Patriarchal Graves
Patriarchal values remain in all sorts of places around the world today. The state sees its people as nothing more than "national power," and in order to increase and nurture national power, it excludes anything other than blood-related "family." In this rigid heterosexual, able-bodied-centered family system, "men" are the heads of households and do productive work outside, while "women" are confined to the home and forced to do reproductive work (care). It's like a nasty grudge that continues to take away our rights and freedoms. Let's bury this system, which has been so corrupted that flies are gathering around it for a long time, and let it rest in peace. The peony depicted on the side is also a flower used to represent the classical Japanese "beautiful woman." However, one of the flower's meanings is "anger."
No one is free until we are all free.
None of us are free until I am free is a slogan used by the Palestinian Liberation Movement.
Anish Kapoor : "As Marx and Engels said, when one is in chains, we are all in chains. Our individual humanity is snatched away, our human potential, our human potential, our humanity."
I am fighting for your freedom because I want to be free. A motif of keys calling for the Palestinian right of return, along with olive leaves.
(This hoodie was tie-dyed by the staff at Ichiyo Sagamihara Office, a welfare service facility for people with disabilities that provides Type B continuous employment support .)
MY BODY MY CHOICE
(Please note that this contains accounts of sexual assault.)
I first encountered this phrase when I was just starting to encounter feminism. A police officer in Toronto, Canada, said, "To avoid being raped, don't dress like a slut." In a photo for an article about the "Slut Walk," a protest movement organized by angry women, there were people wearing revealing clothes and holding placards with the phrase.
"It's okay to be angry," I thought. I hadn't realized such a simple thing. From a young age, it was not uncommon for me and my friends to suddenly be subjected to sexual acts or have their bodies touched without consent. In my school days, I had friends who were molested on the train almost every day. When I was sexually assaulted for the first time, I didn't even know what it meant, but I was so scared that I could only stand there frozen and cry. It was more than 30 years ago, but it is burned into my mind so vividly that I can still vividly remember the corner of the stairs where I was staring at while crying. But at the same time, I told myself, "It can't be helped." Because I was wearing a skirt, because I was alone, because I was a "woman," everyone does this to me... What was it that made me think that, even as a child? Now I understand.
Things have been slowly changing thanks to people who have had the courage to confess their experiences, but the world is still full of curse words that try to make victims blame themselves, such as "Maybe it's just your imagination?", "You're just being self-conscious," "You're just trying to get attention," "It must be a honey trap," "It's because you dress like that," and "It's wise to be able to laugh it off." Many victims are subject to what's known as a normalization bias, which makes them try to ease the shock by telling themselves, "It's nothing." I can see now that even this is exploited, and it's a cowardly act that robs us of our ability to feel and express anger and sadness.
I get to decide what to do with my body. No one has the right to do whatever they want with my body, no matter how I dress. I can decide who to love, whether to be alone, whether to have children or not, whether to have a safe pregnancy or abortion, whether it is "natural" or "unnatural", and what state I am in, without being told what to do by anyone. And I have the right to access the right knowledge and medical care to do so.
"Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)" are something that everyone has. However, these rights are being violated by people who want to control us at every opportunity (because they are scared of the unlimited power we have).
Since Trump was re-elected in the US, men have been throwing around the ridiculous phrase "Your Body, My Choice," and anti-LGBTQ+ policies, especially those that deny the existence of trans and non-binary people, have been on the rise.
Even here in Japan, which ranks 118th (out of 146 countries) on the Gender Gap Index, sexism is rampant in public spaces and access to emergency contraception is difficult. You can feel the power that tries to control the bodies of "women" everywhere. And even today, malicious words that try to exclude people who do not fit the binary of "women" and "men" fly around on social media.
However, no matter how many powerful people and many people deny it, we cannot be erased because we actually exist. I think that humans are unable to accept the complexity of the fact that they are inherently diverse, and can only think of forcing things into the simplicity of the current system, but the troubles that arise because of this can only be resolved by learning about complexity, and it goes without saying that it is women and sexual minorities who suffer more and more from this. Even if it is difficult, we will not know how to create a better society unless we strain our eyes to see the complexities. I think this phrase, which calls for mutual respect for diverse choices, is a powerful message of resistance to the domination of big things and for coexistence.
CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW
"Climate Justice" is a concept that seeks fairness, pointing out that the climate change issue is an international human rights issue (there are perpetrators and victims). It is often thought that environmental problems fall equally on everyone because they occur all over the planet, but in reality, global warming caused by the large amount of energy consumed by "developed countries" and the wealthy has caused great damage to low-income countries that have not consumed much energy until now. It has had a serious impact on agriculture and fishing, which are the main industries in the region and rely on nature, and the lack of technology and funds to adapt to climate change has expanded poverty and accelerated inequality. And as time goes on, it is future generations who are not responsible that will be affected even more seriously.
This is not just a matter of being kind to the earth, but a problem of inequality that affects us as human beings, and it is something that adults who have created the era of mass energy consumption must take responsibility for. In addition, it is true that Japan is the second largest consumer of plastic in the world, but it should also be known that this plastic waste is being forced onto Indonesia and other countries, causing serious health damage to the local people. Although there is a disparity in the efforts that individuals can make, isn't it important that powerful companies and countries take responsible action? Invasions and wars caused by those in power also destroy the environment. It might be a good idea to start by making the choices you can make, such as not buying products from companies that manufacture weapons, and consciously "giving no more power" to companies that are dishonest about environmental issues.
Good girls go to heaven and bad girls go everywhere
"Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go anywhere" is a famous quote by Mae West, and I first heard it from a friend who told me about it on a Thai sex worker's web page. "Bad girls" are those who don't fit the norm of "how girls should be." By the way, I (super-KIKI) am a genderqueer who feels uncomfortable being limited to "women," but I've always been treated as a "woman," so I wear this as a "bad girl."
I'm a Witch and Human
Witches have sometimes been thought of as having terrible powers, and sometimes as weak, and have been eliminated as the cause of all kinds of disasters. All for the convenience of the majority, our image has been distorted as something other than human, as if it were a fantasy. However, there are also those who are not afraid of being heretics, and who have reclaimed even that ugly label and taken back their power. I live as a witch, wearing motifs that represent scary things and disasters, such as storms, fire, pinned crosses, and bicorns (horses with two horns, a symbol of impurity). But at the same time, I am just a human being. Just like you.
Solidarity and coexistence
People who walk with canes, people in wheelchairs, people carrying red umbrellas (a symbol of sex workers), and people who, although you can't tell from their appearance, are the target of prejudice and discrimination or who are facing difficulties.
We all look different, we have different abilities and weaknesses, and we all have different ways of communicating, but we are all already living together in the same society. I believe that peace can only be built by continuing to look at the complexities of each other's existence, never ceasing to talk to each other, and searching for ways to coexist.
Kill sexism
Sexism is sexual discrimination. Let's kill all of this together: the idea that women should be like this, that men should be like this, sexual acts that don't seek consent, and the idea that there are only two genders because of the physical differences between men and women.
Fundamental human rights
When we talk about human rights, we tend to talk about kindness and compassion, but I think this is a minimum essential concept for us to be free and peaceful with each other. We are born into different environments and circumstances, so we may never be "equal." But we are born with "basic human rights," which means that all human beings are born free and equal, and have the right to pursue happiness.
Without this mindset, in this society with its unequal power gap, those with power could steal and kill as much as they wanted. They would not be protected by law, and wars and massacres would happen much more easily than they do now. By the way, this is guaranteed in the current Japanese Constitution, but the Liberal Democratic Party has been trying to change this constitution and has put forward a draft (a proposal titled "Let's change it like this☆") that would restrict our human rights. I want to enjoy my freedom. That is why I will continue to say "Stop fighting, stop massacres," "Stop colonial rule," and "Stop discrimination" in order to make this unshakable, and I will resist with all my might the LDP's attempts to amend the constitution.
NOISY MINORITY
This term is apparently used to mock "noisy minorities that only demand rights," but it has always been noisy minorities that have changed history and won equality.
Impure Bicorn
In contrast to the unicorn, which represents "purity" and allows only virgins to ride on its back, the bicorn represents impurity. It is sometimes depicted as a female monster. Our way of being is one in which being "natural" and "pure" is considered good. Natural makeup, the belief in no makeup, natural childbirth, the refusal to tamper with the body we were born with. Yes, what is "natural" is linked to the control of the state and power.
I also want to disagree with the idea of a pure human nature. In this chaotic world, we are already a fake, with neither good nor evil mixed in. Looking back at history, we are foolish creatures who have not stopped killing each other and continue to destroy the land on which we live. Only by accepting this can we discuss "what should we do then?" It is no longer possible to live in this society and be purely good, and discourse that values such things will quickly eliminate anything that is not. We are impure monsters, witches, demons, and cyborgs. Accepting the existence of the monsters' violence and desire to dominate, and at the same time believing in our power to coexist with them, let's talk now.
Liberation
In order to bomb the word "liberation" on my own body, I wrote it in the following languages: Japanese / Cantonese / Taiwanese / Chinese / Arabic / Spanish / Hangul / Kurdish / Swahili /French / Burmese /Ukrainian.
CYBORG
We who are considered "women" are constantly subject to all kinds of orders from the world about how we should be, and there are moments when we realize that even the violence born from discrimination, and even the wounds from those wounds, have become part of who we are. Feminism also makes those wounds clearer, and the task of facing and fighting them is like digging old wounds all over with a knife. However, the consciousness that struggles to escape from the pain of being constantly categorized by that power is exactly the ego, and we can strongly recognize that there is a firm will in it. The "natural" and "beautiful" me that I was born with is boring. It's okay to be different, and I am on the border between differentness and my true nature, and that is extremely complex, interesting, and strong. I live with the things embedded in me that try to control me, and even use them as parts to strengthen me. We are cyborgs that disrupt the boundary between nature and machine.
Anti-Binarism / Queer Power
A rabbit or mouse-like creature with three faces and legs is holding a heart-shaped spiky bomb. One face is angry, one is sad, and the other is staring straight up. It refuses to be a "cheerful, well-behaved minority image for image improvement" and denies all dualism and binary oppositions. It desires destruction with love even while carrying wounds, and breaks the chains that bind it.
DANCE!
"Queer & Femme DJ party in Tokyo. A party that aims to create a safe space for participants to enjoy themselves in peace, regardless of gender, sexuality, race, or age, and is open and considerate to others."
This is the design I used when drawing the illustration for WAIFU 's flyer.
There are still few clubs with wheelchair access, but the party, which was held after much negotiation, was a space that reminded us that dancing is an expression of freedom. The universe, filled with dancers and non-dancers, and the light of the mirror ball, seemed to bless all of our existence.
BDS
The BDS movement, an acronym, is a global campaign aimed at building and increasing political and economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation, settlement activities, genocide and other violations of international law, and calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions.
WHERE IS MY MONEY?
Where did my money go? Why are we not getting any richer even though we spend so much of our lives working? Why is it that we pay so much tax, but it is not used for welfare, and politicians are squandering it on illicit funds and vested interests?
Anti-Capitalist Queer Feminist
It feels strange. This is a work that appeals to anti-capitalism, yet it asks you for capital. I hate myself for being so immersed in capitalism. But I can't escape completely in order to live in this world. Paradoxes arise endlessly in my values and my existence. In fact, the iPhone I'm using to write this is in my hands after going through exploitation and the accumulation of wealth. To be honest, I'm not a perfect "ugly, anti-capitalistic, queer feminist" at all. There is no such thing.
But by purchasing this piece, you are directly supporting me, not Amazon or Uniqlo. You are supporting something made by two queer people. I think it's important to be transparent about how this money is spent. This is for my living expenses. I'll mainly use it for food and rent next month.
Since 2017, I have been creating a free queer feminist zine called BGU. Through BGU, I create expressions and movements that are not bound by capital. In order to continue this, I absolutely need money to support my life. Think of it as a kind of wealth distribution.
Does this not make sense at all? Of course it does. How do we fight against capitalism that is so deeply rooted? There is one thing I can say. I think that through these small dialogues, fights, and transparency, we are able to question the structure a little. Rainbow military uniforms? $800 T-shirts that proclaim "girl power"? Fuck that. How contradictory it is to "empower" others while participating in their discrimination. I hope this message reaches them as a small step towards changing this structure.
* Collaboration project
Concept: Yume Morimoto (Queer Feminist BGUzine Editor-in-Chief) / Design: super-KIKI
I'm not your token
These days, in culturally liberal industries such as the art world, there is a tendency to employ people of color, female presenting people, and queer people in leadership roles and positions in order to appeal to the public that they are "really embracing diversity." This message is intended to expose and oppose tokenism, and because it is something that I want to say but cannot say clearly, I deliberately use the first person. (Shionoiri Yayoi)
What is tokenism?
Pretense, for example, of opposing racism or sexism while making only a minimal effort to do so (Wisdom Dictionary). Pretending to give advantages to groups that are unequally treated in society in order to appear fair (Cambridge Dictionary).
The word "token" literally means "symbol," "souvenir," "evidence," etc. There is an issue of being given a seat in the "minority slot" as evidence for the correctness of "diversity." In reality, it is difficult to speak up when you are surrounded by the attributes of the overwhelming majority, and conversely, you are seen as "someone who represents the voice of the minority," and are not seen as an individual or are pressured. As the recognition of diversity as beautiful and correct spreads, it is packaged and labeled only with superficial beauty, and there is a danger that the essential human rights and will of individuals will be neglected.
*Collaboration project Concept: Shionoiri Yayoi / Design: super-KIKI
FEMINISM × TRANS RIGHTS
Both feminism and the transgender rights movement depict a "future where all gender discrimination is eliminated," and neither can work together to achieve that. In the center, I drew flowers from the areas currently in conflict zones that I know of, with the hope that liberation and peace will come to the world where we water the soil together and live together.
Palestine (Poppy), Yemen (Coffee Flower), Ukraine (Sunflower), Syria (Damask Rose), Afghanistan (Rose), Myanmar (Ixora coccinea), Congo (Mahogany), South Sudan (Hibiscus)
The sleeve has the words "Living together" printed in hiragana.
Burning Heart
A burning heart surrounded by barbed wire. It expresses the determination to resist and live despite the harsh conditions.
Carrying a memorial
In January 2024, Gunma Prefecture began removing the memorial monument for Koreans in Gunma no Mori Park in the prefecture. The monument was erected to commemorate Koreans who died under colonial rule after being forcibly taken or mobilized to work in munitions factories and mines. The silver plate on the monument reads, "Memory, Reflection, and Friendship." Gunma Prefecture "denied" the monument's installation because political events were held, such as the mention of "forcible abduction" at the memorial ceremony. Forced abduction does not only refer to people being taken away by tying them with ropes. There is no doubt that people were controlled and oppressed, deprived of all options, and deceived and taken away by deception when they were desperate to survive. Isn't the act of trying to erase that fact the most despicable political act, tainted with the ideology of historical revisionism? A while ago, I was reading an essay called "Grass: The Living History of Japanese Military "Comfort Women." I remembered the women described in the essay who were deceived, taken away, and forced to work in comfort stations, where they suffered sexual violence. If these horrific records are heartbreaking, surely the best thing we can do is to preserve them and prevent them from being repeated?
When I was standing in front of the bus stop at my parents' house in Kawasaki, I noticed graffiti that read "END RACISM" on the footbridge. Kawasaki is also an area where many Korean residents in Japan live. There are certainly people here who are carving out "records, reflection, friendship." I drew a photo of the graffiti and the solidarity between women depicted in the film "The Handmaiden" on the chair of the "Statue of Peace."
PINK FLASH TRIANGLE
Pink lightning bolts streaking through the clouds destroy the barbed wire. The horizon becomes electrified, revealing a pink triangle. The pink downward-pointing triangle was a mark sewn onto the uniforms of gay prisoners in Nazi concentration camps, and ACT UP, a representative group that promoted AIDS activism and was founded in New York in 1987, turned it upside down and made it their symbol.
The savior who came to destroy my life
This graphic was inspired by the film "The Handmaiden" directed by Park Chan-wook. It depicts the romance and solidarity between Sukki, a Korean girl who was raised by a group of fraudsters in Korea during the Japanese colonial rule, and Hideko, a Japanese young lady who is controlled by her uncle and cannot leave her mansion surrounded by a huge number of books, and is used as a tool by the patriarch. This word is how Hideko expressed Sukki's existence, and it seems to have also spread among women living in modern Korea as a word to express the existence of feminism. I wanted to wear the idea of this work, which depicts feminism as the key to liberation from imperialism and colonial rule, in my own modern life as a person living in Japan. I drew the main visual of the film, the hands of Sukki and Hideko joined together, and just by copying it, the atmosphere of romance between women was conveyed, so I realized the amazing expressiveness of Chan-wook and the actors.
CRASH THE BORDERS
Bug the existing system and make it crash. Become the noise yourself and disrupt all boundaries.
All text written by super-KIKI.