Coming Out of the Closet in Japan: An Exploratory Sociological Study

Invisibility is a major obstacle to the improvement of the lives of GLBT individuals in contemporary Japanese society. Japanese GLBT scholars and activists attest that it is extremely difficult to come out of the closet in Japan. There is little systematic research, however, as to why. Using online survey data from 136 GLBT individuals in Japan, this article examines some of the reasons Japanese GLBT individuals cannot come out, especially to their parents. A coming-out experience score was created to assess the difficulty or favorability of various coming-out experiences. The data suggest that: (1) the majority of Japanese individuals consider coming out a desirable choice; (2) it is considerably more difficult to come out to parents than to coworkers or schoolmates; (3) between parents, although it is considered more difficult to come out to a father than to a mother, the experience of coming out to a mother is significantly less favorable than the experience of coming out to a father; and (4) coming out to coworkers and schoolmates are only relatively easy. The findings are discussed in the context of various sociocultural configurations, including patriarchy, heteronormativity, and GLBT in popular culture, and homophobia in contemporary Japanese society.

本研究旨在探讨日本GLBT群体在“出柜”过程中面临的挑战及其社会文化背景。尽管“出柜”这一概念在日本已经被广泛引入并在一些个人故事中有所讨论，但关于日本出柜经历的系统性研究仍然稀缺。特别是在日本社会中，家庭作为基本单位和情感表达的场所，常常成为同态恐惧的根源，进一步加剧了出柜的难度。通过回顾历史、社会文化背景，并结合对不同社会群体（如父母、同学、同事、配偶）态度的调查，本研究将深入分析出柜过程中的困境与挑战，探讨父母、家庭以及日本社会对出柜的复杂态度，最终提供对日本出柜经历的更全面的理解。

本研究通过在线问卷调查探索日本GLBT群体的出柜经历。问卷涵盖了社会人口学信息、GLBT身份、对出柜的态度、对父母、同学、同事和配偶（如适用）的看法、出柜过程中常见问题以及出柜经历等内容。研究使用七点Likert量表计算出柜体验得分，量表包括出柜的难易程度、他人反应的积极性、对他人反应的满意度以及关系变化等维度。问卷调查于2015年5月27日至7月21日进行，参与者为日本GLBT群体，通过GLBT组织及社交网络招募，最终有效样本为136人。研究分析了参与者的社会人口学特征、GLBT身份认同、出柜情况以及与亲友、同事的关系变化等，运用统计分析方法揭示出柜困难的原因，并探讨其与日本GLBT群体隐形性的关系。

这项研究探讨了日本GLBT个体出柜的挑战，发现文化和家庭因素对出柜经历有深远影响。尽管一些人认为出柜是“美国化”的概念，但大多数人认为出柜是必要的。日本的父权制度，尤其是母亲在家庭中的主导地位，使得向父母，尤其是父亲出柜变得非常困难。虽然与同事和同学的出柜相对容易，但GLBT个体往往面临“沉默的恐同”或被刻板化的问题，尤其是跨性别个体。研究还发现，父亲的缺席和对GLBT议题的不了解加剧了出柜的困难，而母亲则因担心家庭形象而往往表现出抵触情绪。要促进GLBT群体的更好融入，必须加强对GLBT议题的教育，特别是针对年长一代，并呼吁家庭和社会结构的转变。研究也指出其局限性，未来研究可进一步探讨深藏柜中的个体经验。