Toward a Transnational Queer Sociology: Historical Formation of Tongzhi Identities and Cultures in Hong Kong and Taiwan (1980s-1990s) and China (late 1990s-early 2000s)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Western theories are often universalized, with non-Western experiences serving as empirical data for validation. The sociology of homosexuality suffers from this predicament. This article proposes a transnational queer sociology that challenges the dominance of the Western sociology of homosexuality, generates mutually referenced queer experiences that are often missing in the study of the globalization of sexuality, and engages sociology with queer theory by bringing material and textual analyses together in understanding sexualities. Through meta-analysis of the existing literature, the article conceptualizes the early histories of tongzhi (LGBT+) identities in three Chinese societies: Hong Kong and Taiwan (1980s and 1990s) and China (late 1990s and early 2000s). It demonstrates that the formation of those identities in such periods respectively was the result of both differential Western impacts and mutually referencing effects among the three locales. The article thus provincializes Western sexual knowledge and provides nuanced analysis of the heterogeneity of contemporary Chinese homosexualities.