I forgot the password to my other account but I mentioned about being vegan and trans. Anyway I plan to transition during my time in Japan. For the first few weeks I I’ll portray myself as masculine and slowly switch to female (my true self) but want the kids to call me Miss___. From the beginning. I found a great video about being trans aimed towards kids that I will show and I plan to do a lesson about sexual identity as well.
A lot of my comments are being down voted. I was banned for a sub r/japanlife and I don’t even post anything in there yet
I received threats through DMS
if you don’t like trans people fine just ignore me
But don’t ban me.
Don’t threaten to call my company
Don’t send hateful messages
I’ll go now I won’t ask anymore questions
I hope I never see any of you in Japan
29 comments
You’ll be called teacher or sensei, Japanese students don’t call their teachers mister or miss.
EDIT- I should have read the entire post before I responded. There’s no way this isn’t a troll post.
I think it’s best to portray yourself as you intend to be. So if you intend to transition towards being more feminine you should come in presenting yourself as female. I don’t understand why you’d want to present yourself as masculine for the first few weeks, you should go in with how you intend to be.
Personally I dont like gendered terms and the students just refer to me by my first name. Where I’m from in Canada we call teachers by last names, but I used the argument that in Canada we generally call people by first name so the kids just do that. Or they will sometimes say “first name” sensei or “firstname” teacher.
As someone engaged to a trans person in Japan I must warn you against this.
This will likely get you fired or moved to a different school in a week.
Not because they hate trans people in an overt way like you might find in the US but because it’s outside the norm. Nobody, other teachers included will likely understand the whole scenario and just think you’re a hard to deal with weirdo.
I wish this wasn’t the situation but at leadt transphobia pretty much never manifests as violence here.
This is “don’t ask don’t tell” the country.
Edit: I know this is a troll post but somebody might still benefit from this advice.
Most likely, they’ll just call you ‘FIRST NAME sensei’ anyway. In Japanese, gender pronouns won’t come into it unless, perhaps, they’re referring to you, not addressing you directly. Even then they’ll probably refer to you as ‘FIRST NAME sensei’.
As for teaching them about sexual identity, that seems extremely unlikely – has this been ok’d by the school / company? Whether your going to be an ALT or Eikaiwa teacher, it’s seems very unlikely you’ll have the freedom (or qualificafion) to teach such a topic.
Transitioning in Japan sounds like a really challenging thing to do, certainly tougher than in my home country, good luck and take care.
It may be less confusing on the whole to have students refer to you as sensei which is gender neutral and there will be less chances of students misgendering you by mistake during your transition. A lesson plan on LGBT issues may not garner approval so be aware of that. If this is English you’re teaching it might be too complex of a topic in any case.
> I found a great video about being trans aimed towards kids that I will show and I plan to do a lesson about sexual identity as well.
In eikaiwa or as an ALT?! This has got to be a troll post.
Unless you’re fully fluent in Japanese, and are tasked by your employer to teach social issues and health, you have no business saying anything to children about gender or sexuality issues.
That’s the job of school counselors, health and PE teachers, and lecturers invited by school administrators.
I debated this my first two years of teaching. Whenever I took Spanish, my teacher’s name was Señor / Señorita ______ . When I took Japanese, my teacher’s name was ______ Sensei. So it only makes sense that you would be Mr. or (Ms. / Miss / Mrs.) ______.
However, another important aspect of teaching is creating a space where students feel comfortable to express themselves. And I’ve found that being the only Mr. _____ in the school just adds another layer of distance between me and my students. While being ______ Sensei allows me to take a familiar role in their lives and be their teacher sooner.
Of course the choice is yours, but I’ve found that there’s already so much confusion around foreign names that the most important thing I could do was just not be (first name) Sensei like most ALTs are.
[Sorry about this, I just reread your post and I realize my message wasn’t quite on point.]
What is your major in? Do you have any experienced in sex ed? I would really recommend against trying to teach a field you are not experienced nor educated in. Even if it is a big part of your life.
In all honesty, I do not think you would even be let into a classroom at a public school. Each school is governed by their board of education, they have access to and do review all of your personal details that are on your passport and visa application. IF, what you personally identify as and what you are legally identified as are different, red flags will go up.
Most ALT’s are introduced to board of education officials prior to being introduced to their school, this is usually (not always) done by your placement agency. If they have hired a trational (Male) for the position and you introduce yourself as someone more feminine in dress and appearance, your placement agency will not risk damaging their reputation by introducing you to the BOE.
If you plan to “transition” during the school year, as soon as it is noticed, you will definitely be pulled from your teaching schedule and flagged for “mental health issues”.
Public schools are chaotic at the best of times, they are dealing with a multitude of students and parents who have their own personal issues. Do not bring unwanted drama. If you cannot do this then (and I say this with the most sincerity) do not come here. Public schools are not a platform for you to “educate” others with your own personal beliefs.
Best of luck.
They call me by The First letter of me name and then sensei, some call me Teacher then the first letter of my name.
“Do they tend to use gender pronouns?”
Do you anticipate that your students understand what a pronoun is, or that they have been disturbed by the nonsense that is worrying about what someone identifies as?
You basically ignored every bit of good advice last time, why bother asking again? Japan is going to be a hostile (given your extreme adversion to meat), unwelcoming (given how much you rely on your mother), and potentially very dangerous (given your allergies) place for you.
>I found a great video about being trans aimed towards kids that I will show and I plan to do a lesson about sexual identity as well.
This would be seriously overstepping and overestimating your responsibilities as an ALT. You will not be a teacher. You will be a secondary teacher to a Japanese teacher with a teaching license. The Japanese teacher will be deciding the course material based on the BOE curriculum. *Some* ALTs plan and handle their own lessons, but I can almost guarantee that will not be happening with you.
Do people even consider that maybe, just maybe, the values of their host culture may not exactly mirror the values of their home country? That maybe they should consider the norms of their host culture before barging in and expecting said host culture to adapt to them, rather than the other way around? That maybe they should be focusing on doing their job as an English teacher first, before planning a crash course in a subject they are completely and utterly unqualified to be discussing?
The ignorance and utter obliviousness of this post is astounding.
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Unless in some elite school, the kids will not have the English level required for your lesson about sexual identify, and you’ll make them really uncomfortable. The nice thing about Japan is that people don’t really care if you’re a guy or girl, people get on with their own lives. If kids make a comment, they might be curious but not judging. Just live your life and have them call you name-sensei like everyone else does. But I don’t get why you can’t just transition first to save the confusion, it seems like you’re waiting just to teach them some kind of sexual identity lesson?
This can only go badly. Sorry to say. I would say teach English and worry less about gender. It is hard to hear but I can’t imagine a school district being ok with gender studies in English. I am not saying it isn’t important, but I cannot foresee any parents being happy. This is Japan.
I’ve actually been curious about this sort of situation, as I’ve met a few fresh ALTs who have already transitioned, or planned to do so. However, I met them before they had any actual classes, and was never able to ask how things went.
I’m not going to say that this isn’t needed in schools, but ALTs in Japan are beholden to their company, their BoE, their schools, the parents as well as the teachers they teach under. If any of them find your classes inconvenient (which they probably will given trans topics are still considered taboo for the most part here. Most classes based around sex still are.) then they will boot you or have you transferred immediately.
As an ALT, your role is to teach English, and everything you do has to be in service of that role. I hate to be the bearer of this message, but once the schools notice your transition, they will probably boot you. If you try to teach the children about sexual identity, they will boot you. If you show them a video about it, they will boot you.
I wish you the best of luck, but if you insist on doing what you claim you’re going to do, you won’t last very long. I’d be surprised if you made it through your first self-introduction lesson.
As others have said whatever you do do NOT start teaching Japanese students about sexual identity. You’ll be back on the first plane ✈️ at the end of the first semester.
“I don’t expect them to know until they are taught” Insidious. Very well chosen sentence, in this context. Your obstinate responses to advice that you asked for were also a good strategy for making yourself seem repugnant.
Good thread. Not great, but you did appear to get a lot of earnest response from some suggestible people. Further down, feigned and non-committal ignorance in response to someone (presumably) calling your bluff was a nice touch. I only wish they hadn’t deleted their posts.
Obvious troll.
Your job as an ALT is to assist the Japanese staff with teaching English as requested. It is inappropriate for you to be teaching any kinds of sociopolitical issues there, period.
Congrats on your transition and good luck telling people about it in your free time. Do not purposefully timeline your transition to make waves at your job in a foreign country. Do not take this kind of aggressive approach in Japan, especially as a newcomer. It’s culturally insensitive and unprofessional.
You have plenty of advice and criticism already! All I have left to add is a request that you update is on how it goes. I’m living for the drama.
You didnt forget your password, you were banned for trolling. Be real.
An eikaiwa I used to teach at did news articles and one of them was about a cross-dresser. I had adult students during discussion come right out and say they thought the crossdresser was disgusting and not morally right. The children classes were a little more open-minded about it and just said it was weird and they wouldn’t talk to them of their own volition but would talk with them if they had to.
This was in Kanto which is generally seen as more worldly-minded since it’s closer to the capital. Not a snowball’s chance anywhere else in Japan.
Never come Japan ever!
To put it blunt Japan is not as open/accepting to non-heterosexual noncis-gender concepts. Let along pushing any personal/progressive thinking on children. Your best bet is to introduce yourself as your wanted post transition sex and leave it at that. No explanation, no discussion/lessons to the kids. It may seem shitty but that’s just the society of Japan.
Honestly if you have to ask what you are in this post, I don’t recommend working/living in Japan as a teacher for you. Japan is much more a “conform to the mass” than “cater to individual “ like America is. (Assuming you are from America considering how much emphasis you put on pronouns etc.)
Friend this is just going to be confusing. You are going to be an English teacher who will first be presenting as male but want them to call you by the female word.
As an ALT, it is not up to you to determine what is taught.
Also, a huge part of living in Japan is “reading the air”.
Your post shows you don’t know anything about Japan, how things are done in Japan, or reading the air.
I do think you should make a vlog so we can all watch you fail and blame Japan when it’s you that isn’t paying attention. We all need some comedy.
You were banned because you don’t currently live in Japan. It isn’t transphobia.
My schools were a mix of Mr. and -sensei. Good luck. I think it’s going to be very difficult. Being vegan in itself is a challenge. Expect to make all of your own food if you’re not in a city center. Not that there aren’t *any* options in small towns, but in my small town experience there have been very limited ones. School lunch is also a challenge. You should communicate with your dispatch company/school board your diet needs early as a lot of Japanese dishes include fish or meat mixed in them. I cannot speak to the trans experience in Japan but if you are starting your transition immediately after coming here I would suggest you start presenting yourself as what you want to be perceived as day 1. If you present yourself that way it is unlikely that you will be questioned publicly about it, but regardless of the transition time frame expect a lot of whispering. As some other people mentioned, an ALT teaching non english things is a good way to get yourself fired in the probation period. They can fire you for anything in the first three months. Honestly I would suggest looking at an Eikaiwa school instead of ALTing as you may find a more accommodating employer. Good luck.