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The Self-Understandings and Everyday Lives of Gay Men in Hainan

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The Self-Understandings and Everyday Lives of Gay Men in Hainan The Self-Understandings and Everyday Lives of Gay Men in Hainan James Robert Cummings A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Geography, Politics and Sociology Newcastle University February 2019 Abstract Drawing on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Hainan, People’s Republic of China (PRC), especially 30 semi-structured interviews, this thesis explores the self-understandings and everyday lives of men who recognised themselves as gay, homosexual, tongzhi (comrade), and/or ‘in the scene’ (quanneiren). Given the choice of field site, this thesis is one of a handful of sociological studies to explore the lives of non-heterosexual people in the PRC outside of major urban centres, and potentially the first to do so in a region that has historically been considered ‘marginal’. As such, an exploratory approach is taken in engaging with a range of concepts and contexts that participants saw as central to their self-understandings and everyday lives. Specifically, this thesis explores the ways in which participants constructed and experienced ‘the scene’ (quan) as a framework of social-sexual belonging, perceived internet technologies as having deeply impacted their everyday lives, and narrated their lives as dis/oriented towards certain futures. These issues can be seen as complexly intertwined; they are drawn together in this thesis under an overarching concern for the ways in which participants negotiated understandings of themselves, in relation to others, within socio-cultural and material contexts of emergent social-sexual possibilities and pervasive pressures to marry and have children. In exploring these issues, this thesis draws upon a range of sociological and anthropological perspectives. i ii Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thanks all those who gave their time to be interviewed for this research and shared thoughts and experiences. Without you, none of this would have been possible, and I hope that I have done justice to your stories. Special thanks go to my friends in Hainan for their guidance and inspiration; may we see each other again soon. Heartfelt thanks go to my supervisors, Prof. Diane Richardson, Prof. Janice McLaughlin, and Dr. Joanne Smith Finley, for their intellectual stimulation and personal support. It has been an honour to work under your supervision. I am deeply grateful for the kindness of my friends and family, who have been a constant source of support. Special thanks go to my fellow PRGs in Sociology for making this a shared journey. I am especially grateful for the friendships of Dr. Yang Li. Thank you for all our stimulating debates and for helping me through those long, tired nights in the office. My deepest thanks go to my partner Jerry for all the love and care he has given me, and for seeing me through the toughest times. Finally, my sincere thanks go to the Economic and Social Research Council for funding this research. iii iv Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iii Contents ........................................................................................................................ v Tables and Figures ................................................................................................... viii Chapter One: Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 Regional Context .................................................................................................... 5 The Hainan ‘Scene’........................................................................................ 10 Exploring Everyday Concepts and Contexts ........................................................ 15 Self-Understanding and/in Everyday Life ...................................................... 19 Notes on Terminology ........................................................................................... 22 Thesis Outline ....................................................................................................... 23 Chapter Two: Literature Review .............................................................................. 27 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 27 The Social Construction of ‘Sexuality’................................................................. 28 Symbolic Interactionism and Sociological Approaches ................................. 30 Foucauldian Approaches ............................................................................... 35 Queer Approaches .......................................................................................... 37 Anthropological Insights ....................................................................................... 41 Multiple Sexualities ........................................................................................ 43 Alternative Ontologies ................................................................................... 45 The History of ‘Tongxinglian/Homosexuality’ ..................................................... 50 The Republican Era ....................................................................................... 50 The Maoist Years ............................................................................................ 53 The Reform Era .............................................................................................. 55 Contemporary Gay, Tongzhi, and Homosexual Identities ..................................... 60 Modern, Cosmopolitan, and Transnational Identities ................................... 63 Family and Filial Piety .................................................................................. 67 v Beyond the Metropole? .................................................................................. 70 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 72 Chapter Three: Methodology.................................................................................... 74 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 74 Ethnography and Ethnographic Interviewing ....................................................... 75 From ‘Research Questions’ to Questioning ‘Research’ ........................................ 83 Fieldwork .............................................................................................................. 88 Ethnographic Embedding/Becoming ‘Someone in the Scene’ ....................... 89 Being Gay, a ‘Foreigner’, and a Man in the Field ........................................ 98 Interview Participant Sample ...................................................................... 104 Negotiating and Conducting Interviews ...................................................... 107 Friendship and (Not) Leaving the Field ...................................................... 112 Translation, Analysis, and Writing ............................................................... 115 Anonymity and Confidentiality .................................................................... 121 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 122 Chapter Four: ‘The Scene/Quanzi’ ........................................................................ 124 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 124 ‘The Scene’ as a Floating Signifier? ................................................................... 128 ‘Coming In’ Through Sexual Desires and Practices ........................................... 139 ‘Coming in’ Through Social Interactions and Intimacies ................................... 146 ‘Coming in’ Through Knowing and Being Known ............................................ 157 ‘Being in the Scene’ and ‘Being’ Gay, Homosexual, and/or Tongzhi ................. 168 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 174 Chapter Five: Being On-and-Off-line .................................................................... 177 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 177 Finding Others Online......................................................................................... 180 Finding Selves Online ......................................................................................... 187 The Internet as ‘Sexual Progress’ ....................................................................... 191 Locating Selves and Others On-and-Off-line ..................................................... 197 Being Seen .......................................................................................................... 208 vi Finding Hook Ups, Friends, and Boyfriends Online .......................................... 219 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 228 Chapter Six: Life-Times .......................................................................................... 231 Introduction
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