This is part of the We Can't Be Erased lesson, which looks at Trans+ communities in Tokyo with @katjoplin.bsky.social
Get the Trans+ history lesson you never had ⬇️
Kat Joplin revisits a landmark 1995 documentary following three “onabe” protagonists navigating Tokyo’s rough nightlife industry @katjoplin.bsky.social
“Beneath the flashing lights and Marlboro ads of late 20th-century Tokyo, a tiny community carves out a place for itself.”
@katjoplin.bsky.social reflects on Japan’s queer scene thirty years on from a defining documentary
www.wearequeeraf.com/we-cant-be-e...
@katjoplin.bsky.social revisits a landmark 1995 documentary following three “onabe” protagonists as they navigate their transmasc identities while working Tokyo’s rough nightlife industry
🏳️⚧️ Thirty years on from a pivotal documentary about Trans masc communities in Tokyo, @katjoplin.bsky.social looks back to explore the legacy of the Shinjuku Boys 👇
My article on Chloe Douglas and Gordon Higgins's upcoming event, Wi Deh Yah!, is up!! This queer art event will be raising money for Jamaica's reconstruction efforts following hurricane Melissa.
#queerjapan #tokyo #jamaica #hurricanemelissa #lgbtq
www.japantimes.co.jp/community/20...
Graphic promoting a lesson titled “Rediscover the Shinjuku Boys, 30 years later with Kat Joplin.” Shows workbook pages, a phone displaying the article “We Can’t Be Erased,” and an archival photo of three young people. QueerAF Trans+ History Week branding and website link included.
2️⃣ Rediscover the trans masculine community of Tokyo - three decades later - with @katjoplin.bsky.social
www.wearequeeraf.com/dotheworkbook/
Defenestration Magazine has published my humour piece. 🤭 Rather the opposite of your typical travel article.
www.defenestrationmag.net/2026/01/how-...
A snapshot look into my day-to-day life, "My Japan," has been published by Voyapon! The drag, ballroom, and journalism joy of Tokyo
voyapon.com/my-japan-dra...
The QueerAF Workbook featuring my articles on Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams's documentary, Shinjuku Boys, and on Tokyo-based trans and Deaf activist Monkey Takano is available for download!!
www.wearequeeraf.com/new-free-res...
So wonderful as always getting to work with @wearequeeraf.com.
Graphic promoting a Trans+ History Week lesson titled “Gender diversity in families is nothing new with William Elisabeth-Cuthbert.” The image shows workbook pages, a phone screen displaying lesson content, and a historical black-and-white photograph.
Graphic promoting a Trans+ History Week lesson titled “Rediscover the Shinjuku Boys, 30 years later with Kat Joplin.” The image shows pages from the workbook and a phone screen displaying an article titled “We Can’t Be Erased,” alongside an archival photo of three young people.
From how gender diversity in families is nothing new (@willofwands.bsky.social) to rediscovering the Shinjuku boys with @katjoplin.bsky.social, the workbook delves into four Trans+ history stories you never had 🏳️⚧️
Yayayay Failbetter literature journal just published my speculative fiction!!
#sciencefiction #speculativefiction #writing
failbetter.com/content/soon...
Really happy with this new Tokyo Review piece. Not only is it an important topic in and of itself, but I think Japanese municipal politics in general deserve much more attention.
More Mystique pics from the Alex Dragicevic shoot
#mystique #xmen #cosplay #drag #dragcosplay #tokyodrag
Mystique photoshoot with Alex Dragicevic!
#mystique #drag #cosplay #xmen #dragcosplay #tokyodrag
My article on the rise of pet funerals in Japan is live!! Very excitingly, my editor suggested I reach out to Barbara Ambros, a professor of East Asian religion and human-animal relationships, whose work I have read a great deal. Beautiful to research.
www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/11...
My article about the origins of drag brunch & its introduction to Japan is live on Voyapon!
Includes details about the brunches organized by Aika Markova, Miku Divine, and the TenCups team in Tokyo, Labianna Joroe and Brian Rentz.
#dragbrunch #drag #queerentertainment
voyapon.com/tokyo-drag-b...
New prime minister Sanae Takaichi is ultra right-wing, big on covering up Japan’s history of war crimes, very anti-immigration, and in 2014 took a smiling photo with Kazunari Yamada, leader of Japan's neo-Nazi party. 🫠
Heads up to the folks less plugged in to Japanese politics.
#Japan #politics
Ballroom primer Part 2 is up!!!
Photos by Rino Emmei and Don Whigan
voyapon.com/japan-ballro...
Part 1 of my ballroom primer piece! A history of ballroom in Japan.
Features the photos many friends and colleagues I've been privileged to meet in the scene, thanks also to the excellent photographers including (but not limited to) Rino Ninja, J. Elle Harris, Shen Wei Hung, and Christopher Sy.
Interview with Kosmic Sans, a beloved Tokyo drag queen, is now live on the Tulip Wolf Journal!
@kosmicsans.bsky.social
@tulip-wolf-journal.bsky.social
The first article in a new column I'm writing for Voyapon!
A primer for people new to Shinjuku Ni-chōme and Tokyo's other gay neighborhoods, featuring quotations by Don Cortez and bartender Yuna Sun, tons of photos by Michael Judd.
Excited to have the piece out!
voyapon.com/ni-chome-shi...
New article up!!! Covering responsible dog ownership in Japan!
Special thanks to my dog owner interviewees Spencer Walther, Ice Elloso, Reyna Marquez, and Atsushi Fukumori
aw thanks Emily!!! I hope you like it!! ☺️☺️
HOMECOMING
✦ ISSUE 02 ✦
“In that sweaty, glowing night, I learned what it is to be Vietnamese and queer.”
An essay about visiting Saigon as a queer Vietnamese-American to attend the Nguyễn Huệ Kiki Ball 3
noonemag.com/products/iss...
Had an in-depth interview with dual-voiced opera diva, Maria Seiren! From her working combining Japanese Noh theater with Western opera, pop, and disco, to her victory in Japan's Got Talent 2023, Seiren has been shaking up the music world and pulling more interest to traditional arts.
#opera
@gcnmag.bsky.social was kind enough to run my article on Hong Konger trans man and activist Henry Tse, with supporting interviews by Bella Vongvisitsin and Way Lam.
We discussed how the legal gender marker change and reformed ID policies will impact trans lives.
#transrights #hongkong
Honey yellow and floral background with the text: But the world outside kept calling, and it was a fantastic and ridiculous place. People are strange and wonderful. There are days when I think, “God, I’m so glad I chose to stay. I wish you had too.” —Kat Joplin
Pawned summers & Billy Idol. Grooves pressed to vinyl & coconut rum. Tiger eyes & boys who smell like bonfires. A knowing smirk wrapped around a cigarette.
beestung #23 is here!
www.beestungmag.com
On Saturday, I had the honor of receiving the title Princess of Mizrahi’s Japan chapter.
Koppi has always believed in me, inviting me to join in November 2022. I don’t always feel deserving to be in a great ballroom house like Mizrahi, but being embraced by the house has meant the world to me.
