Where in the World Are the Lesbians?

LGBTQ+ studies; LESBIANISM; SAME-sex relationships; LESBIANS; MALE Homosexuality in Modern Japan: Cultural Myths & Social Realities (Book); HOMOSEXUALITY; HUMAN sexuality; SEXUAL orientation

The article discusses the juncture of sexual and transnational politics of research on same-sex love in Asia and concurs that it is crucial to attend to the historiographical and geopolitical politics that shape such research. Studies of same-sex love in Japan and China make reference to the separate conceptualization of men's and women's sexuality. Mark McLelland chose to ignore the existence of lesbian social and political communities in Japan when he wrote the book "Male Homosexuality in Modern Japan." In the book he points out that lesbians and gay men in Japan rarely interact, and that gay Japanese men are as misogynist as men in the general population. The essay "Japan: Finding Its Way" provides a counterpoint to the male-centered perspective of McLelland. It begins with an analysis of the attempts at lesbian and gay political organization in Japan and documents an increase in lesbians who are involved in lesbian and gay activism.