The Forgotten and the Invisible: Older Gay Men’s Negotiation of Intimacy in Hong Kong

Abstract

Based on the narratives of fourteen older (60+) gay men in Hong Kong, this paper discusses how they negotiated same-sex intimacy in Hong Kong during the 1940s-50s, when homosexual act was criminalised and homosexual identity had not yet developed. This is then contrasted with their experiences of contemporary Hong Kong, where homosexuality has been decriminalised and tongzhi space has become well established. By documenting the changing nature of private/public and hetero/homo spaces in Hong Kong, this paper examines how these gay men have made use of such spaces for same-sex intimacy within a changing web of domination governed by British colonial and post-colonial policies, land developers, and Chinese family values. Through the radical use of spaces, a tongzhi heterotopia can be imagined, created, and practised in both hetero-/homo-sexual worlds. This paper contributes to the sociology of sexuality by exposing the domination of hetero-/homo-normativities in tongzhi lives, and highlighting tongzhi resistance in Hong Kong.