photos: elliott fukui , j j ueunten, mia yamamoto, tomo hirai, a.t. furuya
On the Frontiers of Gender Identity
Sunday, March 21st, 4 pm
Learn from transgender-identified Japanese Americans about coming out in Nikkei communities that stress conformity. How did older Japanese Americans deal with their transgender identities in an era of rigid gender roles? How are transgender youth and young adults forging awareness within Nikkei communities and beyond? How can Japanese Americans support family and friends across the gender spectrum? Participants: Elliott Fukui, Tomo Hirai, JJ Ueunten, Mia Yamamoto, A.T. Furuya (moderator)
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RELATED PROGRAMS
Seeing LGBTQ Nikkei – The experiences of LGBTQ+ Japanese Americans are seldom the focus of community attention. Yet, the wisdom of LGBTQ Nikkei – forged through confrontations with racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism – is a vital resource as we create a more inclusive and compassionate society. Join us for this series of programs centered on the perspectives and insights of different generations of LGBTQ Japanese Americans. Seeing LGBTQ Nikkei, a series of programs, is a collaboration of J-Sei and Okaeri, with funding support by Masto Foundation.
Perspectives: Queerness, Ethnicity and Gender in the Arts – April 18, 4:00 pm (PST)
Artists reflect and interpret cultural anxieties while also creating visions that inspire us to consider alternatives to current realities. How have ethnic identity, gender, and sexual orientation influenced the works of queer Nikkei artists? What other factors have impacted LGBTQ+ Japanese American artists of different generations? Participants: Rey Fukuda, Jill Guillermo Togawa, Nikiko Masumoto, Michael Matsuno, traci kato-kiriyama (moderator) This series is a collaboration between J-Sei and Okaeri in association with the exhibit Seen and Unseen: Queering Japanese American History Before 1945.
Speaker Bios
Elliott Fukui (he/him) is an organizer, facilitator and trainer with two decades of experience working with Queer, Trans, Mad, Disabled, low income and BIPOC communities. He has a special love and passion for movement history, coalition and solidarity work, popular education, and abolishing systems that keep folks in cages physically, spiritually, and mentally. Currently he’s on the Education Team of Fireweed Collective and runs Mad Queer Organizing Strategies, scheming with and supporting Disabled and Mad folks surviving the apocalypse. He’s also working on a Sci-Fi/Fantasy book for kids experiencing forced treatment and/or detainment.
Tomo Hirai is a queer trans Shin-Nisei writer and artist working out of the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a staff writer for the Nichi Bei Weekly and an editor for Anime Feminist. Her latest credited project is for the cyberpunk tabletop adventure game: Hard Wired Island, where she served as one of the game’s diversity and sensitivity consultants. Her artistic credits include A Place of Her Own, featured at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art and J-Sei.
JJ Ueunten is a queer yonsei Okinawan and Japanese person, who was raised in Honolulu, Hawai’i, before moving to the Chicago area 20 years ago. They serve as the Community Engagement Coordinator at the Japanese American Service Committee. They are also part of Nikkei Uprising, a group of Japanese American activists in Chicago working toward the collective liberation of all people, and Tsuru for Solidarity. Though it’s on pause right now, they have a massage practice called Blue Turtle Bodywork, which strives to center the needs of queer and trans people of color.
Mia Yamamoto is a Japanese-American transgender woman, former public defender and current criminal defense and civil rights lawyer, past President, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, past President, Japanese American Bar Association, past President, Asian Pacific American Women Lawyer’s Alliance. Co-founder, Multi-Cultural Bar Alliance, co-founder, Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Board member, International Bridges to Justice, an international human rights organization dedicated to defending accused persons and eliminating investigative torture worldwide. She is a recipient of a number of awards, including one of the inaugural Stonewall Awards for the American Bar Association, as well as from Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Bar Association, and Philippine American Bar Association. She is a frequent commentator in print and television media.
a.t. furuya (moderator) is a queer transgender yonsei born and raised on Kumeyaay land also known as San Diego. a.t. experienced unstable housing throughout their childhood mostly growing up in Barrio Logan and a flower shop run by their mom and aunt. They are a U.S. Historian with an emphasis on the experience of Japanese American women who were incarcerated during WWII and LGBTQ history. They continue to challenge systemic oppression in institutions they are working in, within their communities, and themself. a.t. is the first Japanese American to receive a nonbinary gender marker in United States. a.t. currently works at a national nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion in K-12 schools. a.t. and their spouse Dominic are full time caretakers for Aunty Joy, their sweet dog Mochi, and their bunny Mina.