New Books in Sociology

Michelle H. S. Ho, "Emergent Genders: Living Otherwise in Tokyo's Pink Economies" (Duke UP, 2025)

May 23, 2025
Michelle H. S. Ho, an Assistant Professor of feminist and queer cultural studies at the National University of Singapore, delves into emergent gender identities thriving in Tokyo's pink economies. She discusses how cross-dressing cafes in Akihabara challenge traditional gender norms and foster innovative self-expressions. By examining the interplay between gender, capitalism, and popular culture, Ho offers fresh insights into the fluidity of identities, while rethinking queer theory's applicability beyond Western contexts. Her work underscores the vibrant survival strategies of transgender and non-binary individuals in unique spaces.
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ANECDOTE

Discovering Cross-Dressing Cafes

  • Michelle H. S. Ho found a short YouTube clip about male-to-female cross-dressing cafes and decided to explore it herself.
  • She traveled to Tokyo twice and turned one conference paper into a full dissertation project on this topic.
ANECDOTE

Challenges of Late-Night Ethnography

  • Michelle became a regular customer at the cafes Paradise and Garcon for ethnographic research.
  • Staying up late until 5 a.m. to observe nightlife culture was physically challenging for her.
INSIGHT

Concept of Emergent Genders

  • Emergent genders are innovative gender practices born from fracturing and reimagining older forms within Japan.
  • These genders flourish especially as traditional heteronormative productivity models break down in Japan's economic precarity.
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