Queering/Querying Cosmopolitanism: Queer Spaces in Shanghai

Abstract

This article examines different types of queer spaces in contemporary Shanghai together with the various same-sex subjects that inhabit these spaces. In doing so, it discusses the impact of transnational capitalism, the nation state and local histories on the construction of urban spaces and identities. Combining queer studies and urban ethnography, this article points to the increasing social inequalities hidden behind the notion of urban cosmopolitanism created by the deterritorializing and meanwhile territorializing forces of transnational capital and the state. It also sheds light on how these various identities and spaces are lived and experienced by ordinary people, as well as possible ways of resistance to the dominant narratives

The Sexual in Chinese Sociology: Homosexuality Studies in Contemporary China

“…They engage with social constructivism, queer theory and/or feminism and examine how an individual makes sense of such an identity and forms same‐sex intimate relationship under China's opening up to cultural, sexual and economic globalization. Drawing on qualitative research methods such as in‐depth interviews, ethnography, participant observation, scholars are collecting life stories of these men and women in urban China, for example, Beijing (Rofel, ; Ho, ; Engebretsen, ), Shanghai (Sun et al ., ; Bao, ; Kam, ), Chengdu (Wei, ), Dongbei (Fu, ), and Guangdong (Kong, : 145–173). Studies have become more diversified and exclusive examination of distinctive groups such as ‘lala’ (same‐sex desiring women like lesbian, bisexual, or transgender) has emerged (eg Kam, ; Engebretsen, ).…”

“…In the West, social constructivism (1970s–) and queer theory (1990s–) emerged at different periods but they overlap in the Chinese context. In either way, they seek to understand the transition from homosexuality-as-same-sex-experience in ancient China to homosexuality-as-an-identity in contemporary China (Tong, 2005; Sun et al , 2006; Wei, 2007; Bao, 2012). They engage with social constructivism, queer theory and/or feminism and examine how an individual makes sense of such an identity and forms same-sex intimate relationship under China's opening up to cultural, sexual and economic globalization.…”

‘Shanghai is burning’:Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema

“…Queer culture, although still semi-underground due to the ambiguous legal status of sexual minorities in China, has re-emerged in the city during China’s economic reform since 1978 (Bao, 2012). It has also shaped Shanghai’s film culture in significant ways.…”

Sex in China

“…New terms have entered the Chinese lexicon to identify same-sex attracted people, which highlight the heterogeneous and stratified nature of the PRC's homosexual community. The Mao-era term 'tongxinglian' (same-sex love) is mostly used by older married men who have sex with men, and who look for sexual partners in venues such as public gardens, toilets and bathhouses (Bao 2012). The political appellation 'tongzhi' (comrade), which was reappropriated by Hong Kong activists in the late 1980s as a Chinese and gender-neutral means to identify same-sex attracted people, is now used in mainland China to refer to homosexual people in general (Chou 2000(Chou , 2001.…”

“…Clandestine sexual encounters and services are available at many such venues.However, affluent, young urban gays and lesbians are more likely to frequent gay bars, nightclubs and cafes. As HongweiBao's (2012) study of queer spaces in Shanghai suggests, at the prestige end of China's new gay spaces lie the commercial establishments (trendy gay bars and cafes) and cultural events that are funded and staffed by people from western societies or from Hong Kong and Taiwan. These spaces constitute a special sexual zone that local police normally avoid.…”