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GAY AND LESBIAN JAPAN |
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Despite there being an honourable tradition of male homosexuality in
Japan, with some ancient Buddhist sects believing that love among men
was preferable to love between the sexes, modern gay life in Japan is
very low-key compared to that in similar industrialized countries. There
is still a huge amount of pressure put on men and women to marry, this
being an almost essential step along the career ladder at many
corporations. Such expectations keep many Japanese gays in the closet
and, outside of the main cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, the gay scene
is all but invisible.
This is not to say that nothing is happening. On the contrary: if you
know where to look, the Japanese gay and lesbian scene is alive and
kicking. A recommended Japanese source of information is the travel
guide Otoko Machi Map : ask around in the gay neighbourhoods of Tokyo
and Osaka for where to buy it.
In recent times homosexuality has come to be seen as trendy,
particularly in the major cities and among the all-important, cash-rich
group of young working women known as OLs or "office ladies". Comic
books and movies with homosexual characters have been a huge success
with OLs, who swoon over the gay romances. Gay and transvestite
celebrities are the in thing on TV and there are even bars in Tokyo
staffed by cross-dressing women, who flatter and fawn over their female
customers in only a slightly more macho way than bona fide hostesses do
over salarymen . Whilst you're highly unlikely to encounter any problems
as a gay traveller in Japan, you may find it difficult to break into any
local gay scene without having some contacts.
Gay information services
International Gay Friends is a networking group for gays which organizes
support groups for men and women. To contact them, write to if/Passport,
CPO 180, Tokyo 100-91 or call 03/5693-4569. Alternatively, the useful
GayNet Japan Web site ( www.gnj.or.jp/gaynet ) covers most aspects of
gay life in the country. Asia Lesbian Wave can be checked out at
www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Stonewall/1430 , while Gay Scene @ Japan
is found on member.tripod.co.jp/GSJ
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