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hello everyone! this is a thread on nonbinary identities in Japan (and I'll do a thread on the rest of East Asia soon)
In Japan, they have a similar umbrella term to nonbinary
"X-Gender" (which is only used in Japanese speaking countries"
Often, if you're transmasc nb, in Japan-speaking boards, you would use FtoX and if transfem, MtoX
"X-Gender" (which is only used in Japanese speaking countries"
Often, if you're transmasc nb, in Japan-speaking boards, you would use FtoX and if transfem, MtoX
There are some terms also included in X-gender such as
Agender - Mu-sei
Bigender - Ryo-sei
and Intergender - Chuu-sei
Agender - Mu-sei
Bigender - Ryo-sei
and Intergender - Chuu-sei
Intergender means you want to be the "inbetween" of genders, so neutral
Agender and Bigender is the same as the English definition
Agender and Bigender is the same as the English definition
Here's a infographic by @/chii_gid_mtf about it!
Often X-gender is also used for questioning binary trans people so they use it until they understand their identity better and choose a better label for themselves!
on Japan online boards, Seibutstu ( 性別 ) refers both to gender in the ideological/identity sense and in biological sex, so what X-gender people do is that they put in their "Seibutsu" in the gender selection then elaborate on their actual gender in another part 1/2
such as a bio or username
In many cases as well, they also use XtoX (X-gendered to X-gendered), which is also a good way to not talk about your AGAB as well
X-gender as a term was introduced in the 1990s within Japanese queer communities in the Kansai area, specifically Osaka and Kyoto and whilst difficult to pinpoint its origins, it first began showing up in queer publications during that era
the most well-known mention was in 1994 in G-Front Kansai which advocated and wanted to promote the acceptance of LBGT people. It was brought up as an useful term in the glossary and was used to describe individuals in the book (although the people didn't use it for themselves)
One of the individuals, Morita Shinichi, was described as a seidōitsuseishōgai gei (gay with GID [Gender Identity Disorder]) who wanted society to be free of gender, jenda-furi. They were a transfem nby person, MTFTX.
Jenda-Furi was an ideal where prejudice would no longer exist towards gender/sex as described by Morita themself as " not rejecting sex/gender (seibetsu), but rather advocates eliminating prejudice and discrimination based on sex/gender "
Its next appearance was in non-fiction as in 2000, Seidouitsuseishougai — seitenkan no ashita by Yoshinaga Michiko was released and while written by a cis person about GID, Morita was quoted about X-Gender as the following
'there exists no word for transsexual or transgendered individuals who do not clearly aim to be distinctly male or female. As such, I just use the term "x-jendā" to talk about my way of being'
in 2006, Tanaka Ray published a series of essays about transgender issues in Japan. Tanaka Ray was the producer od 
？
？※？and was a FTM X-gendered pansexual polygamous person
？？※？and was a FTM X-gendered pansexual polygamous person
*of, sorry typo
Throughout 2006 to 2008 within media, works such as Kuia Sekusorojī by Mia Nakamura and Toransu ga wakarimasen!! by ROS mentioned and often spoke of X-gender with ROS in particular celebrating and promoting gender fluidity and variance!
The exposure and spread of X-gender as a term continued online! Often blogs were created and managed by X-gendered individuals and spoke about their experiences with gender
They made this evident with the terms
FtX no chakuchiten o sagase!!! (Let's find a place for FTX to land!!!)
Seibetsu ga nai. To iu kankaku (FtX. Sex, no-sex. The feeling of being without sex)
FtX no chakuchiten o sagase!!! (Let's find a place for FTX to land!!!)
Seibetsu ga nai. To iu kankaku (FtX. Sex, no-sex. The feeling of being without sex)
Various japanese social media such as Blogmura, Ameba and Mixi house X-gendered. On Mixi alone, over 4500 people each are in the two biggest X-Gender groups and X-Gender ranked on Ameba and Blogmura, having enough significance to do so
Not only that, even Twitter is a hotspot for X-Gendered people! Many of which organize meetups and Twitter allow them to debate and talk about their issues with each other
Now! We move unto how nonbinary people in Japan express themselves with pronouns
Pronouns are often "gendered" but in a sense of masculine and feminine where any gender can use them, depending on their gender identity or standing
watashi is the most common and is often feminine in casual context but is used by all genders
ore is masculine but is increasingly used by all genders as well, often associated with "roughness"
ore is masculine but is increasingly used by all genders as well, often associated with "roughness"
Jibun, while often used more by men, is actually gender neutral as all genders use it the most. it's reflective and while *less common* than, ore, watashi and boku is incredibly helpful if you're nonbinary and want a more gender neutral pronoun
boku itself is more associated with young boys/men
but guess what? Like the rest of these pronouns, they're also used in a gender neutral way! As a result, many nonbinary people in Japan use these selection of pronouns to express themselves
but guess what? Like the rest of these pronouns, they're also used in a gender neutral way! As a result, many nonbinary people in Japan use these selection of pronouns to express themselves
here's a post here explaining how to use them when talking about your gender identity https://queerascat.tumblr.com/post/149940951871/how-do-i-tell-someone-im-non-binary-in-japanese
and!
We have reached the end!
All sources and extra reading are here:
http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue31/dale.htm#n38
https://www.abnrmljapan.com/home/nonbinary-in-japan
https://genderqueerid.com/post/46526429887/selected-links-on-non-binary-gender-in-japan https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/queer-japanese/
We have reached the end!
All sources and extra reading are here:
http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue31/dale.htm#n38
https://www.abnrmljapan.com/home/nonbinary-in-japan
https://genderqueerid.com/post/46526429887/selected-links-on-non-binary-gender-in-japan https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/queer-japanese/
DISCLAIMER:
Please keep in mind this is a cultural experience among Japanese people and I myself am not Japanese! I don't hold the experiences X-gender people do!
Please keep in mind this is a cultural experience among Japanese people and I myself am not Japanese! I don't hold the experiences X-gender people do!
As a result, if you are *not* Japanese, you should not use X-gender!
