nonny · 1y
i've noticed that western ppl in general just don't seem to understand okama/otokonoko/etc. archetypes. i'm not one to be like "haha dumb westerners" bc i am one but i feel like there is a problem when they shoehorn everything through a "western" lens of gender/presentation instead of recognizing things are different across cultures... obviously there are trans people and characters in japan but a lot of people don't leave any room for nuance
CONTINUED ASK: prev otokonoko anon (forgot to add this part lol) but i also don't get the disconnect on how english speaking ppl understand effeminate western gays that refer to each other with feminine pronouns and terms like sis queen girl etc and use those terms for themselves but if its in another language that automatically means they identify as the other gender 😭 obviously gay culture isnt 1:1 but the okama archetype is pretty similar to the "flamer" gay stereotype
--- ANSWER ---
yesss i was just thinking of how drag queens can call each other she and it's nbd 😭 and it'd probably be a poor taste joke NOW once i went to an irl drag show and one queen had a whole in-character bit about getting a sex change and then regretting it... and it doesn't mean they actually want to be women or don't identify as men in their everday lives. I MEAN there's been a lot of historical overlap for a reason too (but that's a different tangent)!
this is a bigger conversation but i don't think it's just western people viewing things elsewhere through their western lens. i think there's been a real loss of understanding gender nonconformity and general fuckery with roles by gay people as part of our culture, and it's a huge shame.
