Between 2001 and 2008, Stefhen had sex with
thousands of women, many of these affairs being random encounters. In 2008,
Stefhen compiled all of these experiences into what is at once a case study of
Japan, a memoir, and a piece of erotica entitled, Black Passenger, Yellow Cabs. Recently, I sat
down and had a long conversation with Stefhen, via telephone, during which I
interviewed him about his book. This is what transpired.

1. Do you have a background in psychology or
sociology? What is your educational background?

I do have a
background in sociology and psychology. In the 8 years it took me to get my BA,
psych and sociology were two of my many majors. When I discovered social
psychology at UCLA, I found it so interesting and wanted to study more. Hence, I
would like to do a PhD in social psychology.

2. It seems that Jamaican and Japanese culture are
both very conservative. How are they similar? How are they
different?

They differ in that Jamaica is super disorganized and
ad hoc, while Japan is the exact opposite. They are meticulous about everything
in Japan. Even trivial things. There are some similarities between Jamaican
patois and Japanese. And both Jamaican and Japanese societies place great
emphasis on education.

3. Did you
consciously decide to create a book that was at once a case study and erotica as
well as memoir? How did that come about?

Yes, it was most
certainly a conscious decision. I'm passionate about sex and I'm passionate
about social observation, so I put the two together. Had I written erotica only,
I would’ve just been some black guy, the stereotype, talking about how much
punaunie he gets. I wouldn’t have been taken seriously. Had I written a case
study on japan, it would’ve been immediately dismissed, as I was not a
celebrity. The same if I had written just a memoir. No one would’ve wanted to
read the memoir of some insignificant Negro. So I put the three genres together.
It was a conscious decision, though some said it wouldn’t have worked, as it had
not been done before.

4. How has this
book been received? What has been the feedback from sociologists and other
academics?

So far,the few in academia who have been brave enough
to touch it are very supportive. The overall response has been overwhelmingly
positive. Thirty two 5 and 4 star reviews on Amazon so far.

5. When I was at Purdue University, I noticed a huge
pattern of white male fixation on Japanese culture. What do you make of the
growing American—and particularly white male fixation on Japanese culture? Do
you think that some aspects of colonialism are present in that
phenomenon?

It is true that Japanese women can be easily
dominated. A good example is mayumi, - whom I know personally, by the way - the
balloon woman, who let her husband influence her into participating in that hoax
about balloon floating around with the kid. Incidentally, that docile and
passive personality is one of the characteristics I despise in Japanese women. I
work hard to transform my wife into someone assertive, with an opinion. She's
gotten much better. But many insecure white men (especially in Japan),
intimidated by powerful women, have told me directly that, they like the
spinelessness of Japanese women. I hate it. Man, even how they are in
bed.

6. You seem to have a lot of
animosity aimed at Japanese men. Why is that?

Very simply, they
treat women like shit. The Japanese patriarchy defecates on women.

7. How did you find your statistics and do your
research for this book? What was your research process?

I was
waiting for this question from someone. There was no process. I was simply
living my life. Since my childhood I had been an avid newspaper reader, cutting
out articles and saving them for absolutely no reason. Upon moving to japan, I
became paranoid of losing my mother tongue, so I read the newspapers with even
greater voracity, sometimes reading three different newspapers a day. And of
course, cutting out articles I found interesting. It is purely coincidental that
a great deal of the dynamics I had observed socially in Japan, I would later
read about them in the newspapers or visa versa. So when I began to write, I had
a whole box full of newspaper articles I had cut out. There was no science, I
was simply living my life and doing what I liked doing. That old obsession with
cutting out newspaper articles paid off.

8. You have declared yourself a feminist.How would
you define feminism and how would you define yourself as one?

One
who is deeply concerned about the issues faced by women. I am one such person.

9. What led you to write this book? Was
it to relay your sexual experiences or was it to investigate sexual trauma
amongst Japanese women? If the latter, how do you reconcile that aim with the
highly sexualized nature of this book?

I think time was the single
greatest contributing factor to writing this book. I had loads of time. I worked
about 12-18hrs a week, 25 weeks a year. And even when I was working (as an
assistant language teacher) I had a great deal of time at work. Many days I
would teach only one or two classes, but had to stay at school until 430. The
first 100 pages of this book were written at Senrioka junior high school in
Osaka. Secondly, as a sex addict, I did write the book to relay my sexual
experiences. I found the sexual dynamic in Japan unfathomable and couldn’t
believe no one had written about his own personal experiences. So I
did.

10. Did you do research concerning
sexual trauma and Japanese women? What was your research
process?

Well, I was just being inquisitive with the women I was
with. That’s all. Once one told me about her childhood sexual trauma, without my
asking. I thought to ask the others. They opened up to me because I was a
foreigner.

22. There is a surge in popularity of anime and
other Japanese cultural exports in the U.S. Do you think that this in some way
speaks to a rise in infantilism in the U.S.? Can you speak on the presence of
infantilism in the U.S.?

Oh man, I would love to answer that
question, but it would take several pages. Long story short, having left the
West for almost a decade, I was shocked by America’s wide spread, (or the west’s
widespread) embrace of Japanese childishness. I didn’t see it coming. But I have
a whole dissertation to write about that.

23. I found your discussion of infantilism in the
Japanese military and the Japanese police to be quite intriguing. Do you think
that this is the result of the demands that Japan demilitarize after World War
II?

As Ive stated previously, infantilism and puerility are
entrenched in Japanese society. I don’t think it has anything to do with a
demilitarized japan. I will do some research on that in my Japanese studies
program.

24. You give testimony to the
prevalence of depression in Japanese society. You also recall your own battles
with depression. What would you say were the sources of your
depression?

I was born and raised in a prison like Christian cult,
in a very ugly ghetto in Kingston Jamaica.

25. How long have you been in
therapy?

I sought psychotherapy from 23 years old to 36 years old,
which is when I moved to Japan. I would’ve loved to continue in Japan, but
psychology is in the embryonic stages in Japan.

26. Did you ever seek help for your sex
addiction? Moving back to Jamaica-and especially while constantly engaging in
masturbation to photos sent to you by your girlfriends doesn’t seem to be an
effective cure.

I went to some 12 step meetings but was laughed
at. Everyone else was addicted to alcohol, and cocaine, etc. And they all
thought that sex addiction was a good addiction to have. I went to Jamaica for 6
months for detox. I wasn’t cured as yet then.

27. So how can you say that you are cured now, as you
claim in the book? There are sex rehab centers, such as the one Tiger Woods is
in now. Do you think you might still need treatment for your
addiction?

I don't need any treatment. My libido has gone way down
and its quite welcomed. In a year and a half of marriage, though my wife permits
it, I have had an extramarital sexual encounter once. And yes, my wife knows
about it. As I wrote in my book, living in japan where sex is ubiquitously
available, I overdid it and it became cloying. Like the sweetened condensed milk
analogy,that was exactly what a needed: to go buck wild and get it out of my
system. Now it's like, been there done that, and I can focus on other things. As
I've said, had I not been cured, I wouldn't have been able to write almost
everyday, for up to seventeen hours a day for a year and ten months.

28. Do you see your previous lifestyle
as being in any way misogynistic or at least
phallocentric?

Phallocentric maybe, but by no means misogynistic.
I taught many women many things and most are glad they met me. I'm still in
contact with most. We are still friends and they thank me
regularly.

29. I sense a lot of
hostility towards Japanese society in this book. Is your yellow fever still
there?

Yes, I still have a preference for yellow. Any westerner
living in Japan will have a love hate relationship with the country. That being
said, Japan is my home and I am terribly homesick after being in the US for a
year and a half. But I return home this year.

30. In discussing your upbringing, Blacks and the
African Diaspora, you define Jamaica as a “failed state.” What would you define
as a successful one?

I described Jamaica as a near failed state.
Haiti is a failed state, even before the earthquake. A successful state? In the
Caribbean? Barbados.

31. How has life
been since your time in Japan?

Oh man, heavenly, peaceful and
drama free. I love living in Japan. I get pissed off with their problems
sometimes, but I can always leave and take a breaks.

Source : http://juliusspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/01/interview-with-stefhen-bryan-author-of.html