Hi there! My name is Masaki. I’m a Japan-based queer writer and YouTuber who creates stuff mostly about and against heteropatriarchy. Follow me on Twitter and subscribe to my YouTube channels (English & Japanese).
I studied sociology of gender and sexuality in college (International Christian University, Tokyo) and graduate school (the University of Chicago), researching mostly straight women’s fight against sexism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia.
My preferred gender pronouns are they/them but you can use he/him if you are too used to calling me that.
Most of the time, I write and make videos for free. If you find what I do good or at least meaningful, please consider donating via Paypal by tapping the button below. Thank you!
I’ve been freelancing since 2015 as a writer and speaker on various topics pertaining to gender and sexuality. Publishers include Seidosha, wezzy, wotopi, and Human Rights Association for Korean Residents in Japan. Hosts include universities, queer activist groups, professional associations, and ethnic minority groups.
My writings in English can be found in the blog section.
If you’re considering to invite me to speak at your event or in class, here’s a sample lecture and video. Please reach me at chicomasak[at]gmail[dot]com for business inquiries.
For more information, visit my Japanese website.
Events & media appearances
- 2021 | LGBT+ Japan Online Panel at Hyper Japan Online 2021
- 2021 | Guest lecture at Montana State University, “Being Queer in a Suburb in Japan.” (online)
- 2020 | Guest lecture at Otemae University, “LGBTQ+: Outside the Framework of Freedom and Choice.” (online)
- 2019 | Guest lecture at Otemae University, “You Speak Good (Bigoted) English!”
- 2019 | Documentary film QUEER JAPAN by Graham Kolbeins
- 2019 | PinkNews Snapchat story series “Being Gay in Japan is HARD” (accessible only via smartphone apps)
- 2018 | Chatty AF (Anime Feminist Podcast) Episode 72 “BL Manga” with Devin Randall and Vrai Kaiser
- 2018 | Guest lecture at Aoyama Gakuin University, “Bad Like A Native: Learning English as a minority (especially queer) person.”
- 2018 | Speak Out! Japan’s LGBTQ+ Community Responds to Politician Sugita’s Discriminatory Statements (Anime News Network)
- 2018 | Gay Japanese Vlogger Discusses Boys-Love in English-Subtitled Video (Anime News Network)
- 2017 | Guest lecture at Aoyama Gakuin University, “Queer Theory as a Critique of Society: the Closet and Gay Marriage.”
- 2017 | Guest lecture at Aoyama Gakuin University, “Normativity, Marginalization, Strategies of Social Movements, and Same-sex Marriage.”
- 2016 | Global Voices profile by Navin Thompson (in English, Malagasy, Spanish, and Greek)
- 2016 | [Interview] Masaki C. Matsumoto, queer and feminist activist (Anime Feminist) – Esperanto translation is here.
- 2010 | Presentation at British Association for Japanese Studies, “Child Pornography and Law: Nationalism in Anti-regulation Discourses.”
YouTube
In exploring non-text format mediums for expressing myself, I started vlogging in Japanese in 2015 on YouTube. I tried my best to make my videos available both in Japanese and English (either spoken/CC’d), but I’ve since made a separate channel for English content.
Photography, drawing, & music
In 2017, in addition to my interest in queer photography, I took up drawing to better visually express myself. See my Instagram account for more drawings and photography.
My illustrations appeared in mika’s Magical Time-Traveling Dog Therapy: a canine-assisted therapeutic modality for treating complex trauma without tearing time-space continuum (2018).
I’ve also loved making music since I was 11. Combining electro-pop and kayokyoku, I have made some queer-themed songs which you can listen to on SoundCloud or YouTube.
FAT CATS Bar & Grill
After spending my late teen years and early 20’s in New Zealand and the U.S., I am now back in Kitakanto (area north of Tokyo) where I’m originally from, working as the co-owner and co-manager at FAT CATS, a minority-friendly, discrimination-free dining space that my mother and I started in 2014.
Send support
Most of the time, I write and make videos for free. If you find what I do good or at least meaningful, please consider donating via Paypal by tapping the button below. Thank you!