With many thanks to the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, the entirely of my lecture Alt Manga, Queer Manga – Telling Our Own Stories is now available on Youtube for your enjoyment. I hope you’ll watch and comment and now I’m gonna have to go and write something new. ^_^;
I have returned from Michigan, for which I have nothing but praise. And from a very hectic few days pre- and post- my lectures. I have a lot of people to thank, so let’s get right on that first. First, my sincere thanks to Jennifer Robertson and the Center for Japanese Studies for having me out to the university and treating me so well. Thanks to Gal, Mary, Matt and Ben for a lovely lunch and to Jennifer, Celeste and Erin for a lovely dinner, both of which were filled with fascinating and wide-ranging conversations. Special thanks to Nicole for arranging everything. I had a terrific time and hope to visit again sometime soon.
When I came in to Ann Arbor, I had a few hours free before meeting some folks for dinner, and the campus was great for Pokewalking, so I headed off to find the Art Museum. Folks, I have to tell you that the University of Michigan Museum of Art is fantastic. I was fascinated to see that they had an exhibition of Kabuki posters. Some of these I had seen previously at the Brooklyn Museum, but they had a interesting section on how the onnagata, men who played the females roles, influenced fashion and femininity. Perhaps more important to us, I also learned about the Shirabyoushi, who were female performers in the Heian period who dressed like men as they danced. (Which immediately called to mind a scene in Saitou Chiho’s Torikaebaya, in which Sara Sojuu, presenting as a man, dances for the Emperor.) There was a poster of an onnagata dressed as a shirabyoushi, which is a lot of layers of genderfuck right there. A man, dressed as a women who dresses like man. The TV screen immediately next to that picture showed a shirabyoushi dance performed by a kabuki actor. It was fascinating.
This a painting of the most famous Shirabyoushi, Shizuka Gozen. Notice the hat (tate-eboshi), the sword, and the men’s clothes.
The other key learning I had was that fanfic and fan art are, as I have always presumed, both eternal and universal. Among the posters at the exhibition were paintings of popular kabuki actors “as” other things. Much in the way you see fan art of “Disney Princesses as…” a variety of things or people, here are paintings of popular stars “as” legendary sages and in the second picture, as flowers.
So. There you have it. Along with knowledge that kabuki posters were bootlegged, we now have confirmation that human nature is pretty consistent across time and geography.
The next morning I first attended Jennifer’s Sex and Gender in Japan class, where I walked them through the demographic genres of manga and the wholly unique history of Yuri and LGBTQ manga. The questions were fantastic, genuinely. What a great class! I felt bad I hadn’t brought more books to give away as prizes for good questions ^_^;
The second lecture had an interesting, varied audience, which contained a few friendly faces. I was very pleased to see old friends Jackie S and Jocilyn W there. At that lecture I talked about LGBTQ (Yuri, BL, gay) manga and how pressure from fandom helped it to become a successful niche in manga sales. Again, good questions and loads of nice people.
After that, I was able to sit with some of the grad students and chat. Mary and I found we were separated at birth and were able to fangirl over Marimite, Sailor Moon and Yuki Kajiura a bit. ^_^
Dinner conversation with faculty ranged from Japan to Amsterdam and back and through many levels of politics and pets. All in all it was a fascinating and enjoyable glimpse into the life of academics, so far removed – and yet so similar – to my own corporate world.
Two last thanks are in order. One to my driver Sayeed, who embodies everything beautiful about the American dream. And my final thanks to Ann Arbor itself, which was both lovely and fun and helped me level up in Pokemon Go. ^_^
I’m going to go do some more research on the shirabyoushi now. ^_^
Please join me at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, MI on Thursday, January 19, 2017 , 12:00-1:30 PM in Room 1636 School of Social Work Building for the Center for Japanese Studies Noontime Lecture Series.
Alt Manga, Queer Manga: Telling Our Own Stories will cover the history of LGBTQ manga in Japan and the west, and delve into the issues of fan interpretation of commercial manga. Please click the above link and ask for seating availability.
I’m really looking forward to visiting Michigan for the first time (a layover in the Detroit airport doesn’t count.) I hope I will see you there!
It is with the greatest of pleasure that I announce that I will be doing a lecture at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on January 19, 2017.
I’ll be presenting Alt Manga, Queer Manga: Telling Our Own Stories about how fan and creator perceptions and desires transformed into commercially successful manga and anime genres.
I am told that the lecture will be open to the public with RSVP. As soon as I have information on this, I will share it.
Thanks to Jennifer Robertson and the Center for Japanese Studies (CJS) at the University of Michigan for the invitation!
Flamecon 2 was a fantastic event and I’m absolutely gutted that I couldn’t get to it for both days.
Flamecon bills itself as New York’s Queer Comic Con. This year, it was queerer and more diverse than ever. And, as a result, was even more fun than last year. Where last year, their mascot was a cheerfully “flaming” young man, this year there was a companion Flamey for those of us who admire women.
The new location has several things to recommend it – it was easier to get to than last year. It was also around the corner from Rocco’s Tacos, which offered happy wait staff who were dancing in the foyer, and The Three Amigos playing on TVs in the bathroom stalls. The food was good, too.
The Dealer’s room was huge, well-laid out and packed wall to wall full of amazing talent, small queer presses and people you need to know about. I picked up a bunch of comics, obviously, but the main event for me was a copy of The Other Side, an anthology of queer paranormal romance. Several contributors were at the event, so they made a little map of the room pointing out who would be where and making a defacto signature rally. I wasn’t able to get everyone’s signature, as some folks weren’t at their table, or were mobbed (coughKateLethcough) but I was able to get a bunch, including squee! cover artist and creator of webcomic Agents of the Realm, Mildred Louis!
Last year, while I enjoyed the event, I found it lacking in lesbian comics presence. this year, I had no such complaint. There were a ton of lesbian comics and comic artists.
In addition to The Other Side, I picked up a delightful lesbian three-way relationship set in the Wild West, called Among the Willows, from Elizabeth Willis and Ann Uland, the same folks that created the queer adventure set in ancient Rome, Cassius, of which I picked up the first issue, as well.
I also was ecstatic to get Wool and Water, a Namesake doujinshi, by creators Megan Lavey-Heaton and Isabelle Melançon, who I’d met some years ago at TCAF.
The folks that put out the Dates! anthology of historical LGBTQ fiction and comics, are doing a second volume(!) and want you to please submit your works and spread the word.
And not at all least, I want to once more sing the praises of Jennifer Camper, comic creator and event organizer for the Queer & Comics conference, which is gearing up for a second event on Friday and Saturday, April 14-15, 2017 at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, California. The first Queer & Comics event was absolutely amazing and this one is already shaping up to be great. I have a panel in the 2017 event and will be beating the drum loudl, so you’d better just mark it on your calendar now and plan to go. ^_^
I ran the “Secret” History of Yaoi and Yuri panel and was exceedingly gratified at the audience’s attentiveness and great questions. This was probably one of the very best groups to which I’ve ever presented this panel. For one thing, they got all of my jokes. ^_^
Super big shout out to Zan Christensen from Northwest Press who I’m working with on a secret project that will soon be not-so-secret. Keep your antenna up for fabulousness very soon!
Overall, it was absolutely worth making the trek into Brooklyn the day after coming home from Paris. And while I can’t promise I’ll make it both days next year, I’ll do whatever I can to make it there for at least a little while, because Flamecon is here, it’s queer and it’s one of the best cons I’ve ever been to. ^_^
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