Silencing Identity through Communication

This book explores the ways in which "ordinary"
heterosexual people
habitually (and without malice) make homosexual
people invisible in
ordinary communication processes in Japanese
communities in
Japan and the U.S. I raise the question: What are the
scenes and
communication practices in and through which
homosexuality
becomes invisible or irrelevant to identification of
the self? First, I
explore the communicative style of being ordinary,
in and through
which heterosexuals habitually enact a complete lack
of awareness
of homosexuals. Second, while addressing Japanese
silence and
indirect and ambiguous communication practices, I
examine a direct
mode of Japanese communication called speaking
straightforwardly. Third, I analyze cultural
premises regarding
social and emotional selves associated with being
ordinary and
speaking straightforwardly. Fourth, I describe a
silencing form of
communication which cultivates gut-level discomfort
and fear of homosexuals. Fifth, I analyze Japanese heterosexual
male-
centered lovemaking scenes in ero-manga which provide
possible
sources of misunderstanding between males, females,
and male
homosexuals.

Autorentext
Max Saito is on the Communication faculty at Westfield State College. He is interested in the ways in which individual actions, feelings and world views are interconnected with both domestic and international issues. He enjoys learning from his students as well as his four children, whom he homeschools in Massachusetts with his wife Loran.

Klappentext
This book explores the ways in which "ordinary" heterosexual people habitually (and without malice) make homosexual people invisible in ordinary communication processes in Japanese communities in Japan and the U.S. I raise the question: What are the scenes and communication practices in and through which homosexuality becomes invisible or irrelevant to identification of the self? First, I explore the communicative style of "being ordinary," in and through which heterosexuals habitually enact a complete lack of awareness of homosexuals. Second, while addressing Japanese silence and indirect and ambiguous communication practices, I examine a direct mode of Japanese communication called "speaking straightforwardly." Third, I analyze cultural premises regarding social and emotional selves associated with being ordinary and speaking straightforwardly. Fourth, I describe a silencing form of communication which cultivates gut-level discomfort and fear of "homosexuals." Fifth, I analyze Japanese heterosexual male- centered lovemaking scenes in ero-manga which provide possible sources of misunderstanding between males, females, and male homosexuals.