Nobuko Yoshiya! Out and proud lesbian! Author of lesbian lit & stories with titles like “Husbands Are Useless”! What’s not to love about her?
Her middle-class, conservative background did not necessarily predispose her to become the lesbian icon she’s known as today, but Nobuka Yoshiya never quite seem to fit the role of the good, dutiful wife she was supposed to take on. She developed early on a love of reading and writing that came in the way of her learning domestic skills (who can relate?). When she moved to Tokyo in 1915, she started breaking away more visibly from gender norms and expectations: she adopted a more androgynous style, cutting her hair short (thus also emulating Western fashion of the 20s), she traveled extensively, and she’s recognized as one of the first Japanese women to own a car and a racehorse. She loved horse racing and golf, and designed her own house, which became the Yoshiya Nobuko Memorial Museum after her death (but if you want to go see it, make sure to plan in advance: it’s open only twice a year, in early May and November, for three days each time).
Even though she was one of 20th-century Japan’s most popular, commercially successful and prolific writers, there’s not a whole lot of scholarly work on her or translations of her writings, at least in the English-speaking Western world – perhaps because the bulk of her writing was serialized romance and teen girls’ novels, and thus not seen as a contender for the ‘serious literature’ category. Even so, she enjoyed an especially broad readership among young women; she pioneered the Class S genre – which refers to literature dealing with strong friendships and romance between schoolgirls – and was influential in developing shōjo (schoolgirl) anime, manga, and literature.
Yoshiya was in a lifelong partnership with Chiyo Monma, a math teacher in Tokyo whom she met in 1923. Their life together was no secret, and Yoshiay openly talked about it in personal essays and magazine interviews. Their relationship was both romantic and professional, as they worked together as author and secretary. Since same-sex marriage was not possible in Japan, Yoshiya adopted Monma in 1957: this was the only legal way that made it possible for lesbians to share property and make medical decisions for each other – in short, to be recognized as family for each other. Their relationship only ended with Yoshiya’s death in 1973.
(I STILL can’t get over the “husbands are useless” thing.)
Na Hyeseok was a Korean feminist, poet, writer, painter, educator, and journalist. Her pen name was Jeongwol. She was the first female professional painter and the first known feminist writer in Korea.
As a young woman, Na was known for her high spirits and outspokenness, making it clear she wanted to be a painter and an intellectual, rejecting the traditional “good wife, good mother” archetype.
Her major written work, Kyonghui (경희), published in 1918, concerns a woman’s self-discovery and her subsequent search for meaning in life as a “new woman;” it is the first feminist short story in Korean literature.
In 1919, she participated in the March 1st Movement against Japanese rule. She was jailed for this, and the lawyer hired by her family to represent her soon became her husband.
She challenged the patriarchal social system and male-oriented mentality of Korean society at the time. In “A Divorce Confession”, Na criticized the repression of female sexuality; stated that her ex-husband had been unable to satisfy her sexually and refused to discuss the issue; and finally she advocated “test marriages” where a couple would live together before getting married to avoid a repeat of her unhappy marriage. It was “A Divorce Confession” that ruined Na’s career as her views were regarded as scandalous and shocking as in traditional Korean Confucian culture premarital sex was regarded as taboo and women were not to speak frankly of their sexuality.
Unable to sell her paintings, essays or stories, Na was reduced to destitution and spent her last years living on the charity of Buddhist monasteries.
Her fate was often used to scold young Korean woman who had literary or artistic ambitions; “Do you want to become another Na Hye-sok?” was a frequent reprimand to daughters and younger sisters. However, she has recently been acknowledged in Korea for her artistic and literary accomplishments.
1968, Asian American high school students attend the Black Panther Party funeral rally for Bobby Hutton,16 years old BPP member.
Now that’s what I’m talking about!
Photo by Nikki Arai (who also took the famous photo of Richard Aoki). On April 12, 1968, Oakland High students walked out to attend the memorial rally. Bobby Hutton was killed by OPD on April 6, 1968, two days after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
