Grind Your Way Out: Hegemonic Homosexuality as an Alternative Conceptual Framework to Apply Homonormativity in Gay Cultural Politics

Abstract

This article engages in the discussion of homonormativity in gay cultural politics. Duggan (2002) coined the term ‘new homonormativity’ to portray the political trajectory of the gay liberation movement and the neoliberal regime, which eventually decenters the LGBTQ+ movement from the left politics to a ‘third-way’ politic. After the popularization of the term, scholars subsequently apply the concept to signpost the internal cultural schism within the community. According to these studies, non-conforming gay men are marginalized under the homonormative regulation. In this article, I suggest that this application of homonormativity on gay cultural politics might not be able to fully capture the complex power relations within the gay community. Consequently, I propose an alternative conceptual framework called ‘hegemonic homosexuality’. Exemplified the semi-structured interviews conducted with 21 Hong Kong Grindr users, I demonstrate the application of the proposed framework and illustrate three principles – (1) tacit consent, (2) dialectic power relations, and (3) multiple hegemonies – that are embedded in the tension among the Grindr users. Instead of portraying an all-powerful, omnipresent normative institution, this framework aims to subject gay men to relativity, highlighting their potential to subvert the oppression.