Announcement: Kyoto Asian Studies Group Meeting on September 17, 2019 - “Inspiration Porn and Representations of Deaf People in Japan”

Announcement from H-Japan, September 9, 2019:

The speaker for the September meeting of the Kyoto Asian Studies Group is Steven C. Fedorowicz, who will present “Inspiration Porn and Representations of Deaf People in Japan” (see abstract below).

The talk will be held on Tuesday, September 17th, 18:00-20:00 in Room 212 of the Fusokan on the Doshisha University Campus (see link below for access information).

Abstract

Inspiration Porn and Representations of Deaf People in Japan

This presentation examines so-called "inspiration porn" -- the idealization of disabled people doing everyday tasks (e.g. riding a train, having a job) or for achievements having nothing to do with their particular disability (e.g. deaf athletes) -- and its relationship to disability identities with a focus on deaf people in Japan. Cross-cultural examples, observations and perspectives will be discussed to set up an exploration of how disabled and deaf people are portrayed in various media. Japanese deaf people are often critical of the representations of deaf protagonists and characters in popular television dramas and movies. Such representations create strong but inaccurate images of deafness and sign language that ultimately serve to perpetuate deficit models of disability. On the other hand, representations of disabled/deaf people themselves challenge and add to a social welfare discourse leading to (re)evaluations of societal norms and attitudes towards disability with the ultimate goal of a barrier-free environment. This presentation will also discuss how the Law to Eliminate Discrimination against People with Disabilities (April 2016), Sagamihara Care Home Massacre (July 26, 2016) and upcoming Tokyo 2020 Paralympics have changed and influenced disability discourses and representations.

Steven C. Fedorowicz is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Asian Studies Program, Kansai Gaidai University.

Sponsored by the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies. For access information see:

http://www.doshisha.ac.jp/en/information/campus/imadegawa/imadegawa.html

Please refrain from bringing food or drinks into the meeting room.

Contact: Niels van Steenpaal, nielsvansteenpaal@hotmail.com

About the Kyoto Asian Studies Group:

The KASG is a long-standing Kyoto-based research network that hosts monthly research presentations by experts from various Asian Studies fields. Emphasizing long Q&A sessions, we aim to provide an informal atmosphere in which scholars can freely exchange ideas concerning both finished and in-progress research. Admission is free, and we always welcome new members and presenters.

"Style complements functionality at Shibuya exhibition of aids for disabled"

Text and photos from The Japan Times, 11/13/15.

Caption: People Design Institute's Shinji Sudo looks at Wheelchair DJ, which has wheels that play music when spun and can be 'scratched' back and forth like a record.

Caption: Shinji Sudo of exhibition organizer People Design Institute shows off a range of prosthetic arms.

A new design exhibition in Tokyo is aiming to give the public perception of disability a makeover by placing style at the top of the agenda.

The exhibition in Shibuya Ward, which runs until Monday and is part of a wider event titled Super Welfare Expo, showcases a range of wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and other disability aids, with the emphasis as much on fun as functionality.

“When you think about glasses, nowadays they’re fashion items,” Shinji Sudo, of event organizer People Design Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping minority people, told The Japan Times.

“In the past, glasses used to be prescribed to you by doctors. Now, people have no stigma about having bad eyesight. I’d like that to be the case for people who use wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs too.”

Among the products on display at the Shibuya Hikarie venue is an electric wheelchair with a giant back-mounted speaker in the shape of a sail, and wheels that can be pounded like drums.

Another, called Wheelchair DJ, has wheels that play music when spun, and can be “scratched” back and forth like a record.

Elsewhere is a selection of prosthetic legs with a sci-fi flavor, reminiscent of the iconic HR Giger design for the creature in the movie “Alien.”

Sudo, whose son has cerebral palsy, explains that the products are intended to be shown off, not hidden away as a mark of shame.

“I have a disabled son,” he said. “When I use medical welfare services, quite honestly I feel very uncomfortable. One of the reasons for that is the image, which is one of feeling pitied by others. I want to turn that completely around so that the image people have is of it being ‘cool’ and ‘cute.’

“In Japan, when you go to get a wheelchair, your options are limited. You usually get the one that has been recommended to you by the doctor or medical facility. I want to show people that there are lots of different kinds in the world that you can buy.”

Visitors to the exhibition found themselves leaving with a different perspective on the 3.9 million people with a registered physical disability currently living in Japan.

“There is a gloomy and difficult image surrounding disability, so I thought ‘oh, so things have developed as far as this?’ ” said able-bodied 30-year-old Akio Ota. “I think it’s cool.

“From an able-bodied person’s point of view, you have an image of something where design isn’t really taken into consideration and the quality is low. But this is very stylish and cool and something that I would use myself.”

Sudo hopes that the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics can provide further positive inspiration, but cautions that it will take more than just a sporting event to change perceptions.

“I don’t think things will change totally in the space of five years,” he said. “But one characteristic of Japanese people is that once a switch in our feelings flips, we all move on to a new phase pretty quickly.

“Shibuya is a great place for breaking new ground in terms of culture. First I’d like to see handicapped people mixing freely as the norm here.”

According to the 2011 World Report on Disability, compiled by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, Japan has one of the lowest employment rates among working-age people with disabilities. Fewer than 1 in 4 disabled people were working in 2003.

Sudo believes it is up to everyone to help overcome those barriers.

“I’d like to see more disabled people going out and interacting in society,” he said. “In Japan, handicapped people don’t have so many opportunities to mix. They are put in a different class in school. If they find themselves in difficulty, I’d like them to be able to ask people for help.”

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/11/13/national/style-compliments-functionality-shibuya-exhibition-aids-disabled/

Super Welfare Expo webpage (in Japanese): http://www.peopledesign.or.jp/fukushi/

『超福祉展2014』Super Welfare Expo 2014 Facebook photo album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.426578964213812.1073741830.426453157559726&type=3