Alternative Worlds in Akihabara: The Rise of Contemporary Josō and Dansō Cultures
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Published:December 2024
Mapping the rise of dansō (female-to-male cross-dressing) and josō and otoko no ko (both referring to male-to-female cross-dressing) since the 2000s, chapter 3 shifts to Akihabara as an important, if unexpected, site for new categories and nonnormative practices to emerge. Although its pink economies are different from those discussed in chapter 2, Akihabara remains a fertile environment for young amateurs’ heightened practices, consumption, and commercialization of josō and dansō—known in the chapter as the first wave of contemporary josō and dansō cultures. Drawing on conversations with interlocutors at two josō and dansō café-and-bars, this chapter posits that their gender innovation was facilitated by Akihabara’s pericapitalist material conditions in the mid-2000s through an array of media, services, and establishments by and for josō and dansō individuals.
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