Travelling conversations : Cross-cultural collaboration and the globalization of sexuality studies

In this short article we draw on our personal experience as sexuality scholars to consider what is at stake in attempting to globalize sexuality studies. In so doing we reflect on what we have learnt from collaborating across cultures and discuss some of the barriers to correcting the western/northern dominance of this and other fields, from western theoretical hegemony to the constraints of working within authoritarian regimes. We also suggest some possible ways forward, while recognising that these represent only a very limited beginning given the challenges we face

Talking Politics, Performing Masculinities : Stories of Hong Kong Men before and after the Umbrella Movement

The present paper addresses the under-explored issue of the role of politics in the construction of masculinity, focusing specifically on political Confucianism and men's doing of gender in the context of Hong Kong's recent turbulent history. Between 2014 and 2016 we conducted a series of paired interviews and focus groups with 10 Hong Kong men from differing social backgrounds. Through cooperative grounded inquiry we demonstrate how political events and figures provided points of reference for these men in the construction and performance of masculinities. We emphasize the importance of Confucian hierarchical harmony to gender performance, elaborating three cultural logics—respectability, responsibility and romance—underpinning the doing of Hong Kong masculinities. We thereby shed light on the mutual constitution of personal and political selves and how men define and redefine masculine ideals in times of political turbulence

Understanding the Meaning of Conformity to Feminine Norms in Lifestyle Habits and Health: A Cluster Analysis

Background: Gender roles impact different spheres of life and lead women to behavioral patterns and lifestyle habits associated with femininity, generating important differences between men and women in health. The present study analyzed relationships between conformity to the feminine norms and different lifestyle indicators: Educational level, marital status, alcohol consumption, tobacco consumption, sleeping hours, social support, and physical activity. Additionally, cluster analysis was developed in order to identify different patterns of gender role conformity. Methods: The sample was made up of 347 women age 18–70 from Spain. Data collection was conducted during 2014. Results: Multiple logistic regression analyses produced odds ratios showing that women with lower feminine role conformity were more likely to use tobacco and alcohol, but less likely to share their lives with someone. Cluster analysis found four different profiles of gender role conformity related to different patterns of alcohol consumption and marital status. Conclusions: Conformity to feminine norms was associated with basic affective conditions such as sharing life with others and with alcohol and tobacco consumption, but not with physical activity, social support, and sleep duration. Whereas tobacco and alcohol use have important health implications, public health systems should pay attention to gender-related variables in order to design and implement specific prevention programs

Sex with Chinese Characteristics : Sexuality research in/on 21st century China

This article examines the changing contours of Chinese sexuality studies by locating recent research in historical context. Our aim is to use the literature we review to construct a picture of the sexual landscape in China and the socio-cultural and political conditions that have shaped it, enabling readers unfamiliar with China so understand its sexual culture and practices. In particular, we focus on the consequences of recent changes under the Xi regime for individuals’ sexual lives and for research into sexuality. While discussing the social and political regulation of sexuality, we also attend to the emergence of new forms of gendered and sexual subjectivity in post-socialist China. We argue throughout that sexuality in China is interwoven with the political system in a variety of ways, in particular through the tension between neoliberal and authoritarian styles of governance. We explore normative and dissident sexualities as well as forms of sexual conduct that are officially “deviant” but nonetheless tolerated or even tacitly enabled by the Party-state. In particular we highlight the dilemmas and contradictions faced by China’s citizens as they negotiate their sexual lives under “socialism with Chinese characteristics”

A study of interpersonal relationships in male homosexuality

published_or_final_versionSocial WorkMasterMaster of Social Science

Problematizing Hongkonger Political Subjectivity: The Struggle for, and over, Democracy

In this chapter we explore changing and competing political subjectivities in Hong Kong from a critical feminist and decolonial perspective. We theorize political subjectivity as both collective and individual, as arising from particular historical and political junctures but also, importantly, through social relationships. We argue that political subjectivity must be understood in terms of the multiple processes through which it emerges and evolves in the interplay between history, politics, culture and interpersonal relationships. In so doing we advance an approach to political subjectivity as contextual and relational. While our discussion is based on the specific conditions facing Hong Kong activists, our mode of analysis may offer insights into other socio-political contexts

Doing being observed: Experimenting with collaborative focus group analysis in post-Umbrella Movement Hong Kong

Democratising social inquiry is particularly relevant in the context of Hong Kong’s recent social movements, where political divisions have created rifts among families and friends. In exploring the Umbrella Movement’s personal impact on activists, bystanders and opponents, we developed a new methodology: collaborative focus group analysis (CFGA). Designed to create a safe space for communicating political differences, the methodology also aims to break down the distinction between researchers and researched and engages the latter as co-researchers. In our first application of CFGA, solidarity was exhibited across political and cultural divides, demonstrating the methodology’s potential to support collaborative knowledge-making among co-researchers with different political stances and educational and cultural backgrounds. By analysing the patterns of interaction that emerged within CFGA, we identify strategies for building ‘situated solidarity’ and maintaining ‘non-hierarchical dialogues’. In so doing, we assess CFGA’s potential and limitations

Seeking Love and Justice Amid Hong Kong’s Contentious Politics

Hong Kong women activists’ understanding of love and justice has shaped, and been shaped, by their political engagement under changing circumstances through two phases of mass protest: in 2014 and 2019. This article is focused on the sentiments of love and justice and how they evolved over time, from the peaceful protest of the Umbrella Movement in 2014 to the violent confrontations of 2019 in the context of the rise of ethno-nationalism. This shift reflects a changed understanding of justice – revenge against China – and a specific version of passionate love for Hong Kong and protective love for their comrades. Women activists’ experiences offer insights into how a social movement has engaged women’s emotional energies in particular gendered ways, while persistently marginalising gender issues. In the aftermath of the movement, when protest was effectively banned by both COVID-19 restrictions and the 2020 National Security Law, these women’s emotions have found a new object of their fierce love for Hong Kong: the boy band Mirror, which has come to symbolise Hongkonger pride, belonging and resistance