Iwakan Volume 06 May 2023

Iwakan: an uncomfortable feeling or sense of discomfort. IWAKAN: a Japanese print-magazine dedicated to challenging, questioning, and exploring our iwakan towards gender and its intersection with other topics. Though this exploration may present more questions than answers, we are nonetheless driven by our curiosity. A curiosity for how the world around us can change if we begin to question that which we have come to consider as “normal”. While many have found comfort in the status quo, there are others who have had to suppress the iwakan they felt, change, hide, or disfigure themselves in order to fit into this mould we call society. Our existence as outsiders is either made fun of or the elephant in the room — ignored, unsightly. We are expected to become “normal” at the cost of our dignity and reprimanded should we fail. However, our voices will not be silenced so easily. Rather than an unfortunate reality — hushed away and silenced — we believe that the iwakan we feel has the potential for positive change. It is the tool which will help create a new world, free from the status quo, free from oppressive norms, and one in which we are all free to choose our own path. IWAKAN is born from this hope.

Contents

• 14　Producing Sex: Images of Masculinity in the Gay Porn Industry／François Sagat
• 24　A Space for Men’s Confessions
• 32　Exploring Gender: What Can Masculinity Contribute to Being Non-binary?／Amity Miyabi
• 36　An Unwavering Heart Reaching for the Light／Sennosuke Kataoka
• 48　Imagining New Masculinities Through Music: an Interview with NoSo, Ichi Takashi, and Aisho Nakajima
• 52　PEOPLE VOICE OPINION Let the people speak!
• 60　The Unspoken Tenderness／Nelson Hor
• 66　Our Career Choices: A Message For the Future From a Parenting Adviser and an Obstetrician-Gynaecologist／Keito Kawanishi, Singh Ikebukuro
• 74　STUDY OUR ISSUE: Is “Masculinity” a Good Enough Excuse for Violence?／Noriko Yamaguchi
• 78　Pity for Men: the Agonies and Contradictions of Unpopular Boys.／Kai Nishii
• 90　The Glass House of Adonis／Andromeda
• 92　Exploring The House of Gay Art: The Captivating Photographs of Junichi Enya／Mika Kobayashi
• 96　Is Coffee Masculine? A Conversation About Coffee and Masculinity／Keita Nakamura, Yuki Shibata, Mako
• 108　Redefining “Realness”: Exploring the Implications and Possibilities of “Male Genital” Prosthetics／Prosthesisman.Stp.Japan
• 112　Disobedience, Deconstruction, and Desire: Re-Defining Bodies Through Clothing and Art／Bárbara Sánchez-Kane
• 122　Decoding Performance and the Body Through the Works of Kento Terada and Sota Kodera／Mika Kobayashi
• 128　The Exquisite Corpse of Likeness／Yuki Kasaï-Paré
• 137　Recognising ‘Domination’: The Beginning of Resistance／Hanae Takahashi
• 138　Vol.4 IWAKAN OPEN ART CONTEST
• 141　Radically Moderate／Nonoka Sasaki
• 142　A Diary of Secret Dialogues／Mitsu Tachibana
• 144　My Incomplete Beauty Handbook／Yuri Abo
• 146　Asian Gaze／Yo Katami from loneliness books
• 148　Let’s Talk About Politics／Ana
• 150　Stopped Making Sense／Noemi Minami
• 152　Recommendations from Contributors