ABSTRACT
In this chapter I situate my research within the fields of Japanese Studies and Gender Studies. Specifically, I refer to theories of gender performativity to explain crossdressers’ embodiment of masculinity and wish for self-expression, and I analyze the dansō escort work as a form of emotional labour, inscribing it into the wider landscape of sociological literature already produced on the topic. I also address the role that fantasy plays in the business of emotions of which dansy escorting is part.
