“Compare and discuss a social issue or challenge
currently facing youth in Australia and Japan.
How are both countries addressing the problem?”
Homophobia in Japan and Australia
“So much of the queerness in Japan seemed to be a performance
for straight people. When the televisions finally turned off,
most straight people went about their business assuming that
they didn’t know any queer people themselves. For the country
with the most colourful television in the world, Japan felt like
it was only just coming out of the black-and-white era” (Benjamin
Law. Gaysia. Collingwood, Vic.: Black, 2012)
Homophobia is currently a central issue facing both the youth of Australia and Japan.
Homophobia is the term used for the fear, hatred, aversion to or discrimination against
homosexual people. Japan’s and Australia’s attitudes towards homosexuality are fairly different.
Overall the attitude in Japan could be described as ambivalent; if homosexuality is not flaunted
around they can live with it. In contrast, Australian attitudes are more homophobic, but in some
ways more welcoming to gay people than Japan. Both countries have devised strategies to
combat homophobia with the mutual goal to create a friendly environment for gay youth.
Coming out in Japan is an extremely difficult task for youth. Right from the time Japanese
people enter school they are discouraged from being different and are not expected to diverge
from what society perceives as “normal”. Social conformity in Japan is one of the most
important things, but the problem with this is that it requires gay people to “stay in the closet”.
This creates an environment in which gay youth do not feel comfortable in “coming out of the
closet” as they will immediately be labelled as different, which, in Japan is not a good thing. In
2012 a 12 year old school boy committed suicide after being bullied about his sexuality; after an
investigation into this case it was found the teachers had done very little to prevent it and
dismissed the bullying as “play” 1. The most common form of bullying is when a whole class
simply ostracizes one child. When a child thinks that taking their own life is the only way out of
what’s happening to them, there is obviously something drastically wrong with society.
In Australia there is a lot more blatant homophobia towards gay people after coming out. A
startling survey conducted by “Open Doors”, an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender) support group, revealed that 37 per cent of LGBT school students had attempted
suicide in the last 12 months and 82 per cent had considered it. 81 per cent said they had been
bullied about their sexuality2. These shocking statistics illustrate the extreme level of homophobia
present in Australian schools. “That’s so gay” is possibly one of the most used phrases at any
Australian high-school. These days it appears that the word “gay” has become synonymous with
bad, wrong and basically anything people don’t like. Each time a gay person hears this they are
driven to the ideology that being gay is a bad, wrong and an unlikeable thing therefore
discouraging them from coming out as gay to their peers. This is not nearly as much of a
problem in Japan, where derogatory language is not as commonly used and gay has not become a
synonym for bad and unlikable.
While more people in Australia come out than in Japan the treatment they receive in Australia is
often worse. Another Australian survey shows that in the 14-17 age group over 30 per cent of
people believe homosexuality to be immoral. Homophobia decreases in the 18-24 range when
youth are more mature and better educated3. In Japan people are often reserved, not sharing
their problems or discussing things about their lives publicly. They keep things behind closed
doors which is what is expected of gay people. Most Japanese do not have anything against
homosexuality as long as it is not flaunted around. They are aware of its presence but adopt an
ambivalent attitude towards it.
The ways gay people are portrayed in Japanese media is another key issue relating to the
acceptance of gays and the level of homophobia. On TV in Japan gay people are everywhere.
This, in some ways is a good thing. Ai Haruna, an immensely popular transsexual TV personality
is a perfect example of this. In interviews she describes her struggles as a teenager hiding her true
self and then finally the liberation that came from finding people just like her. She gives courage
to other transsexual women in Japan to be comfortable with who they are. She is just one of
many popular LGBT role models. But do they really represent all LGBT people? This is where
the problem lies. On TV every single gay man is very, very feminine. For most people this is the
only representation of gay people they ever see. Gay people are seen as a show for straight
people, not actually being part of real daily life when in fact one in ten people are gay. Also there
is a complete absence of lesbians and non-feminine gays on TV. How does this affect the gay
youth of Japan? In Australia there is a wider spectrum and understanding of who gay people can
be. This could be attributed to the positive role models in the media and also the fact that more
people come out. Some positive role models for youth in Australia include radio presenter, Tom
Ballard, Olympic diver, Mathew Mitcham, model, musician and TV presenter, Ruby Rose,
politician, Bob Brown and comedian, Josh Thomas. These role-models broaden our preconceived views of gay people.
Homophobia is a challenge that gay youth in Australia and Japan are struggling to overcome.
That’s why many organisations in both countries are working tirelessly to tackle the problem and
also to help gay youth become comfortable with who they are. In Japan, there is just one
organisation dedicated to LGBT youth. “Haato o Tsunagou Gakou” meaning “Connected
Hearts School” was set up following the Government’s historic announcement of the need for
teen suicide prevention and support for LGBT youth. “We will aim to save as many sexual
minority youth as possible by delivering our message that it’s OK,” said Fumino Sugiyama, the
co-founder of the project4. The website includes video messages from LGBT people
communicating to youth the message “It gets better”. The site also provides information about
what it means to be LGBT and organises events for youth.
In Australia there is an abundance of LGBT support aimed at youth. The largest of these
organisations is Minus18, accessed by over 97,000 youth every year5. Their intention is to create a
safe environment in which LGBT youth feel that they belong. They provide mental health
support, offer a social networking platform to meet other LGBT youth, organise social events
and provide a plethora of resources for youth. Minus18 promotes acceptance of homosexuality
through their social media sites and also by creating engaging posters and handouts. Another
strategy being used in Australia is a new program for schools which includes the normalisation of
homosexuality. This educates students from a young age that it’s completely normal to be gay
and that heterosexuality is not the only definition of normal. "With more and more GLBT
students reporting homophobic bullying in school-based settings, a specific program addressing
this issue is clearly needed.”6 Currently 54 schools are signed up for the program7.
Attitudes towards gay people still have a long way to go before everyone can feel comfortable
being who they are. Homophobia will be a prevalent issue with youth for many years to come.
The efforts of both Australia’s and Japan’s organisations will help youth along the way, coming
to terms with who they are, educating about homosexuality and extinguishing homophobia
altogether. For gay teens, feeling comfortable with yourself is hard enough without the pressure
of having to come out to unpredictable reactions. Many gay youth around Australia have not
completely come out to their peers due the possibility of homophobic bullying and the
uncertainty of how their friends will react. All of these attitudes are slowly changing and
hopefully in the distant or not so distant future homophobia will no longer be a social issue that
youth must overcome. Japan and Australia are at very different levels with this issue but we are
both connected by the same need to develop solutions.
Foot Notes
1 "12
Year Old Schoolboy Commits Suicide in Sapporo after Bullying." The Japan Daily Press.
<http://japandailypress.com/12-year-old-schoolboy-commits-suicide-in-sapporo-after-bullying0611350>.
2 "Bullying 'pushing Homosexual Students to Suicide'" - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-11-11/bullying-pushing-homosexual-students-to-suicide/201864>.
3 "Mapping Homophobia in Australia." July 2005.
<http://www.glhv.org.au/files/aust_inst_homophobia_paper.pdf>.
4 Mochizuki,
Takashi. "Antibullying Project to Launch in Japan After Recent Teen Suicides."Advocate.com.
15 Aug. 2013. <http://www.advocate.com/society/youth/2012/09/07/antibullying-project-launchjapan-after-recent-teen-suicides>.
5
"About Us." Minus18. 15 Aug. 2013. <http://minus18.org.au/index.php/about-us>.
6 "NSW
Govt Commits to Anti-homophobia in Schools Project." - Gay News Network. 15 Aug. 2013.
<http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/nsw-govt-commits-to-anti-homophobia-in-schools-project7116.html>.
"Safe Schools Programs." 2012. 15 Aug. 2013.
<http://family.org.au/archive/index.php?option=com_content>.
7
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