LGBTQ+ Activism in TOKYO
- Episode 06- Transcript
Georgie Williams, in voiceover: The city of Tokyo is a living, breathing creature.
As a cultural hotspot and place of pilgrimage for art, fashion, media and music enthusiasts alike, walking through the streets can feel like integrating yourself into some great organism which is constantly moving, creating, sprawling ever outwards. With a population of 13.9 million, Tokyo is Japan’s most highly populated prefecture, and with a name which literally translates to “the Eastern Capital”, there is no denying the magnitude of the social, economic, political and cultural influence that radiates out of this city.
So one must ask, in a place where people flock from around the country and around the world to innovate, connect and push for social change- where, spatially, does this change occur? We established in our previous episodes that Eastern queerness does not mirror Western queerness- that the visual cues many Westerners look for in our queer peers are not universal. We have also established that a gendered and sexual conservatism has persisted throughout Japanese culture since its implementation by the state two centuries ago. Applying this to our investigation into the queer fabrics that are interwoven into the tapestry of contemporary Eastern cultures, we must now ask ourselves- where do you go, to find the LGBTQ+ Activists of Tokyo? Welcome to Episode 6 of /Queer. You’re here with me, your host, Georgie Williams.
Fortune favours the opportunistic gay- or, that is what I would like to believe led me to conducting the interviews included in the following episode. If you were to cast your mind back to Episode 4, you will remember our interview with Professor Yuka Kanno at Doshisha University in Kyoto. Professor Kanno and I got chatting after we recorded her interview and she informed me of a friend of hers, a young man working up in Tokyo whose work aligned with what I was planning on searching for in the city. I was looking to find individuals who were transforming physical spaces into places which could facilitate queer education, understanding, and foster a sense of community and, after reaching out to this man, I boarded a bullet train to go meet him in Tokyo.
Sho Akita is an independent curator who organises queer screenings on a platform called ‘Normal Screen’. Sho started this project in 2015, and collaborates with local cinemas, organisations and universities. When I informed him that I was looking to connect with LGBTQ+ activists in Tokyo, he was hesitant to call himself one but, after he told me about the work he was doing, it seemed like a fitting descriptor.
Georgie Williams, in interview: What got you interested in arranging queer documentary screenings in Tokyo? Why is this important to you?
Sho Akita, in interview: 5 years ago I- so I have background in film and video arts, and I’ve been studying and listening… long time. And I realised that I was only studying this work and I was not practicing. Also, I thought in Tokyo 2015, there are not many queer things happening. Like- things happening individually or spread around Tokyo but not like, connecting any people that don’t know each other- that’s what I thought, personal point of view. And also like, there are like queer films distributed sometimes and film festival happening here too. But I thought I wanted something that I can talk about with people about queer arts and cinema all year long, constantly, maybe on social media, but also wanted to have the space that people can hang and see one same visual image, representation or reflection of queer people, both about Japan and globally. Because the other thing I’m real interested in is the networking of queer people globally, like, I like the sense of the connection- and so I try to screen video and films all around the world.
Georgie Williams, in interview: How do you feel about the queer scene in Tokyo? Is there anything you think needs to change?
Sho Akita, in interview: I don’t think anything needs to change, we just need more queer-related events, especially something to do with culture and arts, because I think since around 2015, there are many things happening related to LGBTQ issues, you know, politically or like, same sex marriage and anti-hate crime law- which is not, we don’t have it but like, people are talking about it, and people create events to talk about these issues, which are amazing, and many interesting queer films are distributed like Moonlight in like big LGBTQ cinemas- I want more parties and more like, I want more queer events for queer people, because a lot of LGBTQ events are like- these are very important but those are to… They organise it to communicate with straight society, right? And we explain a lot to majority or society, and I think these are very important, but uh… we also need more things for queer people in Japan in general, yeah.
Georgie Williams, in interview: So my final question is- what challenges do you think that the LGBTQ+ community faces in Japan? Are there any issues that you think an individual from outside of Japan may not be aware of?
Sho Akita, in interview: This question is difficult… [laughs] but I- it's difficult because I feel like there are too many, I don’t know where to begin… the gender gap of Japan is among like, 150 countries, it’s always like 110th, 120-something… it's like really bad so that means like women don't, how do you call it? Women don't have the equal rights to men like…
Georgie Williams, in interview: In terms of pay and access to jobs and-
Sho Akita, in interview: Yeah, and it… they don't consider about sexuality, I guess? It's all about gender… it says like uh, in 2019, Japan is in uh, the rank 121 among 153 countries around the world… and then like, people are like "yeah it is" like, it's not like [jokingly] "that's crazyyyyy" like that's, that's how we feel, or like, that's how queer people and women feel. I feel like it's longer to go for queer people because… maybe you noticed it's interesting, it's not like New York City, even if you… dress whatever you want, people are not- on the street, when you walk- people are not going to come up to you and, punch your face. That's not… that's very, very rare in Japan but I guess like… microaggression is like everywhere and everyday? So… that's microaggression like, you don't notice like you… because it's like… every day of your life. And you growing up in that environment in Japan, so I feel like many people agree, I feel like…. most of queer people here are feeling huge stress. But I think tricky part is like many people can't tell because it's like you growing up in that muddy environment of homophobia, yeah.
In regarding to what queer people can do in other countries for Japan, I don't know… but I think it's connected to what I do but um, it's very empowering to see queer people striving everywhere in any country you know like, in South East Asia you know or in like… New York… wherever. And today we can see that you know in social media like… live. So I think it's great. I think we can empower or inspire each other globally. And while we do it I think we should not forget like, we are not there yet or like… Taiwan people think it's like very liberal now they can get married and blah blah blah- but I know there are queer people who still cannot tell their friends or family that they are gay or, you know, their sexuality. So I don't want to forget those people too. But I think people who that have what they want tend to forget about it right? So I think that's what we should not forget.
Georgie Williams, in voiceover: I attended one of Sho’s screenings at a newly opened, queer vegan cafe in Taito City, a neighbourhood in the north of Tokyo. This was the first I’d heard of any business or venue advertising itself under the term ‘queer’, and, according to some of the staff that I chatted to, this was unusual in Tokyo. There was a mix of attendees at the event- a few Europeans such as myself, predominantly locals and individuals aged anywhere from their early twenties right up to middle age. The screening was a set of short films about the impact of the AIDS crisis on American queer culture, produced via the Visual AIDS organisation. The videos themselves were moving and insightful but, following their screening, what I found was that the event was predominantly allowing queer individuals to network and share in their experiences. Sho had been adamant that he did not refer to himself as an activist, but the event he was hosting was facilitating those connections occurring, allowing for like-minded people to collaborate and organise.
Japanese queer citizens have a lot to discuss when it comes to the matter of their human rights. Although Japan is often lauded as the most progressive of East Asian countries for LGBTQ+ rights, this is a country where same-sex marriage is still illegal, as is adoption for same-sex couples, and lesbian couples are denied access to IVF treatment or artificial insemination. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not protected characteristics under national civil rights laws, which means that many LGBTQ+ Japanese citizens face discrimination in areas such as housing, healthcare, employment and education. Fortunately, residents living in the Tokyo Metropolitan area are now protected under laws implemented in April 2019, but outing yourself in Japan can still have severe, life-altering consequences. Spaces like the Ryusen 112 cafe, events like Sho’s screenings, provide a safe environment for those disadvantaged by archaic and demoralising legislation.
It was at this screening that Sho helped me make my next connection; working at the cafe was Maiko Asami. Asami is one of the founding members of WAIFU- a feminist collective dedicated to, in their words, “creating a space which appears on a regular basis, where anyone of any gender expression, sexuality, race, body type or physical ability can enjoy themselves without fear of harassment.” One of the catalysts for the establishment of WAIFU was founding member Elin McReady being turned away from a lesbian party in Tokyo because she was a trans woman. Founding members of WAIFU have since been interviewed by Time Out Tokyo about their project and, with Asami’s assistance, I was able to arrange my own interview with them and two of their fellow founding members- Elin McCready and Midori Morita. The four of us squeezed into a busy cafe in Shibuya one afternoon and let me pick their brains over why these kinds of spaces were so necessary in Tokyo’s nightlife scene. I must add before we proceed that as there are four people talking in this recording, two of whom are speaking Japanese, you may wish to refer to the transcript available for this episode at slashqueer.com, if you do find this confusing.
Georgie Williams, in interview: My first question is do you feel like there’s an issue with a lack of inclusivity in LGBT spaces in Tokyo? If so, what do you feel may be causing these issues?
Maiko Asami, in interview: 新宿二丁目に対してであれば、やっぱり夜のお酒の場でナンパが中心であったりだとか、ゲイ男性はゲイ男性 だけで集まるとかそうゆう文化を作っているのかな とは思います。
Elin McCready, in interview: She said, as far as Shinjuku Nicho-me which is the main traditional gay neighbourhood, really not queer neighbourhood, in the city, it’s a night life area, and more aimed at hooking up, right? So it’s like a space is segregated by who is interested in who and there’s not much overlap between those spaces.
Maiko Asami, in interview: なんか、その、ゲイ男性の中でもクマ系が好きな人 だけが行くだけのバーみたいな、そんな感じで。
Elin McCready, in interview: So it’s even within cis gay men’s spaces, its quite subdivided by space for bears, a space for this, a space for that and like really really really not much over that between those spaces.
Maiko Asami, in interview: もしかしたらそれは、多くの人が実生活のなかで カミングアウトできてないから、ナンパだけ 二丁目に切り離されてそこでそうゆう風になってる のかもしれないけど。
Elin McCready, in interview: So it might have to do with the difficulty at least, historically but still now of coming out more generally in your life in this country. So like the spaces that exist are really just for temporary kinds of relationships. So being.. trying to go out in Nicho-me as a trans woman is disastrous. Because there’s no place to go. But you don’t wanna be in the spaces forces gay men and spaces forces gay women don’t want you there in general. Not universally, but often and so like where are you supposed to go? So for myself I almost never go out to Nicho-me and I just go clubbing in what amount to straight spaces which has its own set of uncomfortableness but less so maybe than the kind of direct attacks you sometimes get at those spaces.
Georgie Williams, in interview: That sounds exhausting.
Elin McCready, in interview: Yeah, it is pretty exhausting.
Georgie Williams, in interview: What is the mission of WAIFU for you at this time? What do you hope to be the outcome of this project both for yourself and for your local community?
Elin McCready, in interview: The immediate goal of the party is to just create the space where everybody, anybody can come and know that they will be free of harassment and can be comfortable and have a good time without being troubled for who they are. So the space is centred around queer femmes and trans women, but its open to anybody- but we state very clearly that at the door, we have a card which we ask people to look at and read and verbally accept it and agree to which says “No transphobia, no harassment, blah blah blah” and people are let in on that basis and then if we get complaints, we just throw them out. So anybody can come in but if they make people uncomfortable, they will be asked to leave. That’s the strategy we’ve chosen for that. That’s the short term or immediate part. WAIFU自体での目的、長い意味じゃなくて。それ以上ありません。
Midori Morita, in interview: あと、やっぱりクラブ文化の廃れっていうのは日本 すごい問題あると思ってて、それに関してもやっぱり 最近若い子、日本の若い子全然クラブ行かないからそういう若い世代の子に向けてもすごい発信して、そのクラブって言うのは昔の人が思ってるそういう、クラブの中で痴漢されても仕方ないみたいなそういうんじゃなくて、クラブっていうのは、人と、いろんな面白い人と出会って、いろんな文化の発祥の場であるっていうことを示していきたい。
Elin McCready, in interview: So there’s an issue in the whole club scene in Japan at the moment which is that, it’s the same as the whole society. It’s aging and the youngest people don’t really want to come out to the club. So one thing we wanna do with the party is show people that it’s not like the old days of clubbing you would show up in the party and somebody touches you and oh well, that’s nice- if you don’t like that, then don’t come out. So the goal is to show people that a club space can be a space where you meet all kinds of interesting people, encounter all kinds of interesting cultures, have interesting conversations, have a good time and don’t have to put up with a bunch of shit.
Georgie Williams, in interview: That sounds fantastic. I wish you guys were like, everywhere.
Maiko Asami, in interview: なんかやっぱ、今は青山ハチを会場として 開催していて、すごい四階まで階段で すごくいいクラブなんだけど、それでちょっとアクセスしづらい人がいたりとかするので、今後その自分たちだけでは難しいかもしれないけれど、ほかのパーティーとコラボレーションとかしてもう少しアクセシブルだったり分煙をやりやすい様な会場で開催できる機会が増えていったら、去年幸い二回できたから、今年はもうちょっとできるといいなと思う。
Elin McCready, in interview: As far as the future, the party, one of the issues regarded at the moment is general problem with the whole, it’s called small box culture of Tokyo clubs and these small spaces which tend to be accessible only by stairs. So there’s no elevators, it’s quite hard for people with certain physical conditions to access these places and we’ve been talking about this a lot with organizers in the group but to move to a larger space requires scale and innumerable funding we haven’t got at the moment. So last year we did two collaborations.One with Mutech which is a digital art and music festival, the other one was a lesbian party called Goddess and those were at inaccessible spaces. Hoping this year we can do more of these things and ultimately maybe even in non-collaborative environment, start holding parties in bigger spaces. We are looking to grow. Okay, that’s a thing.
Maiko Asami, in interview: No transphobia, No homophobiaだけじゃなくて No racismも一応入ってるから、いろんな人が運営に参加してくれるともうちょっと色んなアイデアも入るからいいかなと思う。
Elin McCready, in interview: So our organizers group is 9 Japanese and also non-Japanese women. Okay? But no POC at the moment. So that’s a thing. In the party itself tends to be quite low on POC. Of course, it’s a general problem with demographics of the club scene here it’s not really in our control. But it will be much nicer if the space was more diverse in that sense as well- and so we’re hoping that that’s something that will change in the future too. For me, if I can add to that, so one thing that, one effect that WAIFU is already had, we’ve been going 6 or 7 months. 6 or 7 months, is that about right?
Maiko Asami, in interview: 5月から。
Elin McCready, in interview: We started in May. Beginning of May. I can’t do the math. 8 months? But…
Georgie Williams, in interview: You’re doing great. [everyone laughs]
Elin McCready, in interview: Policies that we got, it’s been showing up around the city, in other parties too. People have been posting kind of policies elsewhere as well. It will be so great if that kind of policy started to spread to bigger clubs, bigger parties and maybe just a space in general and if not, if we could develop networks of parties and networks of spaces that was a genuine alternative. Waifu is already an alternative to these Nicho-me and these more like segregated spaces, shall we say. But you know? we are doing it every 6 weeks, every 2 months and it would be great if network of other parties and spaces developed to weekly like all the time.
Maiko Asami, in interview: MuTechとGoddessのコラボは二つの大きな意味があった。MuTechはクラブシーン全体にアンチハラスメントポリシーをシェアする機会があったし、Goddessは二丁目系の大きなパーティーと一緒にできたから二丁目系の人たちにもそれをシェアする機会があったかな。
Elin McCready, in interview: So the collaborative things we did last year, one with MuTech was, MuTech was a big deal in general club scene so for us to be able to present this kind of policy and this kind of space are important. For the collab with Goddess which is like a classic big Nicho-me party, to do something with them was also a very nice bridge building
kind of situations. So hopefully this continues. One more thing. Go!
Maiko Asami, in interview: 全然その５月とか４月の時には想像できてなかったけどなんかWaifuがきっかけで、サファイア・スロウズのトークとか、トークの依頼も機会も、トークのオファーがくる機会が、すごい増えた。エリンもそうだと思うし。そういうトークを通してのアンチハラスメントポリシーみたいなものを色んな人とシェアできる機会が増えればいいなと思ってます。
Midori Morita, in interview: そうゆう意味では今日のこのインタビューはすごい意味あることやと私らは思っています。
Elin McCready, in interview: So Maiko said one thing we didn’t expect at all from starting this party is the sort of broader impact it has. So Sapphire Slows, who DJs for us and there’s activism in the broader scenes has gotten a lot of talking invitations to speak about our policy and speak about our facilities and spaces. So we gave a joint talk last year at Sound, Gender, Activism, Feminism or something like this, it’s headquarter is based in London and they did a thing here and we gave a joint talk there about, on this topic. She’s had a couple talks and it has been very nice to be able to spread these kind of discussions even outside of square spaces.
Georgie Williams, in interview: What can activists and allies based outside of Japan do to support queer Japanese communities?
Midori Morita, in interview: やっぱり私らは知ってもらうっていうこと、知ってもらうっていうこと、広めて、日本でこういう活動してますよっていうことを日本国内だけじゃなくて外からも知ってもらうっていうことが一番大事だと思っているので私たちのやってる活動をシェアしてほしい。
Elin McCready, in interview: First of all, it is so important to, for people to know what we are doing. Let me just modify what you said a little bit. This is not just a Tokyo thing, obviously. This is just part of the broader community. It’s important for us to be known to this community and for people who are not in the local community to know that they have a space that can be welcome when they come here. So more people who know what we are doing the better in a sense and we would like to build bridges with everyone so please keep an eye open.
Midori Morita, in interview: Share our...
Elin McCready, in interview: Share our info and stuff like this.That would be great. It’s like a lot of people come through Japan but don’t know whats going on. So we are here and we are…be in touch! Also another thing, to all the DJs trying through will be in touch would come and play. We would so love to set something up for you. So just text!
Maiko Asami, in interview: DJとかミュージシャンとかもそうだし、他の国で同じようなポリシーを掲げてやってるイベントとかと何か色々そのこうゆうことやったらこうゆうこと起きたとかストーリーもシェアして、よりいい運営の仕方を学んでいきたい。
Elin McCready, in interview: We are also love to hear from people with not just within music and art but people who are activists generally what people have done has been effective because we are trying to improve our practice so anything that you could share with us would be appreciated.
Midori Morita, in interview: そうだよね。私たち４人、今５人かな。６人になりつつあるけど、そのメンバーの共通というかいいとこは、誰でもウェルカム。本当にウェルカムなので、もし海外からも私こうゆうことやってます、コラボしたいですとか、私こうゆうアートやってます、こうゆうDJやってますコラボしたいです、もしくはあなたのイベントに出たいですっていう人はもう本当にウェルカム。
Maiko Asami, in interview: なんか色々ワークショップもやってるからなんか別にDJだけじゃなくても。
Elin McCready, in interview: All of us, right now, there is 5 people on the organizers team moving towards 6 slowly and we all do different things. In the group, there are artists, there are music people, there are activists, there are academics, like me and so we all doing different kinds of stuff and we would love to hear from you if you are coming through and if you wanna play, if you wanna do some art things, if you wanna set a talk, we do workshops as well and we would love to help you and do things together. So we are looking for willing collaborators so be in touch before you come!
Georgie Williams, in voiceover: At the end of our chat , I asked Asami, Elin & Midori if they had anything further they wished to share and, as it turns out, Elin & Midori are in the midst of their own legal and political battle which cuts right to the core of one of the biggest struggles still faced by queer citizens of Japan- the continued illegality of gay marriage.
Elin McCready, in interview: Okay, so two of the organizers me, Elin and Midori are married. We’ve been married for 20 years. So actually the party we have at the end of the month is our literal 20th wedding anniversary. But our marriage is in complicated place because I transitioned and so Japan doesn’t have same sex marriage and result of that is, if Japan fully recognizes my transition, then the government has no choice but on the paper, but to de facto accept same sex marriage or to dissolve our marriage which is not clear if that’s even legal. So what they decided to do is to update one part of paperwork in accordance with my US passport to female and not update the other part which is the place where our marriage is registered. I am officially, legally, graphically multi-gender which is sort of fucked up to be honest. It’s not.. a) it doesn’t make sense and b) it’s bizarre and it’s not even clear what our marriage status is. So we are in the process of the crowdfunding a lawsuit to sue the government to clarify the situation and in the best case, obviously clarify our personal situation, but also give the government no option but to recognize same sex marriage and so hopefully this could be the case that forces the government to make this a possibility for a lot of people.That crowdfunding is wide and if you feel like supporting that would be wonderful.
Midori Morita, in interview: それでその中で、裁判とともにこのWaifuの活動でもそうゆうことをすごいやっていくからもしドネイトしてくれたら、ここのお金はWaifuの活動のためにも使われるから。
Elin McCready, in interview: We are doing the action on this front not just for the legal front but also within the party, within the events. If you choose to donate on crowdfunding that would supporting our activities as Waifu for example, to move to more accessible spaces we were just talking about.
Georgie Williams, in voiceover: You can find the link to Elin & Midori’s fundraiser at slashqueer.com/fundraising. If you can give, please do- these two women have taken on an unfathomable task in the name of pushing LGBTQ+ rights forward in Japan, and even the smallest donation will help towards making that change happen.
It has been argued before, oft by individuals absolved from any substantial political engagement, that the establishment of queer-focused or queer-exclusive spaces is an act of self-segregation which is a disservice to the LGBTQ+ community; that our desire to organise as a collective in one place is a separatist practice. It was Gavin Brown in his paper Mutinous eruptions: autonomous spaces of radical queer activism, who wrote of the autonomous queer spaces he ethnographically researched emerging in London during the early 2000s. Brown observed that individuals in these spaces “celebrate gender and sexual fluidity and playfully subvert normative binaries. Participants in these spaces actively create them in order (temporarily) to revel in their otherness, difference, and distance from mainstream society. By unsettling fixed identities in this way, the activists claim an autonomous space in which to be on their own terms.” The activist element of the work of WAIFU or Sho Akita comes in creating these spaces, temporary but invaluable nonetheless, where one was not required to limit themselves based on cisnormative and heteronormative expectations of social behaviour. Activism is so often misconstrued as an aggressive battle, a loud and unambiguous pushback against a regime or ideology- but there is quiet power, in ensuring that a place for queer individuals to just be, without judgement or labour is available. It is not an act of segregation to provide a community something which those outside of it have the fortune to take for granted every day- it’s equity.
One late evening I found myself standing at the intersection of two bustling streets in Shinjuku, unable to read the street signs and unsure of how to get to my destination- and I realised that I was likely going to have to make myself uncomfortable by asking a stranger for directions. In this moment of anxiety a parallel presented itself to me, between my feelings of confusion and misdirection as I stood alone in a Tokyo street and the means through which I had to access the queer circles I discovered during my time in this city. Word of mouth had been all that I could rely on- from Professor Kanno in Kyoto introducing me to Sho Akita, to Sho introducing me to Asami from WAIFU and later to Ken Nakahashi at his gallery. It was Ken who then introduced me to Eiki Mori’s art, which I mentioned in Episode 4 of the podcast. By and large, it felt like you had to know who to ask. I wondered how much I would have been able to find out about these communities if I had grown up here myself, a queer individual in a city where queerness is not as visibly communicated. I wondered what it must take for an individual like Sho, or any of the members of WAIFU, to practice making their work accessible and easy for an outsider to discover and involve themselves with. I thought about what Sho had to say, about how easy it is to forget how fortunate we are to have what we have when we’ve obtained it. It is one thing to establish a queer project or rally people around a cause when the people are present, visible and requesting it. You face an entirely different kind of struggle when you are trying to bring an issue into the light which has for so long been kept behind closed doors. When Sho talks about microaggressions, he is talking about those small discomforts, those seemingly minor acts of hostility or discouragement that build up over time, until the straw breaks the camel’s back. When Sho or WAIFU put on an event, it is a push back against that tide of aggressions and slights against us that seeks to wash queerness from the mainstream consciousness. It generates a space, both physical and social, where people are safe enough to let what makes them different be seen. Every time this happens, that person becomes a signpost, demonstrating to other queer individuals that there is somewhere they can go where they too can be themselves. Sho and WAIFU are not just providing places to be, but showing people where to go- to find refuge, solidarity and community.
Spaces are made by those who inhabit them- they are generated in the image of those present and, in the congregation of those who attend these events, queer spaces manifest. They are not bound by walls or doors and can spring up, anywhere- growing in spite of all that has been done to limit and prevent their existence. Tokyo’s LGBTQ+ activist scene is growing every day, setting roots down in cafes, night clubs and art galleries and spreading out into the city. It is emblematic of what gives Tokyo it’s charm and spurs that sense of intrigue- that you will find what you are looking for in this city- if, that is, you know where to look.
This episode of the /Queer Podcast was edited by Sam Clay and scripted and produced by me, Georgie Williams. A very special thanks to our guests Sho Akita of Normal Screen and Maiko Asami, Midori Morita and Elin McCready of WAIFU. I’d like to also ask our listeners to share or consider contributing to Elin’s & Midori’s crowdfunding project, where they are suing the Japanese government to recognise their marriage. As previously mentioned, you can find a link to their GoFundMe page at slashqueer.com/fundraising, you can find WAIFU’s page by clicking their link on slashqueer.com/resources. Cases like Elin & Midori’s can be the tipping point in matters of social justice and legislative change, so please give them your support- it is a very worthy cause.
As we take this podcast from Japan to Indonesia, I want to take a quick moment to thank all of you who have supported this project- particularly my Patreon subscribers, so big thanks to Christine, Aimee, Lyndsey, Bronya, Nataliya, Jackie, Purrr Do, Sam and Christopher. Your pledges have now covered one of my flights across Indonesia to conduct interviews, so you are directly responsible for some of our upcoming content, which is pretty cool. If you fancy joining my gang of delightful patrons, you can find the /Queer Patreon at patreon.com/slashqueer. That’s S-L-A-S-H Queer. The link is also available on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Your pledges help ensure that these stories are shared with listeners all around the world, from students to educators, activists to healthcare workers, and it’s through ensuring that these stories are heard that we can celebrate in and utilise the power of our histories as a community. Stories unify us, and as we continue with this project, I hope to be able to source more of the kinds of stories that can bring us together in the face of adversity.
This episode was recorded on location in Tokyo in Japan. Music in this episode was composed by Kevin MacLeod. If you enjoyed this episode or have any feedback, please get in touch on Instagram or Twitter at @SlashQueer or email us at slashqueer@outlook.com. Once again until next time stay kind, stay radical and stay queer.