Detail: This is the first exhibition in North America devoted to the portrayal of wakashu, or beautiful youths—a “third gender” occupying a distinct position in the social and sexual hierarchy of Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868). Featuring over 65 woodblock prints, as well as paintings, luxury objects and personal ornaments, A Third Gender illuminates the richness of lived experience in Edo society, where complex rules governed gender constructs. This groundbreaking exhibition offers a critical artistic and historical context for gender performance and sexual expression, topics that are particularly resonant within society today.
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