Gender and Sexuality CenterWaseda University

About the Center

From the Director

Takeshi Akiba
Associate Professor, School of International Liberal Arts

The Gender and Sexuality Center originates from a student proposal made at a presentation competition envisioning the future of Waseda University. We are proud to be that future, being pioneers in supporting LGBTQ+ students officially as an institution.

The center brings together LGBTQ+ students, allies, and all students interested in issues related to gender and sexuality. We engage in creative collaboration between students, staff and faculty to provide safe space and ongoing support for those who wish to inquire into such issues. We regularly hold events and activities to promote awareness across campus, and to provide an inclusive environment for all.

I remember vividly the year 2015, when I was participating in a summer program at UC Berkeley along with university students from Japan. This coincided with the San Francisco Pride Parade, which was particularly festive that year as it was right after a historic court decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the United States. The parade conveyed how much being celebrated and recognized can be important to one’s existence.

It was around the same time that the proposal for this kind of a center was moving forward at Waseda. Here too I think meaning could be found in providing official support and recognition to students regardless of their gender and sexuality. It is not as though peoples’ gender identity or sexual orientation was less varied before; LGBTQ+ communities have existed, providing support for each other. But their presence had been confined more or less into a “separate” location.

The GS Center, in contrast, stands right in the middle of our campus, proud in its place. It receives the full support of the university, helping its mission to become a leading university in Japan, Asia and beyond, in the promotion of diversity.

Our roots are with students’ passion for having a place on campus, and students are essential partners for our continued development. We welcome with open arms all those seeking a place to consult, a place just to be, to think and learn, and to extend our mission. We look forward to seeing you here!

 

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