Building a Queer Refuge in Rural China

• In Event: 20862 - Section on International Migration Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 8: Migration Experiences in East Asia

Abstract

Southwest China has risen to be a favorable destination for LGBQT Chinese in the recent decade, which reflects the complicated role of the state and its interplay with local policies. While the existing literature tends to focus on individual motivation and the rural-to-urban pathway, a recent trend of “reverse” migratory trajectory - queer migrants moving from big cities to small towns and rural villages are emerging in China. Drawing on life history interviews, this study unravels the intricate push and pull factors that contribute to this emerging migratory pattern of queer Chinese. On the one hand, although urban metropolises still serve as destinations for most queer migrants, the Chinese central government has tightened control on queer population in recent years. As a result, some queer people, including locals and migrants from other places, started to “move Southward”, where restrictions tended to be looser. On the other hand, while rural areas welcomed urban migrants for the investment they brought in, our respondents did express a sense of being tolerated or even accepted by the local villagers. Nevertheless, our study reveals more complicated dynamics of the interaction between queer migrants and local villagers. In addition, even in rural villages the queer population are getting precarious of the state's omnipresent monitor enabled by technological advancement. By presenting this case of reverse queen migration, this article hopes to broaden the discussion of possibilities of sexuality and migration in light of evolving social and political conditions in the Global South.

Author

• (Leo) Kin Chong Chao, University of Wisconsin-Madison