Transnational queer sociological analysis of sexual identity and civic‐political activism in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China

Abstract

The sociology of homosexuality lacks engagement with queer theory and postcolonialism and focuses primarily on the global metropoles, thus failing to provide a plausible account of non‐Western non‐normative sexual identities. This research adopts the author’s newly proposed transnational queer sociology to address these deficiencies. First, it critiques the Western model of sexual identity predominantly employed to elucidate non‐Western, non‐normative sexualities. It does so by examining not only the queer flows between West and non‐West but also those among and within non‐Western contexts to produce translocally shared and mutually referenced experiences. Second, the proposed approach combines sociology with queer theory by emphasizing the significant role of material, as well as discursive, analyses in shaping queer identities, desires and practices. This article employs the approach to examine young gay male identities, as revealed in 90 in‐depth interviews conducted in Hong Kong (n = 30), Taiwan (Taipei, n = 30) and mainland China (Shanghai, n = 30) between 2017 and 2019. More specifically, it highlights the interplay between the state and identity by investigating the intersection and intertwining effects of these young men’s sexual and cultural/national identities, revealing three different forms of civic‐political activism. The article both demonstrates the way in which sexuality and the state are mutually constituted and provides nuanced analysis of the heterogeneity of contemporary homosexualities in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. In applying a new sociological approach to understanding sexuality, this research joins the growing body of scholarship within sociology that is decentring the Western formation of universal knowledge.

(Dis)Engagement with queer counterpublics: Exploring intimate and family lives in online and offline spaces in China

“…In Western studies, it has also generally been found that, compared with lesbians, gay men engaging in online dating tend to attach less importance to monogamy and hold more open attitudes toward uncommitted sex (Potârcă et al., 2015). Such gender differences, coupled with the emphasis on familial stability in Chinese culture (Kong, 2019), might explain why the majority of participants in my study expressed a strong desire for a monogamous and stable family relationship with their partner. In short, the above‐mentioned gendered, familial, and socio‐political factors play a role in some lalas' decision to turn their backs on cyberspace and devote their energy to their careers.…”

Finding the “Humanity” in Human Rights: LGBT Activists and the Vernacularization of Human Rights in Hong Kong

“…I think that's the goal of this 'humanity' tool," she continued. This tactic of showing the general public that a minoritized community is "just as human as they are" has a long history within LGB and queer activism in mainland China and further afield (see, for example, Cheng 2006;Zivi 2014;Richardson 2017;Bao 2018;Kong 2019). By focusing less on their difference and more on how they are "just like" the cisgender and heteronormative society, these primarily gay and lesbian activists have been able to redefine normative behavior to include their expressions of same-sex attraction.…”

“…It is perhaps ironic that the foreign law that opponents claimed expats were trying to force the Hong Kong government to followthe ICCPR-was also enshrined in the Hong Kong Basic Law. When I asked why opponents to the GRO would say that human rights law was foreign, one of the local activists replied, "They think that if Hong Kong has to follow the same rules as everyone else, interactions that existed prior to the British do not exactly map onto Western understandings of the LGB community (Chou 2000; see also Blackwood 1995;Jackson 2001;Kong 2011;Boellstorff 2012;Bao 2018 for a nonexhaustive list of different forms of same-sex eroticisms that do not easily map onto the Western LGB model).…”

“…20. This kind of posturing by activists is not unique to Hong Kong and can be described as demonstrating "sexual citizenship" (see Kong 2011 for examples of Chinese tongzhi (roughly equivalent to gay men) proving their sexual citizenship; see Boellstorff 2012 for examples from Indonesia; and see Zivi 2014 for examples from the United States). Although sexual citizenship does not necessarily correspond to issues of gender identity or its legal recognition, many transgender activists in Hong Kong and abroad have adopted similar techniques, albeit with regard to their gender.…”

The queer Global South: Transnational video activism between China and Africa

“…This line of thought on making South–South connections has a profound impact on queer studies in the context of Asia. For example, Travis S. K. Kong’s (2019) “transnational queer sociology” focuses on queer cultures in different parts of the Chinese-language societies in order to tease out how globalization and various forms of state governance have combined to shape queer cultures in distinct ways. Howard Chiang, Ari Larissa Heinrich, and Alvin K. Wong (Chiang & Heinrich, 2013; Chiang & Wong, 2020) come up with the critical term “queer Sinophone cultures” to decenter the PRC (People’s Republic of China)-centrism in transnational queer studies.…”