2010年9月13日月曜日

Which countries are good for Japanes gays to live?




It looks like California is going to defeat Prop 8 and legalize gay marriage eventually. But, state marriage law does not allow international marriage between same sex couples. I like living in the U.S. (especially California) but this country is not easy to immigrate to for gay Japanese (or any gay persons from abroad).

I think there're two issues for gay immigrants. One is that if the country is easy to immigrate to. And another is that if the country is welcoming new (non-white) immigrants. In these regards, Canada may be ranked really high. The country is very liberal (and relatively easy) on accepting new immigrants compared with the U.S. I have been to Vancouver but more than half of the city's population is Asian. That may not mean Asian-friendly, though. (Some non-Asian locals might be anti-Asians because there are so many Asians.) Yet, there must be some positive reasons why there're so many Asian immigrants to Vancouver and overall Canada. Especially for gay couples, it is critical that same-sex marriage is legal in Canada, making it easier for gay Canadians to bring non-Canadian partners.

How about in Europe? There are quite a few countries allowing gay marriage or equivalent; UK, France, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and more have such measure. I really wish if the U.S. had legalized gay marriage, which would have made my life much easier -- at least to hold a legal residence and to work authorization in the U.S. Now it's less important for me because I'm getting my green card through my employer. But I had to stay with the company for many years. Yes MANY years. I postponed my career change because of my visa issues. I have forgone some salary increase and job opportunities. Furthermore, I had to spend more than $10,000 on legal expenses and other fees. What a waste of money and time. If I were heterosexual, I didn't have to spend any of the money and time. The U.S. brags about its history as a nation based on liberty and equality but there is still inequality in this country.

To be fair, I should also admit that Japan is extremely conservative in this matter. There's little discussion on same-sex marriage and consequent immigration issues. Nowadays it's more talked about whether the Japanese government should grant voting rights to foreign residents and if Japan should accept more foreign workers to fill the gap caused by declining population and expected shortage of young labor in Japan.

There's a famous Japanese writer, Usagi Nakamura (Noriko Nakamura), who married a gay man from Hong Kong because his Japanese visa was about to expire. They've been married for more than ten years, though they no longer live together - Nakamura says her husband found a Japanese boyfriend. But Nakamura and her husband still stay as great friends. When Nakamura feels lonely, she goes to her husband place to sleep over, she says. An interesting case.



Anyway, I have given up on living in Japan many years ago . . . I think many gay people fantasize about living abroad. In fact, there are so many gay flight attendants, showing some desire among gay men who want to be away from home. So did I. I was fantasizing about living abroad a lot when growing up. Now that I have lived in the U.S. for many years and got used to the country, I wonder more about if I there's a better country for gay Japanese to immigrate to.

My travel experience is limited and it's hard to get insights that you could get through actually living there. I would really like to hear from anyone who read my blog about your country's immigration status and local "temperature" toward same-sex couples and new immigrants.

Go Naked Run, Go!

慶応大学の1年生10名が全裸で駅構内を走り回ったので、今年のミス慶応コンテストが中止になったというニュースに疑問。


アメリカの大学じゃー、学生が全裸で走るNaked Runが結構、幅広く行われてるんだよ~。東部の名門大学、プリンストン大学ハーバード大学ブラウン大学ダートマス大学、そして中西部ではシカゴ大学ミシガン大学。カリフォルニアでは、UCバークレー、そししてLAではUCLAでUndie Runが行われてる。


名門大学ほど、こういう「バカ騒ぎ」に寛大な感じなのにね。日本ってこういうことに関しては本当にお堅いよねぇ。エネルギーが有り余ってる大学生が全裸で街中を走るなんて可愛らしいことじゃない。それを公然わいせつだなんて了見が狭すぎる。ま、大学に相談しなかった学生たちにも責任の一部はあるけど・・・果たして、慶応大学は学生から全裸で走り回りたいうという申請があった場合、許可してたかというのも大きな疑問だけどさ。

こういう若者の行動を許容できない社会っつーのは社会そのものの成熟度が低いんだと思う。一旦、日本を出て住み始めると、日本って中国とか韓国なんかとのほうがずっと近い社会なんだなぁって感じる。団体責任っていう考え方自体が、村社会の考え方を超引きずってるよね。世間とか、他人様に恥ずかしいとか、誰と特定できない年老いた大人の「良識」で、色んなことを試してみたい成長過程にある人の自由度を奪ってる。僕も日本に住んでたとき、そういう目に見えない「枠」みたいなのがとても窮屈に感じたなぁ。

日本の大学でもNaked Runが行われるくらい社会の寛容さが広がるといいな。
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