The Widening Road: Constructions of Gay Japanese Men on YouTube

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter examines the discourses found in Japanese gay vlog entries to see how such streaming contents are used as sites of contact between gays and straights in Japan. Early internet sites created safe public spaces for sexual minority members to meet and socialize where straights previously seldom had access or were expressly unwelcome. Using a collection of coming out and Q and A videos, the chapter will also explore the use of vlogging discourse for social change in Japan. More recently, sites like YouTube have created new contact spaces where straights are welcomed and can interact with gay content creators more directly. This chapter analyzes the ways in which Japanese gay men construct themselves as well as other gay and straight people around them in these videos. Utilizing membership categorization and indexicality the analysis will show how notions of family and gayness along with associated bound predicates are used to discursively resist heteronormativity. The discourse also shows how these videos focus on the purposes of informing and educating over phatic communication. The analysis will also demonstrate how the concept of internationalization has become semiotically relevant to the gay Japanese male category, constructing an image of masculine interculturality, contrasted against overly feminine mass-mediated stereotypes. Possibilities for further change and social justice in Japan through such sites of contact will also be discussed.