Living Diversity: A Comparative View on Identity, Gender and Sexual Orientation in Contemporary Japan and Germany

In collaboration with:

German Embassy, Tokyo
Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Supported by TELL

Homogeneity is a myth. Diversity, on the other hand, has become a buzzword in Japan and elsewhere. It can be understood as both a chance for society to become more open and tolerant, or as a risk to grow heterogeneity and inequalities. This panel discussion will reflect what diversity means for a society and how this is connected to the reality of everyday life. By focusing on issues of identity, gender and sexual orientation in Japan, Germany and beyond, we bring together two activists and a scholar who address multiple dimensions of diversity:

İpek İpekçioğlu is a queer-living DJ, producer, and curator as well as a graduate of social pedagogy. She founded AMUSO, a workshop for migrants with diverse sexual orientations, and GLADT, an association of gays & lesbians from Turkey. Moreover, she co-authored the book “Lebenswelten von Migrantinnen und Migranten in Berlin“ (Living environment for migrants in Berlin, 2001).

Tomoya Hosoda was elected in 2017 as councilor for the city of Iruma (Saitama Prefecture). He is the second Japanese openly transgender person elected into a public office. In his work, he is aiming at helping to create a system that embraces diversity and respects minorities by supporting issues of LGBTQ, disabled and elderly people.

Akiko Shimizu, Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo, is conducting research on non-normative bodies and queer and feminist visual theories. Furthermore, she is the organizer of the annual lecture series “Introduction to Queer Theory at Komaba”. One of her publications is Welcome to Our Gay-Friendly Town: Space and Sexual Minorities (jp.) (Gendai Shisō 43, 2015).

Download: Event report (PDF, 38KB)