Archive for the LGBTQ Category


GLBT History: Queer Voices From Japan

May 24th, 2007

Today’s review was brought to you by the generosity of James Welker, one of the editors of Queer Voices From Japan: First Person Narratives from Japan’s Sexual Minorities. It’s not a typical sort of book for me to read or review here, but it fit with the “gender identity” theme – and indeed, is the last of the bunch – and I was very glad to have been given the opportunity to read it.

I am not usually an ardent reader of GLBT history books. Not for any particular reason, they just never appealed much. And to be honest, I probably would not have picked this book up on my own. But having read it, I’m *really* rethinking that position. I may have to go back and start looking at some of the more notable nonfiction narratives of GLBT history.

In particular, I found the early sections of the book which dealt with WWII and earlier, incredibly compelling. In such a short book it was amazing to see how not only language, but thoughts, ideals and even hopes and dreams changed so radically among the members of various sexual minorities. Some of the narratives were more interesting than others, of course, but many read almost like fiction (which doesn’t sounds like a compliment, but *is* meant as one,) to me. I found myself staying up much too late to complete the chapter at hand, then a little later to read the next one…”just a few pages more….”

The book does not have an editorial agenda except, as is plainly stated, to bring the voices of these narratives to a wider audience. Whether I was reading a wartime story of S&M between soldiers during the “Manchurian campaign” or a story of a “romantic dandyism” I just found these men and women, and those who lived their lives somewhere not one or the other entirely…or, in some cases both…just *so* interesting. In fact, now I kind of feel like a doofus for avoiding these kind of stories for so long. ^_^;

None of the personal narratives seemed especially shocking to me, and almost none of them really touched any of my own buttons until towards the end of the book: A fairly recent interview with a Ni-choume bar owner that I felt was one of the most insightful, intelligent and fun chapters in the book. I found myself just nodding again and again at his comments. He echoed my own thoughts about so many things that it became a bit creepy. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 9

The book sets out to give voice to the sexual minorities in Japan, but I think it actually succeeds in giving voice to sexual minorities worldwide. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend this book to anyone, simply on the strength of the narratives and the personalities behind them. It’s pretty much a must-read. ^_^





Privilege of the Sword Novel

May 19th, 2007

You may recall that, this past February, I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with the folks from Prism Comics at New York Comic Con. One of the many cool people I had a chance to meet that weekend was author Ellen Kushner. I gave her a copy of my novel Shoujoai ni Bouken and, a few days after we spoke, I received a shiny new copy of her novel, Privilege of the Sword. I took it with me to Chicago and conveniently, it fits neatly into this week’s theme. :-)

The story follows a young woman, Katherine, as she is adopted into her uncle, the “Mad Duke”‘s household in place of lengthy and life-crushing lawsuits against her mother, the Duke’s sister. Immediately the Duke has her women’s clothes replaced with men’s and Katherine then begins to train as a swordswoman. But not out of choice. And not without resistance. Of course, she becomes a competent swordswoman…it would hardly be a fun novel if she sucked all the way through. (Although that might have made a funnier novel.) In the meantime, she comes of age in a household that is unusually free of the more typical sexual mores. In fact, the Duke, while bisexual, is well-known to prefer men. During the course of the narrative its implied that, as she comes of age and into herself, she will follow her “mad” uncle’s proclivities. In the end of the novel she’s with a man, but there’s no doubt in one’s mind that her best friend Artemisia would not be kicked out of bed. ^_^

So, what happens? Well, there’s politics and duels, intrigue and training and sex, and love and actresses and stalking and gingerbread. No religion, thank heavens. That would only complicate things. The end of the story is swift and painless, which is good because, given the setup, I was at a loss as to how it was going to end with anyone living happily ever after, much less all of them doing so. But fear not. ^_^

While Katherine may be bisexual, she in no way desires to be male (I’m not implying that these two things are in any way linked – it’s just a weak segue….) In the beginning she is *very* opposed to, and uncomfortable with, dressing as a man. If anything, she’s a pretty typical girl, who wants girl things including dresses and a noble suitor. In the same way, the Duke never wants her to pass as a boy, but quite openly tells people that she is his niece. (Although, exactly why he does this is never explained. By the end of the novel, one can put together some solid theories, but nothing is stated explicitly.) Early on in the story Katherine passes as a boy merely because she is wearing boy’s clothes and the person who mistakes her simply assumes that only a boy would wear those clothes. When the novel concludes, Katherine is apparently comfortable in both worlds, that of men and women, creating a nice balance between gender, sexuality and circumstance. I wouldn’t call this novel a “transgender” novel, but it absolutely does play with gender role and gender identity.

Privilege is part of a series, the whole of which I have not read. But one definitely does not need to have read the earlier novels to understand or enjoy this one. The time and place is a bit random – the clothes appear to be a mixture of French cavalier for the men and Regency for the women. The language too, has a tendency to wander between Regency novel and casual modern speech, with random visits to courtly, musketeer and pompous. But do NOT let this be seen as a detriment to the reader’s enjoyment. Since time and place are the author’s own creation, which shouldn’t the speech patterns be, as well? ^_^ (Towards the beginning, I found one particular exchange a little irritating and then had to laugh, because I remembered that I had done something almost identical in one of my own stories. So I shut up and kept reading. And let me clarify that I strongly dislike Regency novels, so the repartee – which is certainly witty – may appeal to others where it doesn’t to me.)

In her dedications at the end, Ellen says that this novel was written in pieces and, to a certain extent, it feels like it. The beginning is a little scattered, as if the direction of the story was still unclear. By halfway through the book, the characters have significantly solidified and by two thirds through, I found that I was reading much more quickly because I wanted to know what was going to happen!

I almost forgot – here’s today’s question for you. How many of my dear readers wear clothes more commonly associated with the opposite gender? I wear a suit and tie from time to time. ^_^

Ratings:

Story – 6
Characters – 7

Overall – 7

After it was pointed out by Donna, we all agreed that the woman on the cover looks remarkably like Callista Flockhart. ^_^





Lesbian Comix: Definition and Potential

May 5th, 2007

Today’s review is a first for Okazu. Our Guest Reviewer, Jen, has made many dozens of comments here, but this is the first review she’s written for us. I’m thrilled beyond belief to introduce you all to such an original thinker, and funny, funny gal. Take it away Jen!

Forgive the stream-of-consciousness writing style of this review, as it wasn’t done in one sitting… despite the act of sitting itself being enjoyed thoroughly both times.Just finished Ariel Schrag’s DEFINITION, and the sequel POTENTIAL.

These are auto-biographical comics of Ariel’s experiences in school as an “omigod I lust after girls YAY ME!” lesbian. On the plus side; she wrote, drew and published at such a very young age. Attended comic cons to sell her wares, too. I am quite impressed.

Over the course of both volumes (earlier and latter works available) we marvel as Arial’s illustrative skill grows in parallel to her own character as she slowly (awkwardly, painfully, insert negative yet faintly nostalgic buzzword for teen experience HERE) wades her way through adolescence the way almost all of us did: Teens; you don’t live them, you merely survive them.

POTENTIAL is the perfect title for volume #2, as we are now quite familiar with Arial’s emotional highs and lows from the childish misadventures of DEFINITION, and now we hope for nothing but the best for her as she bravely does all she can to turn crushes into genuine sexual relationships with all the “you are my soul mate” type of sincerity that comes with such leaps of faith. And with that, the positives of these books begins to drain (“drain” now redefined in my vocabulary. That shows you the emotional attachment I now have to Arial by proxy.)

On the negative… well there’s a few, but it’s probably just me. Stepping back, volume #1 was mostly recurring tales of problematic family life, disturbing sweet-sixteen experiences and “let’s get drunk and see what really horrible things can happen to me and my girlfriends” type stories. These were her “Gee I must be bi” years, so she’s still actively seeking a boyfriend, all quite unnerving as Arial draws herself and those around her far smaller and vulnerable than a true sixteen year old would be depicted.

This mostly continues into POTENTIAL, where despite the “Yes I am in fact gay and it’s time to DO something about it” proclamation in the opening chapter, her strategy remains drinking heavily/doing drugs and then hoping something real good happens (guess the odds). It’s hard to empathize with someone who keeps doing that to herself (even though all her friends think this plan is a winner… and hey, “that’s what you do in school, right?”).

That brings me to my problem with most “comix”, that being they’re not fiction. Fictional Yuri stories *can* be created with in-depth characters and a story structure with a satisfying ending. With real life you get recurring awkward experiences with real people possessing frustrating/unexplainable behaviours that just leave you unsatisfied.

Add to the fact that the story is told quite openly with all sexual and emotional car wrecks recounted in detail, there’s a sharp sense of voyeurism I got from this. I didn’t get that with Alison Bechdel’s FUN HOME, but then that’s in NO way a fair comparison. Arial is chronicling her romantic/sexual encounters (not what you’d call happy nor enjoyable), coupled with her family life (ditto) in real-time with no real retrospective narrative. It’s not a comfortable read in any way.

My opinions on comix as a publishing sub-genre notwithstanding, I still wanna meet her and have her sign the books. That’d be awesome.

A quick visit to her website tells us that these and other works are currently being adapted into a movie, and that when not story writing for THE L WORD, she’s working on more self-publishing and is one year younger than me.

…excuse me while I wallow in a quick Marimite/chocolate combo before sleeping it off and enjoying another day of admin at a job I hate. -__-

Ratings:
Art – 8. Varies wildly in quality and style, but expressively loveable all the same.
Story – 7. Better to have loved and lost and had your heart shredded over and over and over and it keeps getting worse oh God than never to have loved at all.
Characters – 6. Filtered through Arial’s eyes, but all sufficiently messed up to be believably human.
Yuri – 9. She tried. She honestly did. Poor thing.
Service – 4. Girls having lotsa sex, all thoroughly devoid of any enjoyment whatsoever…could that possibly matter?

Overall – 7

Erica here: One of the reasons I wanted to publish this review, particularly, was Jen’s comments about the autobiographical nature of “comix.” It put me in mind of Takeuchi Sachiko’s Honey & Honey, and also Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home right away. I’m all for using Takeuchi’s phrase “comic essays” to categorize these works which are *clearly* meant to be read as non-fiction autobiography, rather than as a “graphic novel.” I encourage you all to help disseminate this genre label of “comic essay”. ^_^

Let’s all thank Jen for the fabulous review!





Lesbian Manga: Honey & Honey Deluxe

May 1st, 2007

Honey & Honey isn’t really a “Yuri” manga. It’s a manga about a lesbian couple, Sachiko and Masako (who is bi,) and their friends, some of whom are also sexual or gender minorities and some of whom are not – you know, like real people. It is also a biographical comic, written and drawn by Takeuchi Sachiko. Most interestingly, it runs in a mainstream magazine for women, Davinci, as a “Comic Essay.” And really, that’s a perfect description of what Honey & Honey is. (Thinking about it, this would be a good description for Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, as well.)

While the art isn’t terribly realistic, the storylines are. They go like this: Sachiko and Masako decide to go shopping. They look at glasses, and then shoes. Then they eat a crepe, and go home. And all the while, they are discussing things like the fact that they are on a date, what it means to be a couple, how the world perceives them and, most importantly, how much in love they are.

This all sounds sort of, “well, duh” but you know, it isn’t. Not at all. There are plenty of people for whom this would be revolutionary news – akin to aliens alighting – even here in my own beloved, mostly progressive, state.

So, when we watch Sachiko and Masako (and their transgender friends Kai and Kou) explain to straight friend Mai what it means to “be lesbian” or “be transgender” or any number of things that always seem self-evident, but just aren’t to a lot of people, it might feel a little preachy, but it isn’t meant that way at all. In the same way Rivkah described Steady Beat to me as having been written for Austin, Texas, this book was written for the average women of Tokyo – for whom sexual minorities are, really, aliens.

Other chapters include such amusing pastimes as shopping for “adult” toys, and attending any number of GLBT events, and the people that they meet.

There’s nothing dramatic in this series. That’s the point. It’s a slice-of-life look into a life that most people don’t live. It’s refreshingly normal, with a little heaviness on the “teaching” side. There are pages of term definitions and some facts about gender transitioning, and even recent LGBT history in Tokyo. None of those is to my taste – it gets in the way of the story for me, but I am not the target audience.

Overall, Honey & Honey is a sweet and mild look at lesbian life, with a good nature and gentle humor. Guaranteed to offend no one but those people who insist on being offended by the very existence of sexual minorities. If this were translated into English, it would be the thing you could give your relatives to explain the whole “gay thing” to them. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6 Intentionally silly/cute
Story – 6 Slightly bland but realistic
Characters – 6 No drama, but c’mon, we’re talking LGBTQ folks here! So unrealistic. ^_^
Lesbian – 10 A lesbian “onna-doushi love couple”
Service – 0 Not even the sex toy chapter has service

Overall – 6

I enjoyed the glimpse at beginning and end of the book of the characters drawn as if they were in more standard manga form. Kai and Kou in “shoujo manga” form made me laugh. Of course they are totally beautiful.

BGM: Cookie Day by Shonen Knife. (It’s a beautiful cookie day!)





Lesbian Novel: Himeyuri-tachi no Houkago

April 20th, 2007

This is me reading Himeyuri-tachi no Houkago:

^_^

o_o

o_O

O_O

I had absolutely no expectations of this book when I got it. Never read a single review, never even read the description. I bought it entirely based on the fact that Mori Natsuko is a famous lesbian author and I liked the title. ^_^ I was totally, completely unprepared for the kind of stories the book contains. It turned out to be a collection of “erotic fiction.” In other words, Himeyuri-tachi no Houkago was unremittingly filthy. It was also brilliant. This is *exactly* the kind of thing that makes spending all those hours learning to read Japanese worthwhile. ^_^

All the stories are short tales of emotional S&M and light B&D sometimes in a school setting, other times not. The way each story is constructed lets the reader know that the author is completely aware of how silly each premise is (and they get REALLY silly at times) and that she just doesn’t care, thanks. This is the kind of cheesy titillation that Strawberry Panic attempted, but came nowhere near the level of intelligence and artistry (and wtf-ness) that Mori-sensei attains here.

The first story was mostly a tale of emotional sadism in high school, but that was followed quickly by revenge against a school counselor who calls two girls’ relationship a “pseudo” love. Extra kudos to the protagonist, Miu, who pegs the teacher’s comment as a beard for her own gay leanings.

There’s the story that takes place in the future, when masturbation is an Olympic sport (I’m laughing as I type that, because the story is just…indescribably funny) and the hysterical story about the day when the aliens show up and demand to see a lesbian threesome in order to save the world. ^_^

My favorite story was the penultimate one in which an old-school sukeban gang girl type shows up at a rich girl’s school to challenge “the chief” – only to be tied up and tamed by the Student Council. Oh my god…so brilliant. I read this traveling home on the train – I hope my fellow passengers weren’t too freaked out by my fits of shrieking laughter. The last story is an homage to Mori’s horror roots, with a creepy sisters-by-marriage story with an unpleasantly ambiguous end.

And despite the absurd premises, this book was pretty hot. So bonus points for Mori, because that takes actual skill.

Ratings:

Story – 8 on average, with moments of 12
Characters – 8 on average
Yuri – 127
Service – 10

This book was so “stimulating” that I’ve already come up with two stories in homage to the sheer evil genius here. ^_^ I *must* read more by her…