What I have learned from the liberal arts concerns how people cope with oppressive situations.

For example, you may be asked, “Aren’t you married yet?” or “Don’t you have kids?” and be told, “You’re too old,” ,“You’re too young" or "But you're a mother/father,” etc. If you find yourself in a situation where others impose their unsolicited opinions about your choices, then you are experiencing societal oppression.

Consider people with hard-to-treat illnesses, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, and reflect on the challenges faced by sexual minorities, people with disabilities, and minorities in general.

Our basic premise is that “we should change what can be changed” to address social inequalities.
Therefore, regarding the oppression of homosexuality, It is possible that homosexuals have the option to demand that society recognize their rights.

However, there is also the possibility to present a new sexuality, homosexuality, without engaging in conflict.

Michel Foucault, a philosopher who discussed homosexuality, did not engage in conflict but instead lived a life guided by aesthetics, despite societal oppression.
I deeply resonate with such a way of life.

Pursuing one’s own way of life, that is beauty and aesthetics.

Showing your way of life as it is, rather than complaining to society, is like a beautiful work of art that people will sympathize with.
Of course, I don’t deny the “challenge society” method, but pointing out that a situation is wrong can sometimes be dangerous.

For example, before the time of Galileo, a monk named Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) preached a heliocentric doctrine learned from ancient literature.
As a result, Bruno was burned at the stake.

Of course, the times of Socrates, Jesus, Bruno, and others were different from today, but universally, there are two issues with the act of dissenting from what is now considered the right values in the world.

The first is that it may be met with repulsion.
The second is that societal change takes time. (One’s own lifespan may end before the ideal change in society occurs.)

Therefore, I would either
a. fight or
b. demonstrate my way of life.
Of the two, I resonate more with the latter, the rational stance.
That is where I feel the beauty of accepting a harsh fate.

The liberal arts have taught me that there are multiple ways to face the difficulties and inequalities we encounter.

Writer: Natsuki Hotta 🇯🇵