The (Charmed) Circle Game: Reflections on Sexual Hierarchy Through Multiple Sexual Relationships

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to capture the lived experience of eight men and women with multiple partners in Hong Kong. By investigating their ways of coping with social and moral pressures, the study aims to explore the tension between proper masculinity/femininity and personal desires which often result in the trespassing of what is socially defined as 'good', 'normal' and 'natural'. Their selective appropriation of cultural norms and gender ideals offers a vantage point not only to recuperate a lived version of 'Chinese' sexuality, but also to re-visit Gayle Rubin's concept of sexual hierarchy.

Whatever happened to non-monogamies? Critical reflections on recent research and theory

“…In addition, consensual non-monogamy is frequently presented as superior to monogamy in terms of the freedoms involved and the levels of mutual consideration and ethical, open communication (e.g. Ho, 2006). One gay man in Worth, Reid & McMillan's (2002) study for example states that: 'it's ideological crap -I have no qualms whatsoever that the ideal of monogamy is that it's a self-imposed torture on your mind for the rest of your relationship and why the hell do that?'…”

Eternal Mothers or Flexible Housewives? Middle-aged Chinese Married Women in Hong Kong

“…In fact, similar strategies are being adopted by Chinese women in Hong Kong. The destabilizing effect of the breakouts (Burns and Leonard 2005) and minor transgressions of middle-aged married women that are apparently invisible (Ho 2006, Miller 2005Tsang and Ho 2007) must be further explored.…”

“…The question of why women do this when they have found other ways to identify themselves is seldom asked. Little has been done to show how women resist hegemonic gender construction and re-create their identities according to new circumstances (Ho 2001(Ho , 2007aTsang 2002, 2005), or how their dissatisfaction can be used to do so (Ho 2006;Wang and Ho 2007). In the present study, I used Derrida's idea of the "remainder" (Harvey and Halverson 2000) to help re-think the relationship between the "core" of women's identity and its periphery.…”

‘‘At least with cheating there is an attempt at monogamy’’: Cheating and monogamism among undergraduate heterosexual men

“…But it is important to remember that, consistent with research on men in other cultures (Ho, 2006), my participants do not publicly identify as nonmonogamous, even when they are cheating. This highlights the resiliency of monogamy's dominance over all other forms of relationship coupling (Leap & Boellstorff, 2004), and also highlights the importance of understanding the different types of monogamy discussed earlier.…”