The ANU Japan Institute Seminar Series showcases cutting-edge research by leading and emerging scholars based primarily in Australia and Japan. It aims to promote networking among Japan Studies scholars in the two countries and will feature innovative research on the bilateral relationship.
The virtual seminar series will run in 10-week blocks over the two semesters of the academic year (from 2021 to 2023), and will subsequently be made available online for public viewing. Join our mailing list to receive updates and reminders ahead of each seminar.
The virtual seminars will take place from:
- 5-6PM Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)
- 4-5PM Japan Standard Time (JST)
- 3-4PM Singapore Standard Time (STST)
After 1 October, with Australian Eastern Daylight Time
- 5-6PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT)
- 3-4PM Japan Standard Time (JST)
- 2-3PM Singapore Standard Time (STST)
The year 2021 saw the debut of a few new Japanese boy bands, even in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. One of these bands was BE:FIRST, a dance and vocal unit of seven young men who were produced by rap artist SKY-HI. This presentation examines the ways in which discourses surrounding BE:FIRST and SKY-HI call into question the assumptions about masculinity and heteronormativity previously attached to the popular boy bands in Japan.
Speaker
Dr Katsuhiko Suganuma is lecturer in the School of Humanities at the University of Tasmania. He has written on the intersection of queer theory and Japanese gender/sexuality.
