The Orlando Pulse massacre: A transnational Japanese queer response

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QU E E R C O NVER SATI O NS Fingers on Our Pulse: Engaging Orlando’s Aftermath and Futurity

The Orlando Pulse Massacre: A Transnational Japanese Queer Response Shinsuke Eguchi

I first learned about the Orlando Pulse massacre late at night on June 12, Sunday (Japan Standard Time) while I was in Fukuoka, Japan, for the International Communication Association conference. My initial reaction was, “What the f*** has just happened?” I immediately thought I could have been in such a gay club space. Then I was overwhelmed. Next morning, I went online to try and better understand what had happened at Pulse. I was shocked how twenty-­nine-­year–­old U.S. citizen of Afghan descent Omar Mateen walked into Pulse on Latin Night and began shooting. I could not imagine how horrific it must have been for the hostages to be inside of such a deadly, violent situation for three hours. Going through some of the bloody images online made me feel sad and depressed. At the same, I became angry when I saw homophobic reactions to the massacre. I could not believe that some conservative politicians and religious leaders said that GLBTQ people deserve such violence. These hateful reactions continue to signify the reality for GLBTQ people despite their increased visibility in the United States. They are still subjected to discrimination, prejudice, and/or violence every day. Thus, in this article I, as a transnational Japanese queer subject, offer my perspective on what we could learn from this horrific event. I argue that the Orlando Pulse massacre mirrors the underlying racial tensions among GLBTQ people. For example, Roderick A. Ferguson writes that “sociological arguments about the socially constructed nature of (homo)sexuality index the contemporary entrance of white gays and lesbians into the rights of privileges of American citizenship.”1 In consequence, the youthful, Copyright © 2016 Michigan State University. Shinsuke Eguchi, “The Orlando Pulse Massacre: A Transnational Japanese Queer Response,” QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking 3.3 (2016): 164–167. ISSN 2327-1574. All rights reserved.

164 This work originally appeared in QED, 3.3, Fall 2016, published by Michigan State University Press.

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cis-­gendered, able-­bodied, and masculine constructions of whiteness symbolize the social, affective, and aesthetic ideals for male same-­sex sexual intimate relations.2 As I have argued elsewhere, this white masculine ideal ironically serves as a homonormative point of departure for framing male same-­sex, color-­to-­color relations. Such racialized relationships also occur within the globally circulated Western queer formations that are geared toward whiteness. From this perspective, I reconsider a rumor about Mateen having previously used gay dating apps and visited gay clubs. Although FBI investigators stated that there was no evidence that Mateen had gay lovers,3 I wonder if the rumor that Mateen had gay lovers reveals the reality of homoerotic interracialism (dis)articulated among male same-­sex sexual lovers: they are never separated from the macro-­structural system. What is socially, economically, and politically happening affects who they are, what they do, and how they make sense of what they do. Due to the War on Terror, it cannot be denied that brown bodies that are associated with particular religions could be unfavorably situated in Western queer formations that privilege white/ Western/American gays and lesbians. In this ideological landscape, I wonder what Mateen might have experienced if he had ever participated in gay dating apps and clubs. How might his body have been constituted as he interacted with men (of color) in these venues? Some may find Mateen’s decision to commit this act on Latin Night at the Pulse interesting. However, some scholars of critical race studies already argue that people of color are always pitted against each other.4 Thus, I find the rumor about Mateen having gay lovers important. It hints that we need to acknowledge “differences” within GLBTQ communities. We need to carefully unpack “differences” to learn how to work with them, and, we hope, avoid potential violence. In addition, I argue that the Orlando Pulse massacre illustrates the necessity of gun control. Coming from Japan, I am still shocked by how easily most civilians can buy and own guns in the United States. As I witness homophobic reactions to the Orlando Pulse massacre, I am afraid if guns could continue to be used for endangering lives of GLBTQ people. Gay bars and clubs have historically played a major role in creating a “safe” space for GLBTQ people to express their non-­ heteronormative sexualities and genders. This “safe” space has simultaneously served as a vehicle for promoting the GLBTQ movement. However, the Orlando Pulse massacre is a reminder that gay bars and clubs have never been safe for GLBTQ people. In the larger heterosexist/ homophobic society, gay bars and clubs are always under threat. Anyone could come into such spaces and shoot patrons anytime. I have seen a couple of gay bars and clubs in San Francisco and New York that require security checks. However, I doubt that is going to change much. The major problem is that

This work originally appeared in QED, 3.3, Fall 2016, published by Michigan State University Press.

166  (  Shinsuke Eguchi

civilians have easy access to guns, rifles, and pistols that are often used by the military and the police. The Orlando Pulse massacre teaches us to advocate for a gun-­free society in which people in general and GLBTQ people in particular would feel safe to live. In conclusion, I hope that we as members of GLBTQ communities will never forget what happened at the Orlando Pulse as we work toward the future. José E. Muñoz states that “we must always be future bound in our desires and designs.”5 However, some may argue that what I have shared in this essay is too idealistic. Yet, how do we work with the present if no one advocates the ideal vision for the future? Thus, I would like to end this essay by stating that I hope that GLBTQ people (of color) could live safely in this world. n ot e s 1. Roderick A. Ferguson, “Race-­ing Homonormativity: Citizenship, Sociology, and Gay identity,” in Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology, ed. E. Patrick Johnson and Mae G. Henderson (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005), 53. 2. A number of queer (of color) studies scholars have argued for this. See, for example, José Esteban Muñoz, Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999); Katsuhiko Suganuma, Contact Moments: The Politics of Intercultural Desire in Japanese Male-­Queer Cultures (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2012); Eng-­Beng Lim, Brown Boys and Rice Queens (New York: New York University Press, 2014); Nguyen Tan Hoang, A View from The Bottom: Asian American Masculinity and Sexual Representation (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014). 3. See, for example, Molly Henessey-­Fiske, “FBI Investigators Say They Have Found No Evidence that Orlando Shooter Had Gay Lovers,” Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2016, accessed July 9, 2016, http://​www​.latimes​.com/​nation/​la​-­­na​-­­orlando​-­­gay​-­­fbi​ -­­20160623​-­­snap​-­­story​.html. 4. See, for example, Richard Delgado and Jenn Stefancic, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction (New York: New York University Press, 2012); Kent A. Ono, “From Nationalism to Migrancy: The Politics of Asian American Transnationalism,” Communication Law Review 5 (2005): 1–­17; Shane T. Moreman and Bernadette Marie Calafell, “Buscando Para Nuestra Latinidad: Utilizing La Llorona for Cultural Critique.” Journal of International and Intercultural Communication 1 (2008): 309–­26. 5. José Esteban Muñoz, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity (New York: New York University Press, 2009), 185.

))) Shinsuke Eguchi (PhD, Howard University, 2011) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New

This work originally appeared in QED, 3.3, Fall 2016, published by Michigan State University Press.

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Mexico. Prior to joining UNM in Fall 2012, Dr. Eguchi was a post-­doctoral fellow on transnationalism, diaspora, and migration in the communication studies department at University of Denver. His research interests focus on intercultural communication studies, transnational queer (of color) studies, Asian/ Pacific/American communication studies, and performance studies. His work has appeared for publication in various outlets such as Communication Theory, Communication, Culture, & Critique, Text and Performance Quarterly, Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Cultural Studies↔Critical Methodologies, Howard Journal of Communication, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, and Review of Communication. The author would like to thank Drs. Charles E Morris III and Thomas Nakayama for this politically significant forum.

This work originally appeared in QED, 3.3, Fall 2016, published by Michigan State University Press.