展演「C／娘」的音樂文化－台北同志夜店G*Star的Asia Pop與男同志身分的建構

Abstract

Drawing on geographical non-presentational theory and music ethnography, this article analyzes Asia Pop music shows at Taipei G*Star, a popular gay bar, and focuses on the construction of identities and the politics of sexuality in the process of music performance. Asia Pop is a popular music/dance genre using Chinese and Korean pop songs, especially those by female stars. Because of its coded female qualities, Asia Pop is regarded as a sissy, or as it is stylized in Chinese, ＂C/Niang,＂ gay music culture in the gay community. For gay men, performing ＂C/Niang＂ registers various implications ranging from demeaning to empowering gay subjects, depending on different pre-conditions, and it always involves the process of identity construction. How is Asia Pop transformed into gay music culture? How are clubbers’ gay identities reshaped through performing ＂C/Niang＂ in Asia Pop? Based on case analysis, I point out: 1) A dualistic masculinity-femininity understanding of C/Niang performance is insufficient, as one should perceive both the historical and performative aspects; ) For gay men, performing Asia Pop is a practice of (re) citing gay culture, which means that ＂C/Niang＂ performance is intertwined with the identity development of young gay men; ) Performing ＂C/Niang,＂ more than representing a cultural signifying system, should be understood in terms of the environmental space of the club which clubbers inhabit and where they interact; ) It is advisable for researchers to make cautious inquiries into what female images are performed, so as to study gender power relations in the performance of ＂C/Niang.＂