Photo/Illutration A promotional poster produced by the Shiga prefectural government for the Human Rights Week (Provided by Miyagawa Printing Co.)

OTSU--A poster created to raise awareness about human rights shows four smiling students in school uniforms, holding hands.

One of the students is a boy wearing a skirt.

The poster states, "Being a boy or a girl? Being yourself is what matters most!"

The students stand against the backdrop of a rainbow, which symbolizes sexual diversity.

Produced by the Shiga prefectural government to observe Human Rights Week, which ran through Dec. 10, the poster was displayed at train stations and inside trains, as well as schools and elsewhere across the prefecture.

It was also published as a newspaper ad on Dec. 1.

The foursome is also featured in a promotional clip aired on TV and streamed online, in which they are joined by many others, including same-sex pairs.

The accompanying narration says, "Everyone is different and that's wonderful. When we embrace our differences, it will make everyone smile."

AD FOR AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY

The prefectural government solicited proposals for a human rights ad in the spring.

The requirements included making the ad visible to a wide range of generations and inspiring the public to think about human rights and take action.

The prefectural government also provided reference materials about sexual diversity.

After screening the contents of the proposals from four applicants, a project submitted by Miyagawa Printing Co. based here was approved.

"I wanted people to have a sense of strangeness in one glance," Asuka Yamauchi, 50, who is in charge of planning at the company, explained why she opted for students in school uniforms including a boy in a skirt.

Initially, she came up with a boy and a girl in casual clothing, with the former holding a stuffed toy and the latter wearing a baseball uniform.

But it didn't "feel quite right," she said.

Yamauchi decided to go for school uniforms to make the message easily understandable.

She also gave the skirt-wearing boy a short hairstyle and made him look sturdy.

Illustrator Azusa Shimura, 39, was adamant about giving the illustration a soft touch and making it comfortable to look at.

"I wanted to give hope for a society in which anyone, regardless of gender, can say they like what they like and be accepted as they are," she said.

Her husband, Yutaka, 39, who is in charge of design, said their preschooler son loves cute-looking things and wears dresses.

"I think that's fine," he said. "My generation has started to accept (gender equality), but some members of older generations say, 'Don't cry. You are a boy.'"

Arisa Fukai, 31, who was responsible for the overall tone of the ad, added: "I hope it will be an encouragement to children that reminds them that it's OK to be who they are, and an alert to those who find it weird that helps them realize that they might be prejudiced."

In preparing to produce the ad, they referred to learning materials related to gender issues and other resources.

Such publications contained many examples of "don'ts" as reminders of undesirable expressions.

But people alienate themselves when they are told not to do certain things, finding it troublesome and being afraid of hurting others.

That was all the more reason why the ad contains many positive words, encouraging people to accept themselves and others as they are regardless of their preferences.

"I think we must acknowledge each other's differences to create an inclusive society," Yamauchi said.

LESS THAN 30 PERCENT

An online survey conducted in June by major school uniform maker Kanko Gakuseifuku Co., based in Okayama, which covered about 1,400 junior and senior high school staff members across the country, showed that only 27.1 percent of their schools allow male students to wear skirts as part of their uniforms.

Of these, 11.8 percent said there are boys who actually wear skirts at their schools.

According to the Shiga prefectural education board, all 44 prefectural senior high schools allow female students to wear slacks instead of skirts.

In Yasu, three city-run junior high schools allow students to wear either slacks or skirts regardless of their gender.

But each said they have never heard of boys wearing skirts as part of their school uniforms.

Related News