The French parliament began a heated debate over Emmanuel Macron’s first major social reform: a law to end discrimination over women’s reproductive rights by allowing lesbian couples and single women access to medically assisted procreation, such as IVF and sperm donation.
Under current French law, only heterosexual couples who have been married or living together for more than two years have the right to access in-vitro fertilisation, artificial insemination or sperm donation. However, now the central government wants to extend this law to all women, to end discrimination.
As the debate continues to swell, Tom Nakayama, a professor of Communication Studies in the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University, is closely observing that France’s bioethical law is compelling people to cross into Spain or Belgium in search of clinics that will administer in-vitro fertilisation.
He has broached issues that others didn’t like, for example, Asian-American studies, masculinity and power. Tom Nakayama, a leading scholar in the field of critical race studies has been criticised for white identity and analysis of commonly held stereotypes driven by the news media and pop culture. For his contribution to the discipline, he has been honoured with the National Communications Association. He has also contributed to the field of sexual studies, beginning with “Sex Text” breaking the stereotypical society, published back in 1997.
Tom Nakayama, says, “It’s really experiential because a lot of sexuality is about the experience and that wasn’t typical at the time.” He tried to push the boundaries by breaking the conventions.
Presently, he is editing the latest edition of a journal that he co-founded, titled: QED: A Journalin GLBTQ Worldmaking, which brings scholars, activists, intellectuals, artists, and policymakers to discuss issues concerning the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities.
Books really matter in changing a personal viewpoint on traditional facts. Thus, authors like Tom Nakayama can definitely change society by breaking the conventions.
Shweta Tripathi
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