Maree Claire
Department of English, Tsuda College, 2-1-1 Tsuda-machi, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo 187-8577, Japan.
J Lesbian Stud. 2007;11(3-4):291-301. doi: 10.1300/J155v11n03_11.
Although it would be safe to say that Lesbian Studies has never seriously been placed on the Japanese academic agenda, women-loving-women in Japan continue to individually and collectively desist from and resist heteronormative gender discourses. This paper first gives a brief overview of 'rezubian' communities since the 1970s and then outlines the Basic Law for a Gender Equal Society and the Law Concerning Special Rules Regarding Sex Status of a Person with Gender Identity Disorder; two recent laws that demonstrate contemporary regulatory gender discourses. In closing, I stress that the paradox of contemporary Japanese 'lesbian studies,' being almost nonexistent in the academe and continuously in development in the community, is clear only if we look at academic discourses alongside writings in both commercial and community publications.
尽管可以肯定地说，女同性恋研究从未被正式列入日本的学术议程，但日本的女同性恋者仍在个人层面和集体层面抵制异性恋规范的性别话语。本文首先简要概述了自20世纪70年代以来的“蕾丝边”群体，然后概述了《性别平等社会基本法》和《关于性别认同障碍者性身份的特别规定法》；这两部近期的法律体现了当代规范性别的话语。最后，我强调，当代日本“女同性恋研究”的悖论在于，在学术界几乎不存在，但在社会群体中却不断发展，只有当我们将学术话语与商业和社区出版物中的文章放在一起审视时，这一悖论才会清晰显现。
