Masaki C. Matsumoto

A queer critic and YouTuber. UChicago MA dropout. My preferred pronouns are he/him/they/them. Read more
Singer MISIA singing on stage
Blog

When Rainbow Flags Make It To National Television #Japan #LGBTQ #MISIA

When I started college, there already existed prides and rainbow flags. I didn't have to create queer spaces to join or queer symbols to identify with. They were there, and I'd join rainbow-filled events and groups. And I was constantly disappointed with how those events were trans-indifferent, gay men-centered, obsessed with money and reputation, anti-intersectional, ethnocentric, disability-unfriendly, male-dominated, etc. etc.

By Masaki C. Matsumoto, ago
Vlog

Social Justice English#001: marginalized, prejudice, problematic, unacceptable

One of the reasons I started this channel was because I had activist/scholar friends who struggled with English when communicating with fellow activists, researchers, scholars etc. from other cultures. I wanted to help them. Some of my past videos are directly catered to that kind of audience, but here's my serious attempt to create a repository of social justice vocabulary for them to learn. Also, if you're learning Japanese, I translate each key word/phrase and example sentence into Japanese following English explanations.

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By Masaki C. Matsumoto, ago
Vlog

Sexist Anime Is Japanese Culture?

How do we talk about sexism, heterosexism, and ciscentrism in anime/manga when it's part of "their culture"? Can we criticize misogynous, homophobic and transphobic anime/manga without being ethnocentric and arrogant? What's the best way to address them? Or should we all shut our mouths and let them be? Would that make us anti-feminist and anti-queer?

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By Masaki C. Matsumoto, ago
Vlog

Introduction to Logic: Is lawmaker Mio Sugita’s homophobic argument VALID or SOUND?

In this English lesson video, I explain to ESL learners the meaning of the word "sound" in the sense of an argument being logical and based on truth, then move on to explain validity and soundness using one of the homophobic arguments recently made by Japanese lawmaker Mio Sugita where she argues that students should not be taught about LGBT issues in school.

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By Masaki C. Matsumoto, ago
Music

I make music and this is a song I wrote – “Intersect”

Music has always been my passion since I started taking piano lessons at 10. I got my first Mac (the rounded, classic CRT iMac!) at 14 in 1999 and started making music on it. I was once in a surf music band playing tenor sax. Now I'm mostly back to computer music and creating J-Pop- and kayokyoku-influenced music. This song, Intersect, is about social labels and how we're all human being, like how we minority people walk among the rest of the society. (more…)

By Masaki C. Matsumoto, ago
Vlog

Why You Need To “Unlearn” Your English (or any second language)

How do I say "bless you" in Japanese when someone sneezes? Why do Japanese people say "itadakimasu" (I shall take/eat it) before eating something? Well, language and culture are closely tied to each other. And to really speak a second language naturally, you need to learn the culture as well. But, what if that second culture contains something bad, like discrimination? (more…)

By Masaki C. Matsumoto, ago