In this lecture, based on her recent monograph, Marta Fanasca investigates the phenomenon of dansō(Female-to-Male crossdresser) escorts in contemporary Japan, situated between gender performativity and pop culture, commodified relations, and desires for self-expression. The lecture documents the ambitions and fears of FtM crossdresser escorts, while also focusing on the female clients. Combining theories in anthropology, sociology, and gender studies with ethnography, it shows that crossdressing is employed by a segment of Japanese women to resist heteronormative and patriarchal societal expectations, while reinventing themselves and pursuing self-actualization.

Marta Fanasca obtained her Ph.D in Japanese Studies at The University of Manchester in 2019 investigating the phenomenon of dansō (FtM crossdresser) escorts in contemporary Japan. After a Postdoc at the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, she is currently a Marie Skłodowska Curie Global Fellow working on a project focused on commodification of intimacy and gender performativity, taking as case studies Japanese services providing emotional and/or sexual intimacy in a female/female context. Her articles have appeared in Asian Anthropology, Mechademia, and Girlhood Studies, and her first monograph, Female Masculinity and the Business of Emotions in Tokyo is published by Routledge(2024).

This hybrid lecture will be held on site (registration required in advance from here) and via Zoom (meeting ID: 810 5639 9420).