From Dansō to Genderless: Mediating Queer Styles and Androgynous Bodies in Japan

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter explores androgynous bodies and styles in contemporary Japan throughdansō(female-to-male crossdressing) and “genderless” (jendāresu).Dansōrefers to gender-crossing practices by individuals who are assigned female at birth, whereas genderless is a fashion mode which denotes styles that do not distinguish between genders. Drawing on media coverage ofdansōindividuals and genderlessjoshi(girls) in the 2010s, supplemented by ethnographic research conducted in a Tokyodansōcafe-and-bar, I argue that through their androgynous practices, these individuals construct alternative ways of being before they are labeled as “doing”dansōor genderless. Ultimately, I suggest thatdansōand genderless allow us to rethink the gender binary, particularly in queer studies and transgender studies in a transnational context, and the connections between style and gender and sexual subjectivities.