DPhil Student
Linacre College
Thesis: Youth Narratives & Intimate Boundaries: Affective perceptions of sexual consent and relationship practices among Japanese university students
Research: Peyton Cherry is a second-year student in the DPhil Anthropology programme, supervised by Professor Roger Goodman at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies. Peyton is currently based in Tokyo, Japan at Waseda University as a visiting researcher for the 2022-2023 year to carry out their fieldwork on perspectives of sexual harassment and understandings of sexual consent in Japanese society. Their focus is on youth narratives, experiences, and activism as people navigate how to ‘voice up’ and encourage mutual respect in a social environment which expects people to bear their troubles silently, patiently. The research deals with agency, anthropology of emotions and the body, as well as boundary crossing and rule (or taboo) breaking.
Peyton arrived at this research topic after working for a year and a half with the Japanese NPO, Ashinaga Ikueikai, at their Uganda branch as a Programme Coordinator for Sub-Saharan African youth bound for study in Japan. While teaching on cultural differences in romantic and intimate relationships Peyton noticed the gap in resources for Japan-bound students as compared to those bound for the USA or UK. Their experience in the NPO sector has also spurred Peyton to get involved in communities advocating for gender equality and minority rights, as well as to search for ways to bring academics into public spaces.
Other research interests: Gender and sexuality studies, embodiment and affect, public anthropology, storytelling, digital ethnography (online communities), and human-nonhuman relationships
Academia.edu Profile: https://oxford.academia.edu/PCherry
Research Gate Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peyton-Cherry
