Cultural Translation and the 2020 Games: Framing The “LGBT” Boom – Dr Claire Maree

At the Identities in Translation Workshop, Dr Claire Maree (University of Melbourne) will be presenting her research on Cultural Translation and the 2020 Games: Framing the “LGBT” Boom

This paper explores the contemporary Japanese ‘LGBT boom’ in the socio-political context of the 2020 Tokyo Games. It focuses on the mediatization and cultural translation of the anti-discrimination clause of the International Olympic Committee Charter that includes sexual orientation.

The cultural translation of the anti-discrimination clause of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Charter that includes sexual orientation post-2015 was influential to the formation of a multiparty caucus to examine discrimination against sexual minorities (launched March 2015). The stated aims of the caucus are to deepen understanding of LGBT issues ‘to show that there is no discrimination against LGBT peoples in the run up to the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics’ (Hase, 2015). This political recontextualization has emerged simultaneously with a contemporary Japanese media generated ‘LGBT boom’.

In this paper, I undertake a micro-analysis of the framing of “LGBT” through complex intralingual translations and citational practices common to contemporary media; such as impact-captioning, ‘sharing’ on social-media and ‘re-tweeting’. These practices are part of contemporary ‘language-labour’: an overarching term for the collaborative aspects of mediated textual production that encompasses professional production and editing work, as well as interpersonal communication. Looking towards language-labour enables analysis of how public discourse situates social, cultural and political groups in relation to domestic and international affairs. I argue that the current explosion of newspaper and magazines articles, light entertainment and current affairs shows which refer to ‘LGBT’ and the ‘LGBT market’ can be better understood by examining the language-labour evident in cultural translation of Olympic values onto local norms of gender and sexuality.

If you would also like to present your research alongside our invited speakers and Dr Claire Maree, please submit an abstract by midnight on August 18.

Check back soon for instructions on how to register to attend the workshop!