Queer som doujinshi : En fallstudie av Yonezawa Yoshihiro Memorial Library

Sammanfattning: This thesis investigates how libraries can build a collection of doujinshi – Japanese fanzines – with a focus on the problematic connection between doujinshi, queer sexualities and pornography. Yonezawa Yoshihiro Memorial Library is one of the few libraries collecting and providing access to doujinshi, including those with extreme pornographic imagery. I conducted qualitative interviews with four library employees to study their views and attitudes towards collection, age regulations, shelving and classification of doujinshi. In addition, I apply queer theory to elucidate how sexual norms are reflected in the library's classification system. Findings show that informants consider the preservation of manga culture as the most important reason to collect doujinshi. Other functions of doujinshi, such as being a way for self-expression without social restrains, are also appreciated. Informants’ attitudes towards collecting and providing access to extreme pornographic doujinshi are not particularly negative, instead resisting censorship, but the fact that the library has extreme pornographic doujinshi is taken up as a reason for the library' s age limit. Moreover, I observe sexual norms surrounding women’s consumption of pornography and that women should link sex and love, and a lack of critical perspectives on such issues. Lastly, informants were open for changes of the library’s classification system for doujinshi, but showed reluctance toward user influence, such as social tagging. This is a two years master’s thesis in library and information science.