Abstract Coalescing in the 1980s, visual kei is currently a Japanese music subculture known for flamboyant theatrics, a woman-dominated fanbase, and its performers’ non-normative, often playfully queer gender expressions, which defy heteronormative binaries and hegemonic conceptions of gender and sexuality. This article illuminates the queer facets of visual kei through an in-depth investigation focusing on two forms of binary-destabilizing expression: onnagata/josō and “gender free” or gender-bending. The first involves complete adoption of feminine-coded clothing by self-identified male performers, the second a disregard or even intentional disruption of gendered boundaries. Combining ethnographic fieldwork data with close analysis of social media discourse, this paper explores the “queer lives” of visual kei performers through their personae. This double-pronged approach is necessary as these queer expressions are created and reiterated through both the “live” concert performance and the appearance of “lives” created through social media. In creating these “lives,” performers often employ casual, fluid utilization of queer expression which destabilizes normative gender and sexuality narratives while not necessarily explicitly invoking any queer identity. Through elucidating these multifaceted, ambiguous yet queer performances, this paper aims to help complicate current discourse on queer lives in Japan and wider scholarship.

中文翻译：

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Josō 还是“无性别”？有趣的酷儿“生活”在视觉系

摘要 视觉系在 1980 年代融合，目前是日本音乐亚文化，以华丽的戏剧、以女性为主导的粉丝群及其表演者的非规范性、经常俏皮的酷儿性别表达而闻名，这些表达无视异性恋二元论以及性别和性的霸权概念. 本文通过对两种破坏稳定的二元表达形式的深入调查，阐明了视觉系的奇怪方面：onnagata/josō 和“无性别”或性别弯曲。第一个涉及自我认同的男性表演者完全采用女性编码的服装，第二个是无视甚至故意破坏性别界限。本文将民族志实地调查数据与对社交媒体话语的密切分析相结合，通过他们的角色探索视觉系表演者的“酷儿生活”。这种双管齐下的方法是必要的，因为这些酷儿表达是通过“现场”音乐会表演和通过社交媒体创造的“生活”出现来创造和重申的。在创造这些“生活”时，表演者经常随意、流畅地运用酷儿表达，这破坏了规范的性别和性叙事，同时不一定明确地援引任何酷儿身份。通过阐明这些多方面、模棱两可但酷儿的表演，本文旨在帮助使当前关于日本酷儿生活和更广泛学术的讨论复杂化。酷儿表达的流动性利用破坏了规范的性别和性叙事，同时不一定明确地援引任何酷儿身份。通过阐明这些多方面、模棱两可但酷儿的表演，本文旨在帮助使当前关于日本酷儿生活和更广泛学术的讨论复杂化。酷儿表达的流动性利用破坏了规范的性别和性叙事，但不一定明确援引任何酷儿身份。通过阐明这些多方面、模棱两可但酷儿的表演，本文旨在帮助使当前关于日本酷儿生活和更广泛学术的讨论复杂化。