Performative family: homosexuality,marriage and intergenerational dynamics in China

Using in‐depth interview data on nominal marriages – legal marriages between a gay man and a lesbian to give the appearance of heterosexuality – this paper develops the concept of performative family to explain the processes through which parents and their adult children negotiate and resolve disagreements in relation to marriage decisions in post‐socialist China. We identify three mechanisms – network pressure, a revised discourse of filial piety and resource leverage – through which parents influence their gay offspring's decision to turn to nominal marriage. We also delineate six strategies, namely minimizing network participation, changing expectations, making partial concessions, drawing the line, delaying decisions and ending the marriage, by which gay people in nominal marriages attempt to meet parental expectations while simultaneously retaining a degree of autonomy. Through these interactions, we argue that Chinese parents and their gay adult children implicitly and explicitly collaborate to perform family, emphasizing the importance of formally meeting society's expectations about marriage rather than substantively yielding to its demands. We also argue that the performative family is a pragmatic response to the tension between the persistent centrality of family and marriage and the rising tide of individualism in post‐socialist China. We believe that our findings highlight the specific predicament of homosexual people. They also shed light on the more general dynamics of intergenerational negotiation because there is evidence that the mechanisms used by parents to exert influence may well be similar between gay and non‐gay people.     

Situating language rights: English and Swahili in Tanzania revisited1

This paper argues for an ethnographic‐sociolinguistic approach to the issue of linguistic rights. In much of the literature on linguistic rights, a fundamentally flawed set of assumptions about language and society is being used, leading to assessments of language situations that are empirically not sustainable. An alternative set of assumptions is offered, grounded in ethnography and focused on language use as oriented towards centering institutions that attribute indexicalities – function and value – to linguistic resources. Such centers are invariably multiple but stratified, and the state occupies a crucial place in these systems, between the world system and local forces. This model is applied to the Tanzanian sociolinguistic situation, where a strong state appeared to be caught between pressures that were both transnational and local. This gave rise to a pattern of distribution of linguistic resources, including English and Swahili, that offered semiotic opportunities to speakers to construct deeply ‘local’ meanings. The languages were not in themselves agents of inequality, but the way in which they were distributed nationally and in relation to transnational hierarchies is the key to understanding inequality. Discussions of linguistic rights should start from assessments of the real potential and constraints of linguistic resources, not from idealized and static conceptions of language and society and predefined scenarios of their interaction.     

Consent requires a relationship: rethinking group consent and its timing in ethnographic research

ABSTRACT

Activist groups in ethnographic research re-negotiated our Ethics Committee’s expected order of securing consent before data collection, demonstrating the importance of researchers taking time to build relationships first. Although the Ethics Committee expected us to obtain group consent, the literature provides little guidance on how to do this. We developed a Memorandum of Understanding to summarize what forms of participant observation each group agreed to and how we would reciprocate. In this article, we (re)conceptualize consent, using analogies to consent in social contract theory and sexual relations to offer a critical perspective on what constitutes consent. We argue that taking time to build relationships before expecting research participants to consent and replacing informed consent with a negotiated agreement is a more ethical approach. We advocate for Ethics Committees to expand the meaning of ‘informed consent’ and review its timing, especially for ethnographic research with groups.     

The Production of Popular Music as a Confidence Game: The Case of the Chicago Blues

In this article I argue that the production of live music shares many formal properties with that of confidence games: specifically, (1) a set of structural relationships in which operators, ropers, insiders, shills and marks are enmeshed, (2) the deployment of carefully planned strategies of deception, and (3) a pattern of success owed in part to the moral and financial motivations of insiders, the willingness of the state to assist in the enterprise, and the desire among victims to be swayed by the production. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in some of Chicago's most popular blues clubs, I examine these three components of live music production qua confidence game. I also briefly discuss how one group of participants—local blues musicians—reacts to their own performances as musicians/confidence artists. Finally, I conclude by exploring the broader implications this case suggests regarding other types of live music production.     

‘In the Company of Men’: A Reflexive Tale of Cultural Organizing in a Small Organization

A tale of fieldwork in a small organization is discussed in this article with a view to highlighting how social processes, cultural understandings and expressions of gender are produced during fieldwork interaction. The tale is told reflexively and retrospectively, recording an ongoing conversation about fieldwork experience. Central to the tale is discussion of how the researcher is drawn into ‘culture–making’ within the organization and the ways in which fieldwork interaction creates a ‘space’ through which organizational members engage with, work through and realize work–place values. In this article there are multiple levels of reflection. At one level it is examined how the organizational–researcher role of ‘emotional nurturer’ was constructed during fieldwork. At the same time some cultural insights drawn from ethnographic inquiry and intensive interviewing within the small organization are presented. The analysis is also shaped by a further layer of post–fieldwork reflection and interpretation which draws in emotional issues and expressions of gender. It is argued that a close scrutiny of fieldwork roles is important to organizational research in that it makes explicit how the researcher–‘native’ interaction is central to the theorizing process and how the researcher can become a participant in organizational culture–making.     

A Pilot Study to Evaluate Ethnic/Racial Differences in Depressive Symptoms,Self-Esteem,and Sexual Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at risk for certain physical and psychological health conditions. Ethnic minority MSM are at an increased risk related to the combination of sexual minority and ethnic minority status. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the levels of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and sexual behaviors by ethnicity in a sample of MSM (N = 70) residing in South Florida. More than one-third of the sample (N = 26; 37%) had high levels of depressive symptoms. Using non-parametric statistics, statistically significant differences were noted in the levels of depressive symptoms as African-American MSM had higher levels of depressive symptoms when compared to the other ethnic groups. Statistically significant differences were not found when self-esteem and sexual behaviors were compared by ethnicity. Regardless of ethnicity, MSM in this study were at risk for the sequela of depressive symptoms and infections with HIV and/or sexually transmitted infections because of the high levels of unsafe sexual behaviors. More research is needed to explore the relationship of mental health and sexual behaviors among the various ethnic groups of MSM.     

Knowledge and Skills of Sexual Abuse Prevention: A Study on School-Aged Children in Beijing,China

To examine the level of child sexual abuse prevention knowledge and skills in a sample of school-aged children, a total of 559 children from first to fifth grade were recruited from one primary school in Beijing, China. Participants were asked to finish a questionnaire surveying their knowledge and skills of child sexual abuse prevention. Results showed that accurate rate of knowledge on child sexual abuse prevention were between 44.0% and 80.0%. Percentage of participants having applied the self-protection skills of “saying ‘no,’” “going away,” and “telling adults” properly in hypothetical situations was 57.4%, 28.3%, and 48.3%, respectively. Third-to-fifth graders had a better performance than first-to-second graders, and girls performed better than boys. Findings suggest that Chinese school-aged children are in need of knowledge and skills related to child sexual abuse prevention, and education programs should be developed as soon as possible.     

Acknowledgement and support matter: A brief report on gender identity and sexual orientation at a large,urban university

ABSTRACT

Objective. To examine reporting trends of students identifying as LGBTQIA+ following changes made to the ACHA-NCHA-II survey about gender identity and sexual orientation.

Methods. Data were analyzed from two sources for the purpose of triangulation: the ACHA-NCHA-II 2016 survey specific to our university and an electronic audience response survey.

Participants. Primary analyses included first-year students from the ACHA-NCHA-II data (N = 158; spring 2016) and the audience response survey (N = 1,452; August 2016).

Results. Five percent of students did not identify as cis-gender and 21% did not identify as straight/heterosexual. The sexual orientation trend was confirmed by the audience response survey.

Conclusions. The percentage of students identifying as LGBTQIA+ increased nationally between the ACHA-NCHA-II 2014 and 2016 survey samples, a trend which was confirmed using an independent audience response survey. This information has implications for university programming and inclusivity efforts nationwide.     

Structuring Culture for Change: Strategy,Participation, and Collective Purpose in a Japanese Factory

Organizational culture in Japanese firms has often been used as an independent variable to explain both economic success and, more recently, economic troubles. The Japanese work ethic and lifetime employment stand in for culture in the former case and Japanese reliance on rigid traditions and hierarchy stand in for culture in the latter. This article examines a Japanese factory campaign designed to prepare for recent and ongoing challenges to employment practices and business strategies by strengthening culture and creating new values. Factory managers worked to create support for their goals in face of department, section, and worker responses ranging from enthusiasm to apathy or opposition. An analysis of this campaign shows that culture is a social process, not a given body of knowledge and practice. It also shows how that process is carried out within a particular economic institution by particular actors.     

Transnational queer sociological analysis of sexual identity and civic‐political activism in Hong Kong,Taiwan and mainland China

The sociology of homosexuality lacks engagement with queer theory and postcolonialism and focuses primarily on the global metropoles, thus failing to provide a plausible account of non‐Western non‐normative sexual identities. This research adopts the author’s newly proposed transnational queer sociology to address these deficiencies. First, it critiques the Western model of sexual identity predominantly employed to elucidate non‐Western, non‐normative sexualities. It does so by examining not only the queer flows between West and non‐West but also those among and within non‐Western contexts to produce translocally shared and mutually referenced experiences. Second, the proposed approach combines sociology with queer theory by emphasizing the significant role of material, as well as discursive, analyses in shaping queer identities, desires and practices. This article employs the approach to examine young gay male identities, as revealed in 90 in‐depth interviews conducted in Hong Kong (n = 30), Taiwan (Taipei, n = 30) and mainland China (Shanghai, n = 30) between 2017 and 2019. More specifically, it highlights the interplay between the state and identity by investigating the intersection and intertwining effects of these young men’s sexual and cultural/national identities, revealing three different forms of civic‐political activism. The article both demonstrates the way in which sexuality and the state are mutually constituted and provides nuanced analysis of the heterogeneity of contemporary homosexualities in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. In applying a new sociological approach to understanding sexuality, this research joins the growing body of scholarship within sociology that is decentring the Western formation of universal knowledge.     

The sexual in Chinese sociology: homosexuality studies in contemporary China

Through a meta‐literature review, this paper examines the changing contours of Chinese sociology of homosexuality in contemporary China. It unfolds the different theoretical orientations and methodologies that construct the modern male homosexual subject under major socio‐economic and political changes. Chinese sociology of homosexuality started in the reform era and has been dominated by Western knowledge production and the political ideology of the communist party‐state. Fused with the bio‐medical model and the state's modernization project in the 1980s–1990s, the sociological study adopted a functionalist and positivistic approach with survey‐based methodology in the main which focused on the etiology of homosexuality. A new transnational knowledge production of sociology of homosexuality has formed since the 2000s which has shifted towards a constructivist/ post‐structuralist approach and reflexive qualitative methodology. The new sociological study examines the rise of male (as well as female) homosexual identity in China, questions the hetero/homosexual binary and discusses how an individual makes sense of homosexual identity to form same‐sex intimate relationships. By tracing the epistemology of homosexuality in contemporary China, this paper rethinks the dominance of the Western construction and the role of the state in shaping the knowledge of homosexuality and proposes alternative spaces for theorizing Chinese sexual identities, desires and practices.     

Now and again: Eventful experience as a resource in senior activism

ABSTRACT

Shared memories shape relations among social movement participants and their organizations. However, scholars often ignore how experience operates as a means of solidifying attachment in group contexts. In contrast, I argue that activism depends on how participants publicly recall events. In this, I integrate a social memory perspective with the examination of activist movements. Through narrative, participants build engagement by presenting the self-in-history as a model for collective action. I refer to this as eventful experience, utilizing memorable moments as a resource for generating commitment. Movements depend upon members communicating the critical moments of their lives, embedding personal timelines in group culture. The linkage of personal experience and public events is a strategy by which individuals motivate collective action. Drawing on a thirty-month ethnography of a progressive senior citizen activist group in Chicago, I examine how members use an awareness of temporality to build a culture of action. Each movement group uses the past experiences of participants to build their culture – what Jasper refers to as taste in tactics, incorporating past successes, present plans, and imagined futures into a call for direct action.     

Downloading culture: community building in a decentralized file-sharing collective

File-sharing collectives have significantly disrupted models of digital media distribution since their emergence and widespread popularization in the late 1990s. This study investigates how semi-anonymous and decentralized collectives construct their communities of practice. Conducting a case study of a private torrenting community, data were gathered via participant observation, interviews, and online postings (i.e., blogs and forums). Findings challenged dominant notions of opportunism, selfishness and task-oriented individualism advanced by Human–Computer Interaction scholars. Three key constructs were identified in private torrent community building: boundary construction, membership maintenance, and a sense of belonging and solidarity. Findings illustrate how a file-sharing community cultivates the formation of prosocial digital peers, fosters an affective approach to peer-to-peer collectives, and ultimately forges a downloading virtuoso community. This sisyphean, goal-oriented community seeks to create a comprehensive archive of media artifacts independent of and in opposition to dominant corporate platforms. The community demonstrates a downloading culture inspired by technological design, yet driven by trust and solidarity.     

RESEARCH NOTE: Language with attitude: American slang and Chinese lǐyǔ1

The Mandarin registers known as lǐyǔ (俚语) have commonly been translated as ‘slang,’ though traditionally lǐyǔ has differed from slang in English by virtue of its strong link to regionalism. A newly emergent version of lǐyǔ that is prominent among young Chinese is marked not by regionalism but by its Internet‐enabled global purview. This youth‐culture lǐyǔ, like the student slang described by Eble (1996) , functions as a device to promote group solidarity while also serving as an identity marker for China's millennial generation. Lǐyǔ, like the numerous versions of slang described in English, Portuguese and other languages, is marked by ebullient or non‐deferential affect, an attribute that helps explains the close association between slang and swearwords. Slang and lǐyǔ lexemes, in light of the affect they entail, are the pragmatic opposites of honorifics – terms which index deference within formal, hierarchical structures.
     

Knowledge,Attitude and Practice of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention among Parents of Children with Hearing Loss: A Pilot Study in Beijing and Hebei Province,China

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to examine the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention among parents of children with hearing loss. The study involved 127 pairs of parents with deaf and hard of hearing children from three special education schools in Beijing and Hebei province, China. The findings revealed that the parents lacked knowledge about CSA prevention, such as the character of perpetrators and child victims. Parents were supportive about potential CSA prevention education in schools. Most parents told children much about personal safety, but topics on CSA prevention were still insufficient. The study also found that education level was significantly associated with knowledge and attitude. Elder parents knew more and talked more about CSA prevention. Mothers and girls’ parents were more willing to communicate with children about CSA prevention. The conclusion of the study was that parents appeared to have gained a positive attitude, but poor knowledge and practice. Their knowledge and skills of effective communication should be strengthened to promote CSA prevention practice.     

Parenting and child-caretaking among black men who have sex with men and associated sexual and reproductive health factors: a brief report

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the prevalence of parenting and child-caretaking among a sample of black men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as associations between parenting roles and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) factors. Parenting and SRH data were derived from a survey of 199 black MSM. Nearly half of the sample reported being a father or father-figure (44.4%), almost a third indicated serving as caretaker of a child (29.1%), and one in five have a biological child (20.1%). Over half of the sample reported at least one of these three parenting/child-caretaking roles (52.5%). Two significant differences were observed for sexual health variables: men with biological children were significantly more likely to report using condoms inconsistently (55.0% vs. 35.7%, p = .026) and engaging in transactional sex work (36.8% vs. 21.0%, p = .041). Given the observed prevalence, parenting and child-caretaking among black MSM warrant further inquiry as factors that may influence SRH outcomes and care utilization. Services and interventions tailored to black MSM should consider these men’s potential roles and responsibilities as parents and caretakers of children.     

Resisting Amnesia in the Countertransference: A Clinical Strategy for Working with Lesbian Patients

Seldom emphasized in clinical writings are the ways in which lesbians construct and revise multiple narratives to create and navigate their lesbian identity within the clinical relationship. Case material is presented to show how the examination of the psychic meaning of the move from lesbian child to lesbian woman can be explored retrospectively through the collaborative therapeutic relationship set forth in the constructivist approach. To address the potential countertransference problems for clinicians working with this population, the concept of countertransference amnesia is introduced to describe a particular type of forgetting that reproduces within the clinical relationship the subtle forms of discrimination that restrict lesbian expression within the culture at large. This work also seeks to liberate lesbian identity formation from previous explanations and to demonstrate the construction of a lesbian identity as a psychically organizing process, which integrates inner and outer experience and allows the girl or woman to adapt to the social world.