IGWS Newsletter Vol. 48

  • Report of the 37th IGWS Seminar
  • Report of the 3rd Performance Presentation, “Expression Exercise of Gender Diversity”
  • A Message from the New Director
  • Essay: “Break Away from Own Stereotypes! : As a ‘Border-crossing’ Practitioner and ‘Border-crossing’ Researcher”
  • Essay: “ ‘Voice’ and Gender : A Reflection of Gender for the Performing Arts”

Report of the 37th IGWS Seminar: “How to Change Men and How Men Change: Think about this issue from the Viewpoint of Care”

Speaker: Mr. Ryo Hirayama (Researcher of Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology)

On June 17, 2019, we invited Mr. Ryo Hirayama.
 First of all, the gender roles we perceive are not directly related to human behavior. Gender is determined by how we view and interpret it.
 Care, on the other hand, is related to management and dominance. Care and dominance are similar in that “you can do whatever you want.” However, if you keep thinking, "I don't know this person in the end” or “Is this care really what she or he wants,” then care is not related to dominance.
 People view a man who wants to care for his family as “special”, e.g., a "family man" or "nice son." The standard for “nice” is lower for men than for women, so men tend to be more vulnerable to domination because the standards are different. The number of men who are caregivers is on the rise, but that has not changed the way men are and does not mean that men have been freed from their sexual roles. We can say that men have changed when we can build a relationship of care that is distinguishable from one of domination.

Report of the 3rd Performance Presentation, “Expression Exercise of Gender Diversity”

 The general education subject at ASU, “Expression Exercise of Gender Diversity I & II," is a distinctive subject about making a play with the theme of gender. This year, on August 31 (Saturday), we performed as an announcement performance at the Nanatsudera Joint Studio in Osu, Nagoya City. There were 92 people, including non-members, at the venue to see our work.

A Message from the New Director, Prof. Susanne Miyata, a professor at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

 From 2019, I took over as director from Kayoko Watanabe. This institute is in its 24th year this year. We conduct a wide range of research and educational activities from giving various lectures and workshops to book browsing services and offering courses. I hope I can help a little while being encouraged by my predecessors and the members of the Steering Committee. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to working with you.

Essay: “Break Away from Own Sterotype! : As a ‘Border-crossing’ Practitioner and ‘Border-crossing’ Researcher”

Ms. Noriko Shibuya, a part time lecturer at ASU, sent us an essay.

 There were many unexpected developments in my life, and I was thinking repeatedly to "Break away from my own stereotypes!” "Stereotype" is valuable and conventional wisdom that we assume is obvious.
 In 2005, I established the NPO Sankaku-Planet and became the representative director. At the same time, the organization became responsible for the designated management of municipal facilities. As the director of the facility, I often face a variety of problems, from which I have a tendency to find problems. That led me to go to the Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University, and in June, 2019 I published NPO and Labor Law: Challenges of NPO and Labor Law for Building a New Civil Society.
 Since 2017, I have been a part-time lecturer about "Gender and Society" at Aichi Shukutoku University. The theme of the lecture is "Break Away from Our Own Stereotypes!” At the end of the semester, students have time to think about ways to increase others’ awareness of gender. With students, I am continuing to do fulfilling research that bridges theory with practice.

Essay: “ ‘Voice’ and Gender : A Reflection of Gender for the Performing Arts”

Ms. Aya Kawakami, a lecturer at the Faculty of Global Culture and Communication at ASU, sent us an essay.

 My musical life began in Singapore where I spent my childhood. One day, from the moment I first watched the West Side Story video, it became my dream to play Maria on stage. A few years later, Singapore's largest theater company unveiled a performance of Sound of Music, and I was able to get a role in a general audition as a child’s part.
 As a soprano singer, my roles were limited to performing “feminine” roles in many musicals, operas and plays. The tendency to place women in stereotypically feminine roles is stronger for women than it is for me.
 For the musical work I wrote for the first time, I set the character to be unrelated to voice quality, including my role, but to be honest, I struggled very hard. Voices that seem to fit a particular gender or role have a tradition that may have long been made and are difficult to reverse. The answer to this theme has not been found yet, but I would like to try new ways of expression on every stage.
 Currently I am the director of theatrical company, THEATER IRIDESCENCE, in Japan and works as general director of art. Although I want to give more women more varied roles, I often face the challenge of running a high quality theater company with minimal training time.


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