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Maneuvering of Sexualities (Karen) TOP PAGE
Introduction
Homosexuality.
That is what Ni-chome is essentially publicized for, as introduced previously. Indeed, Nichome was initially created as a place for the LGBTQ community in Japan to get together, soon becoming a place of exclusivity for LGBTQ people. Nichome is primarily seen as a place where one can express their sexuality in a conservative country (Susaki, 2021). Yet this is not necessarily the case…
Outsiders as Risks
Nichome is also a place with increasing amounts of outsiders, thus making insiders cautious of their moves, as will be illustrated through ethnographic findings and literature. Risks are essentially the possible dangers of interactions with strangers due to the fact that their motives and ideas are unknown (Karp, 2015). Therefore, outsiders can pose a threat to people in Ni-chome as many are a part of the LGBTQ community, a community that is still marginalized in Japan and thus exposure can bring harm, emotionally and physically, to them.
Judging Face Information
Insiders then must assess the risks by judging the face information of others. Face information is a concept by Karp, pointing to the immediate information we can see when we encounter strangers (2015). This is anything from outward appearances to certain actions or tone of voice. This face information is how people in Ni-chome can comfortably maneuver the city without being in constant fear and speculative towards others.
Maneuvering
Insiders must also learn to adjust how they express their sexualities. Sexualities can be expressed explicitly, through verbal confirmation, as well as implicitly due to the existing stereotypes that make sexualities identifiable by others through actions (Rule, 2017). Lastly, adjusting how and to what extent they must protect their personal identity. Personal identity, as described by Karp (2015), is vital for humans to prevent negative emotional or physical dangers. People long to preserve their identity from strangers. Therefore, especially in the context of Ni-chome where strangers and outsiders are pouring in, it is vital for insiders to negotiate what is the appropriate personal identity that can be revealed to specific strangers.
Contrary to popular beliefs, Ni-chome is not a place where everyone is entirely open with their sexuality because there are risks involved now with the increase in outsiders. With a closer look at the actors of Shinjuku Ni-chome, this section for the Ni-chome research is focused on the insiders of Ni-chome, namely the LGBTQ+ community. For this part of the research we will be observing the actions and interactions of the actors found in Ni-chome and focus on the insiders, primarily the LGBTQ community, and see their reactions to outsiders and their risks. With the focus on sexualities, i.e. the sexual orientations and sexual self, the ideas of how sexualities are maneuvered in Ni-chome will be explored. This section of the Ni-chome research will fit as a part of revealing the people of Ni-chome, namely the insiders, and will contribute to the overall theme of Ni-chome as a place of insiders and outsiders. This part will reveal that because the insiders understand the city as a place of sexuality, they would like to minimize risks and must try and manipulate themselves as the city is growing with strangers. Thus, successfully illustrating a new concept of risks to the conversation about the people in Ni-chome.
Contents
These sections will take you through the sexualities involved in the time insiders of Ni-chome are maneuvering the space. The first section will lay out the foundation of the whole page by establishing who the actors, primarily the insiders, are and what their primary activities are to allow us to start exploring the risks. The risks will then be laid out from ideas by scholars and the concept of face information will be used to analyze how people are actually assessing their risks. Then, the next section will reveal how and why actors are protecting their personal identities in Ni-chome. Finally, the last section will explore how people are manipulating the ways they express their sexualities.
Table of Contents
1. Laying out Foundation
2. Risks
3. How Risk is Maneuvered