Mr Gay Japan
Mr Gay Japan will be crowned this weekend, so why don’t we meet the contestants?
Mr Gay World is an international competition that celebrates gay love and life while positioning several men to become leaders in their gay communities. The winner of this yearly competition then acts as a model and spokesperson for several LGBTQ organizations.
But in order to participate in that international competition being held in Cape Town, South Africa this May, men have to win separate competitions in their home countries. Currently, the country of Japan is in the midst of its own Mr Gay competition and has just announced its top five participants.
We thought it’d be fun to introduce you to these five great guys before the finals this Sunday.
Tiger
According to Time Out, growing up openly gay was hard for Tiger. He dealt with bullying in a conservative area, but that struggle led to him being passionate about LGBTQ rights in Japan. He has worked with Human Rights Watch to discuss gay rights in Japan, given speeches at the UN Headquarters in New York, and spoken on discrimination in schools while talking to TV Asahi.
You can find his Instagram account here.
Akira
While Tiger is focused on bettering the lives of LGBTQ youth, Akira is focused on promoting diversity in physical appearance and sexual orientation. Akira wants to inspire Japanese citizens, gay or otherwise, to embrace individualism and their unique traits. He hopes to see a day where labels used to identify people are no longer necessary.
Here is the link to his Instagram account.
Takumi
Takumi has had an interesting year. He came out to his mother in July, and she received it poorly. Since then, he hopes to become a son his mother can be proud of.
Takumi is now hoping to tackle the generation gap in knowledge about and understanding for LGBTQ people. He wants to help bring forth a day where parents, and the older generation, will welcome gay youth with open arms. In addition, he hopes to advocate for same-sex marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples in Japan.
Click here to find his Instagram page.
Moa
YouTuber Moa is used to having the general public looking into his everyday life. As such, he’s also used to being a living embodiment of LGBTQ visibility in Japan. He even recorded his coming out moment with his parents!
After spending some time living in Toronto, Moa now contemplates his life, gay life in Japan compared to in Canada, and how he can better all of the above. As such, Mr Gay Japan/World is a great place to start.
Here’s the link to his Instagram account and the link to his YouTube channel.
Bensen
Bensen also wants to see greater representation of LGBTQ people, but he is focused on how Japan has done so in the mass media. Bensen says that Japan’s LGBTQ characters on television are often played up to be caricatures and comedic relief. Never quite the complex and fully realized people you see in every day.
As such, Bensen is focused on becoming the visibility that he wanted growing up.
You can head over to his Instagram page here.
The Finals
Again, the Mr Gay Japan finals take place this Sunday, March 31. We’ll update you on the winner after the free event takes place. Till then, head over to Mr Gay Japan’s official website for more information.
h/t: Time Out Magazine
