, so what can we achieve by blaming it all on the brain? It's like, "So who cares about brains?" *laughs* ■How I Escaped from DV I first needed to hear stories that would support me, such as those from Feminism or theories on DV. That was the stage when I needed to repel my story of abuse and know that it would be a world that I could look back at. But it was a very long time before I could be certain that I could do this. I wanted to find real information, not just from books, so I finally found a local women's counselor. She had experience with many different cases, and when she told me, "What you are experiencing is called DV," I felt acknowledged for the first time. But to overcome the problem, I needed more. Even though I wanted to break away from DV, I would think, "no matter how abused I am, I know this place better. It might still be safer than a world I don't know at all. Maybe I can still cope somehow..." and be pulled back into my old world. I needed a vision of what comes next ? a story about what would happen if I took specific action. What I needed was hope. ■"Oh, It was actually really bad..." One of the most difficult parts of the divorce process was not knowing just how much I could put up with in my marriage if I tried. Up until the end, I found it hard to decide on a cue; to know just when it was okay to leave my husband. Supported by the people around me, and observing the reactions of my own children, I ticked off the reasons for staying one by one, until there were no more reasons left. That was when I finally took the plunge. At the same time as my divorce, I ventured into the world of feminism, where I tried talking about the things my husband had said to me, like "If you earn 100,000 yen, I'll give you some human rights" or "If you have a third child, I'll treat you like the Empress Dowager." It would really make people laugh. They would say, "Just who does he think he is?!" and their laughter finally made me realize that my situation had been so bad, it was actually funny. It started to become a routine joke that I would tell because, wherever I told it, people would scream with laughter *laughs*. When my husband had said these things to me, a part of me just couldn't believe it, but there was another part of me that just thought, "Oh, so you can't have human rights if you don't have 100,000 yen." I would be shocked, thinking, "I can't earn 100,000 a month, and he's asking for the impossible when there's no way for me to do such a thing!" So I was repeatedly plunged into total despair. ■ Building Identity as Others Respond to Me The long road from escaping DV up until my final divorce consisted of repeatedly being bolstered up by people who were on my side, and of being propelled into the next world. Coming into contact with a world where reactions to my story would be "What? That's terrible!" and being acknowledged by real, live people, I became aware of the wretchedness of my situation, and gradually escaped from DV. I realized that my identity is built as others respond to me. When I was close to giving up, I used to think, "I can just connect with people in books, since I can't connect with them in real life." But that wasn't right. It's not that I can't connect with anyone. I have started to feel that if I can meet people who will respond to me, I can become visible and connect with them. Of course, I haven't resolved all my problems yet, but I've finally come to feel now that my situation is "not too bad." □Satsuki AYAYA Ayaya was born in 1974 and has two children. After years of confusion and different diagnoses - hypotension, depression, etc - she finally discovered that she had Asperger Syndrome in 2006. She is the author of Zenryaku, rikon o kimemashita (Rironsha) and co-author of Hattatsu shougai toujisha kenkyuu (Igaku shoin). ]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1305 2009-12-09T06:41:41Z 2009-12-09T06:43:06Z

【The article below is the same as the ar...

【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter. The full Japanese version of this discussion can be viewed on here.】 In June, 2009, former Sumposion (LGBIT* student club) members held a roundtable talk on how we could improve the quality of life at ICU. ■Classroom Experiences at ICU A: There have been times I've been treated in ways that made me wonder, "is this really O.K.?" Like, teachers making jokes about homosexuality or talking as though all relationships are heterosexual. I think it's terrible, but as a student it's hard to bring it up in class because I feel I'm not in a position to say anything. C: I once took a Christianity course in which one of the topics was feminist theology. So I did a presentation on feminist perspectives, but the whole class just laughed. One student asked me why we should listen to feminists when they were all "biased". So I asked them, "Aren't YOU biased?" but they just laughed even more. Naomi Suzuki (CGS staff; NS): How do teachers respond in such situations? C: They don't really do anything, or they just stare. But then, when I wrote about it on Mixi, one of my classmates wrote that she thought the students' reactions were inappropriate. But I think people just don't feel they can speak up about stuff like that in class. B: I think we should have a support system for lecturers. Maybe CGS could host workshops on things like "how to incorporate queer/feminist perspectives in your lectures"! ■"Biased" Means "Excluded" B: One of my teachers asked us to write down any nicknames we wanted to use for our comment sheets in class. So I wrote, "a homosexual asian male bitch". The teacher got mad, so I changed it to "a homosexual asian male girl", because he said the problem was the "bitch" part. But he never shared my comments in class. I wonder what nickname I should have used. "A heterosexual male boy"? D: Why bother with "asian"? How about just "Japanese?" B: ...so, a homosexual Japanese male boy...? (All: laughs) B: It makes me so mad when people want me to use words that don't really mean anything. NS: So you have to be "nothing". You can't be something different, or "biased". That's just like the "feminism can't be biased" mentality. B: Well, "a heterosexual Japanese male boy" is just as "biased" as "a homosexual asian male bitch". They're two different things. ■School Life A: You know, it's not easy to find people like you guys, people who you can talk to about stuff like this. We make friends through clubs, classes or part-time jobs, but you can't really talk to them about gender and sexuality. I'm sure there's a lot of students like us who feel like they couldn't survive without places like CGS or Sumposion where they can meet people and openly talk about sexuality. (All: Totally.) A: But then, CGS or Sumposion is an "additional" social group that we have to worry about, while we still have classes, work and clubs just like everyone else. I think that's an issue that we should be aware of. C: I think that's part of the reason some people feel too scared or hesitant to get involved in these groups. B: And not many people know about us, anyway. Sumposion, CGS. A: And I know some people who want to come but are worried that they'd be labeled as "those people", you know, those deviants. NS: Oh, that'd be horrible if someone heterosexual said that. A: I think both queers and heterosexuals say it. B: Yeah, that sounds like something that queers in the closet would say, pretty understandable. NS: I see.... I guess ghettoization is another problem that CGS needs to work on. ■Shower Rooms and Bathrooms C: You know, we have PE in the freshman year, and when you change clothes..., /All: Oh, no! That's right! C: I was shocked when I first saw that locker room. It's a completely open space and everyone seemed uncomfortable. But we were made to feel like it was wrong to be embarrassed and then you somehow end up thinking "I'm not uncomfortable! It's nothing." NS: Yes, I told myself that college students shouldn't care about nudity, and put up with it throughout my first year. C: You can probably survive one year of forced naked communication with classmates. But if you live in one of the dorms, it's years of nudity, the "You shouldn't be shy" feeling every single day. I don't think it's only about shyness, but also a feeling of a lack of control. It probably has nothing to do with sexual orientation. (All: Mhmm.) C: It's like the school saying, "you guys are the same sex, so there's nothing to hide!" It's so strong and..., yeah, just annoying. B: I'm gay, but if ICU told me that I could use the women's locker room instead, I would say, "no way!" because I just can't stand the lack of privacy! Doesn't matter if you're homosexual or heterosexual. NS: So if ICU says they make a locker room for all male homosexuals..., B: That's just so stupid! I want this university to be safe for everyone! ■Private vs. Public C: The shower room that we use in P.E. classes doesn't have curtains, either. So I always took a shower in my swimsuit. D: I never thought of taking showers completely naked. It wasn't just the fact that we had to change in front of others, but also that the showers are only two doors away from the outside... C: I was uncomfortable seeing my classmates walking around naked, too. And people can just walk in. There's a lot of people in the hallway. F: I've seen people going into the bathroom to change. B: We think of the shower room as a public space but we are forced to act like it were a private space. The assumption is that it's private because we are the same sex, so therefore nudity is okay too. D: And the bathroom is the only recourse for some of us. I can't help feeling shocked when I see other people naked like that. NS: Yeah. Why do we have to share our privacy in a public space, looking like we can go sit on the toilet any second, you know? B: I think we should go remove all the doors to the bathrooms, starting with the administrative building, where the "same-sex = private = nudity is okay" equation comes from. (All: laughs) ■Whose Needs are Respected? NS: Why don't we have curtains and individual spaces ? Cost? Security issues? What is it that they are trying to protect by making up such an equation? B: Money and security are both very popular excuses. But we do have doors in restrooms, right? Restrooms are also dangerous spaces where anything can happen. They have locks. It'd cost much less if we only had toilets on the floor next to each other completely exposed. But no one says we should get rid of bathroom doors. So how schools use money totally depends on the ideological, biased views of "how schools normally use money." A: Yeah. Like, they built the wheelchair ramp in the administrative building as an afterthought. NS: Yeah, using extra money. What's the difference between ramps and shower room doors? They think that "need" is a more justifiable reason than "embarrassment"? B: Well, we do feel "embarrassed and uncomfortable", and that's why we definitely "need" doors lol. A: (laughs) But it's harder to tell people that you're feeling uncomfortable about something. NS: Yes, that's one reason. And many people would think we're selfish. B: This might sound a little far-fetched, but able-bodied people couldn't go upstairs if we don't have stairs, right? We do use money to build stairs. It's not about people with needs and people with no needs. It's about people whose needs are ignored and people whose needs are already met. As for gender issues, there are people whose needs are met, who are happy with gender segregated spaces. And there are people like us whose needs are ignored, or considered to be extra work. But all we ask for is equality, equal work, equal respect, equal efforts and equal access to equal services. ■Raising Awareness: You can say "no" A: I think that we should continue making logical arguments. But at the same time, it is also important to raise awareness. Speaking up about these things can be very difficult for all of us, myself included. It took me a long time to realize that I could say "no" to things that I didn't like. People often tell me that they'd never even thought that they could say that something felt strange or bad to them. C: Professor Kazuko Tanaka's class was an eye opener for me. I was shocked to see how the subject of my personal frustrations and confusion was actually an academic discipline! NS: Is there any shortcut to that kind of awareness? B: I think it's important to learn from others. Like, I used to read every single article that Makoto Hibino put up online, and that made me realize that it was O.K. to complain. C: Yeah. You have to watch and learn to realize it's O.K. to . ■How To Ask the School and Students For What We Want NS: I heard that you guys sent the school administration a letter about possible improvements to the new dormitory plans. How did it go? B: We asked for (1) better education for students on things like date rape, same-sex sexual violence, and LGBT** issues; (2) more privacy in bathrooms and shower rooms; and (3) co-ed accommodation cvn dormitories. The second issue seems to appeal to many students. C: ICU students are quite sensitive to human rights issues, so I'm sure the first one will get a lot of support, too. But having on-campus co-ed dorms can be very difficult for many people to accept. I've seen people react to the suggestion, saying, "Living with the opposite sex? No way!" And they don't seem to understand when you try to explain about the needs of LGBT students. B: Some people say, "LGBT people don't have to live in the dorms." A: The idea of a co-ed dormitory is also a crucial issue in our discussions with the university administration. I think we should start by persuading the majority; otherwise, we keep getting "we understand your concerns but" comments.... But even if the dormitory thing doesn't work out, we'd be happy to have better privacy in bathrooms and shower rooms. It's not that we think of these three issues as separate, but..., B: Right..., it's not like if we successfully convince them to have co-ed dormitories, everything will be alright. It will require a lot of management and support. And even after we graduate we want to keep supporting LGBT students. NS: We'd also like to stay in touch with you. Thank you for your time. *LGBIT…Lesbian, gay, intersex, and transgender/transsexual **LGBT…Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/transsexual]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1304 2009-12-09T06:37:42Z 2009-12-09T06:40:44Z

【The article below is the same as the ar...

【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter. The full Japanese version of this discussion can be viewed on here.】 ****************** Ms. Sakai's project is called ICRSU (ICU Child-Rearing Support Union). e-mail---> icrsu.since2009@gmail.com URL---> http://groups.google.co.jp/group/ICRSU ****************** In June, 2009, a roundtable talk was held to commemorate the start of the Child Care Center Project, a student initiative to build a day-care facility at ICU. ■About the Child Care Center Project Izumi NIKI (CGS Staff; IN): Thank you for talking to us about the project. Natsumi IKOMA (ICU Professor; NI): How many people came to the orientation meeting? Michiko SAKAI (ICU host of the Child-care Center Project; MS): 35 people came; 54 if you include the people who e-mailed me. Naomi SUZUKI (CGS Staff; NS): What did you talk about at the meeting? MS: I think at ICU, the typical responses to the idea of building a child care facility are "You should build one" or "How strong is the need for one?" But I explained that I wanted to discuss other issues as well. Because it isn't a question of just building one ? it's important to make one that is actually usable and meets the needs of its users. The needs of the current students are limited, but in future ICU should become a university that attracts single mothers and fathers, or else the number of applicants won't increase... We have to consider things like that. NI: That's true. Public child care centers are often not viable for students. So a child care center would be a great asset for the university. NS: What examples are there of facilities that don't meet the needs of students? MS: For example, single mothers need to be able to concentrate on work out of term in order to earn tuition fees and living expenses. So a center that is only available during term is basically useless. Actually, even if the center is open during long vacations, it would not be much use if the parent's workplace is far away from the university...that is the problem of ICU being far away from the city and train stations. I don't think we will be able to resolve that problem easily. In any case, I have to take care of my child and do housework during the day and can finally start studying after midnight. So it would really help if there was a child care center at ICU. Then, at least while I'm on campus, I can leave my child at the center and have a fixed period of time to focus on studying. But if the center only accepted children during the parent's class hours, it would be pointless. Then there's the issue of safety. We want it to be a safe place to leave our children. ■Why Public Child Care Centers are Unsuitable for Students IN: When I had my first child, I was working full-time so I could place her in a public child care center with good conditions. But my priority dropped in the selection criteria when I became a student, so I was forced to place my second child in a private facility. NS: So students have a lower priority. What's the difference between private and public child care centers? IN: Child care centers here are classified as "Unsanctioned", "Certified" or "Sanctioned". Sanctioned centers meet national requirements, certified centers meet the criteria set by the Tokyo government (which are more relaxed), and all other nurseries are unsanctioned. Sanctioned centers can be either public or private, but the fees are the same and are set according to the parents' income. For example, in Mitaka city the maximum monthly fee is around 60,000 yen, and it is free for those with no income or those on welfare. But the downside is that your child will not necessarily be accepted into the center of your choice, because selections are made according to your order of priority. Moreover, the extension times are shorter than those of certified or unsanctioned centers as well. MS: Sanctioned centers close on national holidays and Sundays, and you need to apply for care on Saturdays, so there are many difficult conditions for students. NS: The sanctioned centers sound good, but at ICU we have classes on national holidays, and period 5-6-7 classes finish later than 7:15pm. ■Why Hasn't ICU Built a Child Care Center? NI: It seems that financial and safety problems are the major stumbling blocks. NS: Safety... in other words, liability issues if there's an accident. But because there isn't a child care center at the university, people have to rely on the less trustworthy unsanctioned centers to attend 5-6-7 classes, which places the children at risk. When something happens there, is the university really not responsible? IN: It might stem from the idea that "you can get the degree later"; somehow it's wrong to try so hard and carry on with your studies if you have children. NS: Basically, if you're going to have children, you should stay at home for a while to look after them yourself? MS: But that's only if you can afford it. Even if an accident didn't happen, if I didn't work or have a degree, my family would starve! All: That's so true... NI: It's such a difficult problem... iku-kyuu (child care leave) is a wonderful idea, but students don't have any income ? taking leave in that situation makes starving to death a realistic problem. I'm not saying that we should abolish child care leave; it's just that one single type of support is not necessarily the best for all students who has children. In my case, I am not a student or a single mother, but I returned to work after 4 months. But I have sometimes been made to feel that this is strange. People seem to think that you should stay with your children for as long as possible if you have the resources to do so. There is no ideal form of child care support; it really depends on the individual so it's not just a question of what's good or what's bad. NS: I suppose all these ideas about how children "should be" brought up are getting in the way. ■"Giving Birth Means Giving up University" IN: There are endless excuses for not making a child care center on campus... I guess the voices of those who need it aren't being heard. NI: Yes. I think a lot of people think it's not their problem. Men in particular don't seem to understand. Many people seem to think that we just need to build a child care center, without realizing that there are many issues to be considered. Noe TAKAHATA (ICU undergraduate; Reporter for student newspaper Tankyuu; NT): I think, unfortunately, a lot of the female students at ICU don't really feel the need for a child care facility. The general feeling is that you shouldn't have children during your student years.... Actually, when I read Ms. Sakai's article in the CGS newsletter, I thought "Wow, she's still going to university after she's had a kid!" I was surprised because I was sure that if you'd made up your mind to give birth, you would naturally suspend your studies. I think the majority of people think like that. When I say to my friends, "I want to continue working like my mother did," then they always ask, "What're you going to do about children?"... NI: In that sense as well, I think there's meaning in having an on-campus child care center. In modern society, nursing, housework and child-care tend to be excluded, so people earning money who are considered to be part of society think they don't have to do such things. Leave all that stuff to people who are outside society, mainly, women. NS: So we can bring it all back into the center of society. NT: It will show that you don't have to give up your lives if you have children. Hopefully that will create more options for people in the future. Shin SAKAMOTO (ICU undergraduate; Reporter for Tankyuu): I think guys need that experience, too. I learned so much when my elder brother had a baby. So the presence of babies on campus is definitely a good idea. It would be good for us all. ■Torn Models ? No-one Knows What's Best for Us NI: Women only have two role models... "the happy mummy" or the "hard-working, career woman". It's one or the other (laughs). A lot of ICU students want to do both, but they can't see how it can be done. NS: If you want to do both, you need support, and if there isn't any, you need to make demands.... But because they are both things that "should be done", it might be considered selfish to ask for support from society... IN: Both working and non-working mothers are under a lot of stress, so I started a group where we could care for each other, but they asked me, "why do you always do things that make it harder for you? If it's difficult for you, why don't you quit your job?"... as if that too was evidence of my selfishness. NT: I expect it will be difficult to achieve a consensus among mothers. I attended a child care center, but when I went to elementary school, other mothers who had sent their children to kindergardens made snide comments about me. /All: What?! NI: So there's a conflict between mothers who work and those who don't... you could say it's an issue of social class in the end. NS: Being forced to choose either the "happy mummy" or the "career woman" is simply unrealistic. I think even if you chose one, you'd still have regrets about the other. If only we could make it possible to change your decision anytime you wanted...though it would be difficult... IN: In the end we don't know which would be happier... but it's not an easy thing, to choose all over again. There's not much we can do unless we resolve the problem of social class restricting our original choices... ■Overcoming Differences and Appealing to the University NI: It's impossible to persuade people from every age group and social class. All we can do is to persuade people who will understand that this is a contemporary trend and to lead them to think that they really need to set aside a budget to do this properly.... Student need should serve as an incentive for the university to take action. MS: Because the need is currently not so great, we need to avoid being brushed aside as a "private circle of mothers". We intend to continue presenting our case with the aim of forming a larger more visible group. We are also considering the potential requirements of a child care center, and how we can make it a profitable venture by collaborating with local governments. NT: At this rate, I think most students are just going to say "Wow, that sounds so hard." I think we need to find ways to encourage them to think about this as their own problem. Nothing will change unless we make an effort. I think if we explain, they'll understand. NI: Yes. In any case, no matter what you aim for, education is important. After all, we are a university ? I hope we can actively develop the educational approach.]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1303 2009-12-09T06:36:15Z 2009-12-16T08:31:36Z

【The article below is the same as the ar...

【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】 ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a serious neurodegenerative disease which affects nerves cells in the brain that are responsible for controlling muscle movement. As yet, there is no effective treatment for this progressive disease, which means the patient's condition increasingly worsens. Patients eventually develop paralysis in their respiratory muscles and find it difficult to breathe. Without medical assistance, they will most likely die. Currently, the only option for survival is mechanical ventilation. But less than 30% of patients diagnosed with ALS choose to use ventilators. Female patients are particularly reluctant. In the following text based on a conversation with Ms. Yumiko Kawaguchi, who is involved with two Tokyo-based nursing organizations, let's take a look at the significance of these statistical figures. CGS Editor ■Introduction When first diagnosed with ALS, patients are primarily taken care of by their families, and do not receive much public support. So if they develop paralysis in the respiratory muscles, they can only choose to use a ventilator with the consent of their family members. Although mechanical ventilation is supposedly a patient's independent decision, in reality, it is basically a family decision. An ALS patient on a ventilator needs 24-hour nursing care, so it is not an easy choice for families to make. ■How I became involved with ALS patient care I am a senior member of Sakura-kai, a Tokyo-based patient's advocacy group, as well as Care Support Momo, a nursing care staffing agency. I became involved in ALS patient care and support after my mother was diagnosed with ALS in 1995 and I took responsibility for her care. Sakura-kai started a training program for home carers in 2003 and was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the following year. Also, we have an ongoing government-sponsored research project and an IT support program. In the past six years, more than 800 trainees have received certificates of completion through our program, so we have significantly contributed to increasing the number of professional home carers at the grassroots level. My mother had ALS for 12 years and passed away in the fall of 2007. The director of Sakura-kai, Misao Hashimoto, has had ALS for 25 years, 18 of which she has been on a mechanical ventilator. Yet, she is still actively involved in providing support to fellow patients. She was the first ALS patient in Japan to successfully live alone, despite her complete dependency on a ventilator and nursing care (although she has some control of her mimic muscles and her middle toe). Living alone on a mechanical ventilator requires over 744 hours per month (24 hours per day) of nursing care provided by nursing-care insurance, support from many people including the cooperation and understanding of local health services, as well as self-management by the patient. It is surely an amazing achievement that Hashimoto has established such a complete care system around her, despite her dependence on a ventilator and complete nursing care. ■Conditions for Survival When patients are first diagnosed with ALS, they and their families are rarely able to accept and understand all of the treatment that will be required, such as tube feeding and ventilation. That is why doctors and social workers only provide the information step by step, so that patients and their families will find it easier to understand what is involved. Informing patients and their families of the need for mechanical ventilation and long-term treatment is tantamount to informing them of the conditions for survival. These conditions include both medical and lifestyle requirements. The medical factors include the possibility that patients will require tube feeding (in the case of swallowing disorders) and ventilation (in the case of paralyzed respiratory muscles). In addition to this shocking news, patients and their families are also immediately informed of how the disease will affect aspects of daily life. First of all, they are informed that patients will most likely need to be cared for at home since there are very few hospitals that can accommodate long-term patients. That means the families are asked if they have the financial resources to cover living expenses and the cost of nursing care, a family member who can provide full-time care, and adequate space at home to house and care for the patient. If a family cannot fulfill these conditions, the patient will be denied long-term treatment, including mechanical ventilation. And who has all these privileges??usually they are male patients who own a house, live on a pension, and have a full-time housewife. But this is no surprise. Those with a full-time housewife who will just need to switch their status to that of a full-time caretaker, have the right to ventilators, long-term treatment, and, ultimately, life. It is not only housework, but also nursing and care, that are considered to be women's work, and so men are much more likely than women to undertake mechanical ventilation. ■Female Patients and Female Home Carers The gender gap not only exists among ALS patients but also their families. For example, in the past week, we were contacted by two women who were both daughters of female ALS patients. The first call came from a woman in her twenties from Nagano. She has been taking care of her mother at home, with the help of a sister who lived nearby. Her father works abroad and hasn't been back. So she had had to take her mother to work everyday and bring her home to take care of her and sleep right beside her. Without the help of her sister, who had a relatively flexible schedule because she ran her own business, she could not have done it. But now that her sister is pregnant, she must take care of her mother alone. As the eldest child she feels obliged to do it no matter what, but she is not sure if she can do it all by herself. The second call was from a woman in her forties who had recently been told by her doctor to make a final decision as to whether her mother, who is in her seventies, should use a ventilator. She wants her mother to live, but doesn't know what to do. She is on leave from work at the moment, her father is too old to take care of her mother, and her hard-working brother does not have the time. When patients have devoted daughters like these women, it is uncommon for the family to equally share the burden of nursing care. Good-tempered women are expected to take good care of their mothers as if it were a matter of course. Besides, the two women do not feel taken advantage of even though they are the primary caretakers. They take it for granted that it is no use asking men to do housework or to take care of the family, and so, they feel that they should just find some way to provide home care all by themselves. On the other hand, men who know they aren't expected to help, don't bother. With regards to the patients themselves, female patients are more likely to refuse to use ventilators. They do not want their husband or children to take care of them. They feel devastated because "taking care of the family" has always been their responsibility. But male patients are quite opposite; even if they refuse ventilation at first, as their wife and children take good care of them they will often change their mind and finally accept it. In this way, the issue of home care for ALS patients reflects the reaffirmation of "love" and gender norms in the family. However, this status quo continues to let female patients die and let their daughters miss out on opportunities such as employment and marriage. Of course, making decisions about ventilators isn't as simple as if you're a man you'll do it and if you're a woman you won't (I am writing a book based on my own experience of taking care of my mother, which touches upon the complex issues surrounding ALS patients and families. It will be published by Igaku Shoin. I hope you'll enjoy it). Anyway, I advised the two women by e-mail that there is an immediate way to reduce the burden of 24-hour care (probably by up to 50%) by using both nursing care insurance and the Support for Persons with Disabilities Act. I also told them that even more could be done by negotiating with their local governments. I hoped that my advice would alleviate the burden on the carers themselves as well as the psychological burden on their mothers. The mother-daughter relationship would then be healthy and supportive, and not burdened with sacrifice and guilt. Hashimoto disdainfully says, "female patients cannot but die." But it is also female patients who know better about what they can do with public nursing care systems. The "Sakura model", exemplified by Hashimoto's independent lifestyle as an ALS patient, was first presented at a conference in Yokohama in 2006. Since then the Sakura model has attracted attention from Patients' Associations worldwide and is now regarded as effective and important as the Aarhus system in Denmark.
Yumiko KAWAGUCHI Senior member, Sakura-kai / Representative Director, Care Support Momo Ltd. / Director, Japan ALS Association Graduate Student, Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier　Sciences, Ritsumeikan University Her first book, Ikanai karada (A Body that Won't Die; tentative title), will be published in late November by Igaku Shoin.]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1302 2009-12-09T06:32:57Z 2009-12-09T06:34:56Z

【The article below is the same as the ar...

【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】 Chico Masak (CGS staff, CM): What would you say your stand on pornography is? Prof. Chalidaporn (SC): I think we should look at pornography as a form of sexual fantasy, which each individual should have the right in their private time to enjoy. But the problem is, when you look at pornography in detail, you'll see complex relationships between pornography and so many other things. And pornography itself is so diverse. So it is very difficult to have a stand on it. Instead, you have to look at particular cases and details. You'll probably have a different stand on each one. We tend to want some kind of theory or explanation to which all similar cases can be reduced. But it doesn't work that way. We have to be very specific with everything. ■ Defining Pornography? CM: But pornography itself can be quite fuzzy in definition. For instance, it is not clear if the comic genre, boys love a.k.a. BL or what's called slash, is pornography or not. It certainly serves that function for some people. So there's always this demarcation problem of what's porn and what's not. SC: The line, constituted through our understanding and interpretation, is actually moving all the time. Whether something is pornographic or not totally depends on how you look at it. Anything could be pornographic. CM: But how do we negotiate with other views on pornography? SC: We should acknowledge that various different interpretations exist. People like Catherine McKinnon and Andrea Dworkin tend to prescribe certain beliefs, saying, this is good and this should be like this. We should stop being judgmental and recognize the differences first, and then, the question is, how are we going to live with those differences? ■ State Power v. Critique CM: Legally speaking, do you think there should be any state intervention in the distribution of pornography? SC: The problem is, the state would need a very clear definition of what is porn and a strong idea about what we should do about it. When you have this kind of clarity, it closes the doors to other possible interpretations. That's the problem with law. No debate. No negotiation. What a dangerous society! People should be able to talk about sex as a social activity. We should leave room for argument and discussion. CM: Then what can we do as individuals to fight such representational injustices? SC: I think the most important thing is to express your opinion and disagreement with the particular phenomenon. Just because you respect freedom of speech, it doesn't mean you cannot say anything against pornography. You probably want to take an element or two from the work in question and express your discomfort with them. As for child pornography, some people say they don't agree with the element of forced sex. And if someone disagrees with you, then they have to come up with their own argument, some reason, against you. ■ Child Pornography and Feminism CM: I wonder what difference there is between the anti-child pornography that's going around today and the anti-heterosexual pornography movement by MacKinnon and Dworkin. When I wrote the article, "Child Pornography and Feminism" (CGS Newsletter 011), I said that we were sort of jumping on the bandwagon to search for a quick, legal solution to child pornography. And there's not as much opposition to it as there was to Dworkin and MacKinnon when people thought that there was no problem in pornography. Today, when it comes to child pornography, we sort of assume that it's something inherently bad and we don't really question our thinking. We should ask ourselves, is representation problematic or not? SC: Yes, but you have to look at this issue very carefully. The existence of child pornography aggravates many middle-class people because the middle-class sexuality believes in the category of "children" as sexless, so pure and sexually innocent that they need to be protected in order to mature--and that's a myth. Many laws have been passed because they were allegedly for the purpose of protecting children from sexual abuse by adults. The problem is, no one really cares about how we define the category. Feminists have been questioned numerous times to the extent that the identity category of "woman" itself has ceased to be convincing. We should question the category of children, too, asking, how do we differentiate between children and adults? There is no clear-cut definition or indicator that we could agree on. So when you talk about child pornography or child sexual abuse, people at the same table most likely disagree on many points. They probably have totally different images of children. Going into details like this can be a very threatening experience for the middle-class, and that is why it is so easy to put forth policies and laws "for the good of children" because you'll most likely convince the middle-class. CM: Yeah, like Megan's Law and Jessica's Law in California. By the way, when I think of child abuse, I always think of the law in the U.S. back in the 1890s, which said that a wife had to serve their husband sexually whenever they were required to. I think the motivation for working towards the prohibition of child pornography is the concern for the power relation between adults and children. Then, why shouldn't it have been illegal for men to have sex with women when there was a huge difference between what men had and what women had in terms of power... SC: I think, to them, consent is the most important indicator for differentiating forced sex from consensual sex. CM: But if we accept that children cannot consent because of adult-child power relations, women must also have had no ability to consent due to harsh gender inequality. SC: Actually, liberal thinkers and philosophers did not really think that women could consent. John Locke, for example, said women and children did not have the ability to reason, and that they must be represented by the male head of the household. It must not even have been a tiny problem for those liberal thinkers because they were not looking at women as the right bearers in the first place. CM: It's very interesting because now we understand that children and women are both put into the same category as immature, deprived of rights, and nonconsensual, but... ■ What Kind of Sexual Diversity Are You For? Naomi Suzuki (CGS staff, NS): But women have no protection from the middle-class. What could be the difference...? SC: What you said is another concrete example of the diversity of the ways people look at sexuality, because many people can accept many things that may contradict the hegemonic sexuality, but there are so many other things that they are still upholding. So when people say they are for sexual diversity, you should ask them what kind of diversity they're talking about. People say heterosexual pornography is a form of sexual fantasy, and that we should allow individuals in our society to have the right to freedom of expression and freedom to consume it. But as soon as those individuals start to prefer child pornography, they are denied the same right. Many of us fail to see the contradiction here. ■ Activism of Our Time NS: To me, it seems like you two have very similar takes on this issue. What would you say is the difference between both your approaches? Like when you actually take action... SC: If we have to decide to take action, our stands might be different or very similar--it depends on the specific case. The point I've tried to make today is that we can be inconsistent because when you look at pornography in a very specific way, each case has its own meaning since each case has its own details. You cannot use the same theory to explain them all. You can be anti-censorship AND disagree with the acts you see in child pornography. I think that's one of the strengths of social movements of our time--people can work together when they agree with each other, but when they don't, they don't have to, or they can still agree to disagree. Given such flexibility, we have to think carefully, define what we are talking about, and ask other people what they mean by, let's say, "child pornography" because they might be thinking of different things when they seem to be talking about the same thing. NS: The World Congress III and advocate groups seem strongly united with one another. But each member of these groups must have different opinions and definitions of child pornography, right? SC: When they do political activism, they may suppress different ideas within themselves. But if you just let them work on that and draft a certain law, the differences will come up anyway. When their ideas become concrete about the issue, they will start fighting because drafting a law creates lots of debates. And at that stage, people cannot overlook the obvious disagreement among them. CM: Well, it's been very fun talking to you, Dr. Chalidaporn. SC: It's been fun. Thank you!]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1301 2009-12-09T06:29:15Z 2009-12-16T08:37:09Z

Cesar Alves (Zare) FERRAGI Graduate Stud...

Cesar Alves (Zare) FERRAGI Graduate Student, ICU 【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】 As Japan has a biased gender approach towards the distribution of jobs (Genda, 2005), I argue that the Japanese police reproduce a similar mindset. It is centered on the figure of man as the core of the police institution, denying space for woman to actively participate in community policing activities and perform daily routine work that entail direct contact with citizens. This article will discuss gender inequalities in Japan, and how such issues might affect the Japanese police and limit the implementation of the so-called "Koban model" in other countries, such as Brazil.]]> suggested that policewomen would better perform their jobs as office workers. Genda (2005) confirms that in Japan there is a hierarchy established in full-time and part-time jobs, in which women are allocated at the bottom. As for the Japanese police, work is a full-time activity in which all police officers are basically full-time employees. In this case, even if women might get involved in full-time positions within the police, they tend to perform mostly clerical work, seen as auxiliary, a piece that feeds and gives continuity to this male-dominated structure. Moreover, if community policing offers the potential of forging closer connections and deeper trust between police and citizens, we cannot ignore how police organizations incorporate gender images and structures. In the first place, the Japanese Koban system differs from the American concept of community policing, as it does not seem to either present gender equity or be aware of its necessity. Therefore, how could it introduce gender equity values in the Brazilian police, considering not only the different cultural settings but also that Japan itself is gender unequal? (Hofstede, 2001; Genda, 2005; Shire, 2006). Are the Japanese police aware of the necessity of reforming the dimensions of gender within themselves, in order to propose a model to other countries? Gender inequality in Japan affects social policies (Shire, 2006) that result in unevenly distributed job insecurities (Genda, 2005) thus attracting few female officers to community policing positions. We suggest, for example, a policy of impartial representation of policemen and policewomen inside Kobans throughout Japan, as a means to reconcile the contradictions between "masculine" and "feminine" activities within the police. Consequently, the analysis of gender perspectives within the police institution is essentially related to future prospects for the realization of not only trustful police-community relations, but also successful international cooperation on the field of community policing. 1 More details on Hofstede perspectives on culture can be found online at: REFERENCES: Hofstede, Geert. Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001. Miller, Susan L.; Gender and Community Policing: walking the talk. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1999. Shire, Karen. Gender Dimensions of the Aging Workforce. Institute of Sociology Institute of East Asian Studies, Essen: University Duisburg (draft) June 1, 2006. Genda, Yuji. A Nagging Sense of Job Insecurity: The New Reality Facing Japanese Youth. Tokyo, Japan: International House of Japan, Inc, 2005.]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1290 2009-12-04T12:05:56Z 2009-12-04T12:20:23Z

CGS Newsletter 012 Available Now! The tw...

The twelfth issue of the CGS Newsletter is now available both in print and online. Click the URL to download the PDF version. Download CGS Newsletter 012 Contents of the CGS Newsletter 012]]> In Lieu of Greetings: The Past, Present, and Future of CGS Etsuko KATO Director, Center for Gender Studies Report: Lecture on "The Politics Surrounding Names and Labels" Anonymous 3rd year student, Division of Languages, ICU A "Liberal" ICU? ? From a Former ICU Dorm Resident ? decofemi ICU graduate Report: Annual Conference of the Women's Studies Association of Japan Takako NIWA ICU Post-graduate Inter-Asia Cultural Typhoon 2009 Hinako MIYAZAWA Undergraduate, ICU Improving the Quality of Life at ICU What's a "Communication Disorder"?! - Developmental Disabilities and Domestic Violence How Gender Affects Decisions Regarding Mechanical Ventilation: Female Patients and Female Carers A Child Care Center for ICU Interview with Prof. Chalidaporn Songsamphan Problems in Implementing the Japanese Koban System in Other Countries Cesar Alves (Zare) FERRAGI Graduate Student, ICU]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2009:/mt/cgs/e//10.1232 2009-08-31T10:53:22Z 2009-05-23T09:29:13Z

The Cnter for Gender Studies, Internati...

The Cnter for Gender Studies, International Christian University, welcomes submission of unpublished research papers, field repots and book rebiews. Articles currently received will be considerd for inclusion in the forth issue scheduled for publication in March 2009. Submission Deadline:August 31,2009 Journal Regulations for vol.05 Launched in 2005, the CGS journal, Gender and Sexuality, is designed to bring together researchers and activists from theoretical and practical collaboration, and to disseminate information from Japan and Asia to the world. It is our hope that this journal will become an innovative, dynamic forum for challenging existing concepts and stimulating lively debate. ]]> tag:olcs.icu.ac.jp,2006:/mt/cgs/e//10.813 2009-06-25T04:18:19Z 2009-06-25T07:47:25Z

CGS will be closed from July 23rd to Au...

CGS will be closed from July 23rd to August 5th. We apologize for the inconvenience this causes. Except those days, we are open through Monday to Friday, 11:00am to 5:00pm. Please visit us!