Differently Chinese, Differently Queer: Queer Chineseness as Heuristic and Transnational Queer Imaginary

Abstract

Abstract This article uses a duoethnographic approach to trouble the notions of queerness and Chineseness. Writing from two different social locations as transnational queer Chinese women based in the United States—one a Singaporean queer Chinese woman, another a Mainland queer Chinese woman—we critically interrogate and reflect on our life and fieldwork experiences at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, nationality, age, and class. We focus on transregional differences as well as inter-Asian connectivity to decenter the dominant Euro-American framework of queer theory, which assumes a universal, white queer position. Centering difference, misunderstanding, struggle, and tension in our writing, we reflexively unravel the (un)intelligibility and (im)possibilities of queer Chinese womanhood to complicate the notions of queerness and Chineseness. Joining current conversations on queer Asia, we explore the notion of queer Chineseness as a heuristic tool and a space for queer imaginary.