A new poster from a Japanese school informational materials publisher explains lesbian, gay, bisexual, and asexual identities with easy to understand (Japanese) explanations and cute illustrations.
The poster, which is titled "Who will you come to like?" is part of a series on healthcare issues called Kokoro Kenkou no Nyusu which roughly translates to Mental Health News but not exactly, as the nuance of kokoro, "heart" means more than just mental health, and can also refer to emotional or spiritual well-being.
Included on the poster are explanations of the differences between heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and asexual individuals, as well as explanations of how sexual orientation is discovered, and how it is innate and cannot be modified by outside pressures. Here is a translation of the top right paragraph and the bubble question below:
When young people reach puberty they often like other people this is called sexual attraction. Depending on who a person likes, this is their sexual orientation. Most are heterosexual, but people who are homosexual and bisexual are not altogether a small group. Sexual orientation is innate and it cannot be changed by intervention, so there is no need to change your preferences.
However, adolescence is a time when one generally discovers their sexual orientation. When it comes to understanding one's sexual orientation, one should take as much time as is needed.
This particular poster (the exact one in the photo above) was posted at a Saitama Prefecture subject specific high school outside of its nurse's office.
Given a recent report about the rate of LGBT+ bullying in Japanese schools, educational materials like this informational poster are vital to increasing knowledge of sexual minorities in Japan, and especially knowledge of the inability to change the innate nature of peers.
Image courtesy of River Ferreira/Facebook.