I had the extreme good fortune to be the guest on the Pride 2022 special podcast episode from AramaJapan – the premier entertainment blog for all things Japanese media (especially J-pop and idol news). Many thanks to Ronald and Hannah for inviting me to join!

In this episode, as well as talking about my book Regimes of Desire: Young Gay Men, Media, and Masculinity in Tokyo and its principle arguments concerning how “hard” and heteronormative masculinity is resuscitated in Japanese gay media and spaces, we also discussed my research into male idols from Johnnys and Associates, and my newest research interests in the long-term ideological impacts of the work of Japanese right-wing author Mishima Yukio on Japan’s gay culture. We capped the discussion off with an enlightening chat about Japanese gay porn.

Throughout, we reflect on queer issues in Japan and the many challenges facing sexual minority communities in Japan. It’s a long episode – almost 2 hours – but very fun and, I hope, very enlightening. You can listen on Spotify below, or follow the links in the hyperlink above to your favourite podcast listening app!