May 17 – International Day Against Homophobia
As I’ve listened and watched the debates over same-sex marriage and gays in the military happening in the U.S. especially the case of the Arabic translator and Iraqi veteran, Lt. Dan Choi. I’ve often wondered about the LGBT community here in Japan. I’ve found that it’s an especially taboo topic here in Sendai while that does not seem to be as big of an issue in larger cities like Osaka or Sapporo. On May 17, several cities around the world as well as here in Japan held marches and events to raise public awareness about homophobia. This year’s theme was about Transphobia and gender identity.
In Sendai, we passed out flyers that explained what homophobia is and how this movement started in 2005 on the anniversary of the day that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially removed homosexuality from their list of mental disorders. We also had a 3 question survey which asked (1) if you believe that there are people in your community who struggle with their gender identity; (2) if you personally struggle with your gender identity; and (3) if you have heard of the movie Milk starring Sean Penn. Participants were asked to place stickers on a large poster board which had boxes for yes and no responses. Everyone who answered the survey got coupons for 300 yen off a ticket to see the movie Milk in theaters.
It was a difficult event because of heavy rains and the more famous Aoba Matsuri happening across town. But, everyone who came out did their best to call attention to this cause. Two participants had written a theme song for the event and sang along to their guitar. Unfortunately, very few people stopped but I was impressed by the spirit of the staff members of the event who stayed energetic despite the cold and rain. The people who did stop, though, asked intelligent questions and I think they left with a higher awareness than when they came.
http://idahomophobia.org/
