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| Samurai kiss (Wikimedia) Young kabuki actors who played female roles were known as onnagata or kagema and doubled as sex workers. |
Based on an fascinating article from the New York Times about gender variance in Japan before the Westernization, Crossdream Life members have been discussing different ways of approaching gender identity.
Again we see how our concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity are not obvious or given, and that they may vary from culture to culture and from epoch to epoch.
That does not necessarily mean that gender identities are "socially constructed", but it does mean that gender variation is filtered through the language and mores of the local culture.
The CDL discussion also includes a report with photos from the Third Gender exhibition of The Japan Society by Jen.
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