The AKB48 GL/yuri thread!

As soon as I saw the pictures I rushed over here to post them since Saeyaka is a favorite.





As for gay celebrities in Japan. There's two gravure models (Ayaka Ichinose, Natsuki Fujiwara), a fashion model (Hiromi), two politicians (Kanako Otsuji and Taiga Ishikawa), Kabachan and some bara mangaka. When I read Hiromi's blog, she said that it's very hard to come out in Japan and there's a lot of prejudice.

But they have shown progress with the law made by a politicians like gay married couples who are married overseas would be recognized as a couple in Japan.

 

Are you serious?? (I know you are XD) that's really good news. ;_; Maybe little by little things will get better.

ALSO THOSE SCANS ARE SERIOUSLY GODLY *_______*
I squealed like a kid in front of candies when I first saw them yesterday. ;__;

 

Oh wow, I didn't know that! [shock] Possibly relevant to my interests someday. ;;;

More babble on homosexuality in Japan 'cause it's really fascinating to me * A*

Spoiler

From everything I've learned about the GLBT community in Japan, it's not even just that it's hard to come out, it's that even if you do, you're supposed to be super quiet about it. Since such emphasis is put on everyone being essentially the same, completing the same life tasks of finding a career and getting married and having children, there isn't really space for a deviation like homosexuality. From my understanding, even if you do come out to family and close friends, you're just sort of expected to keep relatively quiet about it and not make a big stir. It's not so much part of one's "identity" like it can be in Western countries (at least, in the US) and instead just something you don't really talk about unless completely necessary. I'd really love to have a better understanding of it, though. * A*

... Anyway, here's a bigger version of that amazing Saeyaka photo~

 

SUPER OT UNPOPULAR OPINION COMIN'

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That's actually something I completely agree with. I mean, just because I like a girl I don't feel any different from anyone else. I refuse to let homosexuality be a defining trait of my "identity". Why should it be? I really don't get it. o__o Are straight people defined by their heterosexuality? No. So why should I be?
Btw I don't like talking about my feelings and love life anyway. I think it's not something you should discuss with people who are not close friends. :/
I want gay people to be see as normal people who just happen to like people of the same sex. I don't think it's anything to be "proud" about, nor to be ashamed of. It's not that just because I'm gay I have to go around telling everyone how gay I am or the details about my life or wear rainbow tin badges.

 

Since we're talking about homosexuality in Japan and Meccha told me to post this here since it's relevant.

Spoiler

You all know Sayaka is a regular on Wednesday Iitomo. Everyday, after the live broadcast finished, they have a small studio talk, which is sometimes (but rarely) aired on Sunday. And this is the report of studio talk from someone who attended Iitomo recording on 2011.05.11

Sayaka thinks there is lesbian in AKB 8D

 

Now I wonder who gropes the most

 

Sorry, short participation to OT :

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In fact, if there wasn't any, that would be a serious statistical oddity.

Totally agree with you it should be like this, but publicity and demands are still necessary for things to change (30 years ago homosexuality was against the law in my country, a little more than 20 years ago the World Health Organization was still considering it a mental illness, a few days ago a member of French Parliament publicly compared same sex love to zoophilia )

 

Spoiler

I agree so much. x__x I believe love is a natural thing no matter what sex the person you love is. I'm comfortable about my sexuality but the whole "I'M A HOMOSEXUAL. I MIGHT BE DIFFERENT, BUT I'M PROUD TO BE. NOW WATCH ME WAVE MY FLAG OF RAINBOWS IN YOUR FACE. |;" thing isn't really my thing. It makes me feel awkward and different, while I normally feel very normal.

 

I'm SO GLAD that she acknowledges that the two things are different... I hate when people assume lesbian = wants to be a man.

I have a squirrel-shaped idea

This is true, but still, I think that showing off as weird and different is not a help, instead, it strengthens the common belief that all gays are effeminate/masculine sex addict weirdos... I'd totally go to a normal manifestation for gay rights made of normal people, but no way in hell I'd show my face at the gay pride.
(I see that French parliament members and Italian ones have similar declarations sometimes... -___-)

All of this. Thank you Issa ;_;.

 

Spoiler

Where I live, most of the people I know who are gay are silent about it. Like they won't bring it up unless you ask them. Which has more to do my country's passive aggressiveness towards gays, but still. I do want to go to a pride parade once...since it's so colorful, I'd go to watch rather than to participate though.

Japan had their own last year of about 4,000 participants. The last one was in 2007. It looked really orderly and a photographer said that some people going about their lives, didn't know what was going on and just stopped to watch it. The event was set at Yoyogi Park and for the walk, they section off part of the road for them.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVWZzMZhH2E[/yt]

More pictures thanks to tumblr:

 

More Saeyaka

 

^ More on the above discussion~

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I do actually agree with you guys! I was mostly referring to my experience in the US (as someone living in areas where it's very safe to come out as gay, as opposed to more rural areas where it's still super taboo) is that it's easy in these places to "look gay," or make it a large part of one's identity. The town near ours apparently has more lesbian couples per capita than any city in the US, and is home to an all-girls' college well-known for being... well, pretty gay. Because of how safe it is to come out there, it's not uncommon to see lesbian (and gay, as there's a decent gay male population as well) couples holding hands in public, without fear of repercussion. Whether or not you agree with being so open with one's sexuality, you have to admit it's kind of nice. *shrug*

Personally, I don't go out of my way to make my sexuality part of my identity, either. I agree that it's not necessary. I don't really like talking about it more than I have to, but I am probably more open about it due to where I live and how generally accepted it is than you guys might be? Like, I wouldn't normally bring it up to classmates first thing, but if there's a reason that saying "my girlfriend" would be relevant, I usually would. Because while there is so much more to me than my sexuality, this person is a big part of my life, seeing as we live together and are together almost all the time. That said, there are some times that I'll just call her "my roommate" if I'm not completely comfortable calling her my girlfriend.

I guess I do believe that some degree of visibility is necessary to help facilitate gradual change. I'm not talking about the "WE'RE HERE, WE'RE QUEER, GET USED TO IT" in-your-face flag-waving, but gay couples being able to be themselves in public just as much as straight people are, or gay employees being able to talk to their coworkers about their significant others just as much as straight people are... I think those are things worth working towards, that I feel lucky that I'm able to do. I guess my hope is that by showing that gay people are completely normal and just happen to like members of the same sex, progress can be made with those who might be uncomfortable with it.

tl;dr I almost completely agree with you guys, but I think there is a balance somewhere between ultra-closeted/super-hushed Japan and letting one's entire identity be ruled by their sexuality. You don't have to be in others' faces to be out, sometimes it's just about showing that completely normal people can be gay, too. *shrug* /end rant

Similarly, I think it's awesome that she acknowledged transgender men in such a delicate and tasteful way. If the life for a lesbian in Japan is hard, I can only imagine the absolute invisibility FtMs must deal with (meanwhile MtF seems a LOT less taboo >__>)

Basically I've been trying to get bamboo to post that here since she shared it with us, 'cause I think it's amazing. Homosexuality + AKB is not something that's discussed ever, so for Sayaka to be so chill about it as a topic actually made me tear up when I first read it. In terms of "times it's necessary to come out" I'm not sure "to my oshi" would ever be one of those, but there's something really incredible to me about knowing that if she ever knew, she wouldn't mind. (And I'm not sure I believe the "but I don't know who" part of "I think there might be!" XDDD )

 

oh yeah~ people should change their mind now because it is now the twenty first century,
the idea from the past not always be the right one. things that people didn't think was right didn't mean that was wrong. I'm glade that they talked about it through the public because that is totally normal!!

 

Atsumina Fan 4ever!!!!

Spoiler

Acchan wants to marry Takamina!!!! here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1hu-XyDtI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

 

Get marry, please.

And then that guy went, "But you know, that's impossible." and I was like

 

I know right the dude ruined it but if they come to countries like Canada or US marriage is possible.

I just notice that AKB is the only idol girl group that I know of that likes girl like girl, in other words Yuri. So much Yuri stuff is going on in AKB and the pairing are really popular too.

 

I was going to post exactly that! Complete with emote.

In my mind, Acchan was like, "We'll see about that. ¬_¬" on the inside.

 

Oh yes, she probably was like that inside XD
That's one of my favorite things about Acchan.

Get married you two. Seriously.

 

Acchan.......
oh man, that guy shouldn't have said that cause we dont know what is gonna happen in the future!!!!
Acchan will marry Takamina~~~~

 

I seriously love how the girls in AKB48 do all that fan service for us LOL. :3 It's so easy to imagine everything >