ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how queer popular culture texts can operate as a form of artistic activism within heteronormative and homophobic social contexts. Specifically focusing on Japanese manga comics, it reveals the activist potentials of Japanese queer popular culture in both Japan and the Philippines. Situating gay manga artist Tagame Gengoroh within a broader history of gay cultural critics and activists in Japan, the chapter explores how his mainstream work acts as a pedagogical tool that both confronts homophobia in Japan and challenges other heteronormative values such as the nuclear family. The chapter then draws upon interviews with Philippine fans of gay manga who identify as activist to elucidate how they view manga comics as tools to both educate broader Filipino society about LGBT concerns and address issues of body-shaming in the Philippines’ gay male community. Uniting the two case studies, the chapter argues that Tagame has emerged as an important activist voice concerning LGBT issues globally, charting his rise as a cultural critic in both Japan and Asia more broadly.
