Stepping-up: ‘Urban’ and ‘queer’ cultural capital in LGBT and queer communities in Kansai, Japan

Abstract

This article argues that the Bourdieusian concepts of field, habitus and cultural capital open up theoretical space in which to analyse the hierarchical nature of LGBT and queer communities living in the Kansai region of Japan. Drawing upon data collected during ethnographic fieldwork, this article will show how ‘urban’ and ‘queer’ forms of LGBT-activist practice acted as a kind of cultural capital (in the form of symbolic capital) within the groups studied. The possession of and ability to engage in specific ways with these cultural capitals determined the respondents’ positions in the field. However, access is not universal, and is determined by context. Furthermore, the processes involved in a renegotiation of an individual’s position in the field can bring multiple habitus into contact, resulting not only in instances of successful transfer, but also tension and rupture. This article provides an original and timely contribution to sexuality and gender studies of Japan, by adding a detailed analysis of the ways in which cultural capital plays out in the field using ethnographic data.

“The Hawkins bubble”: How a private, religious college supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other gender and sexual minority students to thrive.

“…Previous scholars have utilized practice theory with LGBTQ+ populations to understand hierarchical structures within specific, adult queer communities (Wallace, 2020), but not college aged groups. Interestingly, Wallace (2020) proposed that the concepts of field, capital, and habitus open up possibilities to apply theory to queer communities; however, this study only focused on activism as a form of cultural capital in the community.…”

A Different Kind of Transgender Celebrity: From Entertainment Narrative to the “Wrong Body” Discourse in Japanese Media Culture

“…Satsuki’s arrival can also be situated within several Japanese media booms of trans and queer visibility, such as the 1980s new-half boom, 2000s onē-kyara (queen-character) boom and, since the 2010s, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) boom. 5 Whereas the earlier two booms entail the frequent appearances of onē-tarento and new-half tarento in print and televisual media in the 1980s and 2000s respectively, the LGBT boom refers to a more recent spread of the term “LGBT” as a way of enlightening the public about sexual minority issues (Mitsuhashi 2008; Wallace 2020). 6 Maree (2020) posits that these booms emerge from a perpetual recycling of these personalities in a bid to entertain and encourage consumption.…”

“… 6. Granted, the LGBT boom has been met with equal suspicion and optimism among sexual minorities themselves, and backlash such as Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Sugita Mio’s outright discrimination of LGBT people (Osaki 2018; Wallace 2020). …”