Sunday, November 22, 2015

Week 9 - Sunny Tran

Daniel Tsang. “Notes on Queer ‘N’ Asian Virtual Sex.”

Tsang explores an unconventional mode of knowledge creation, through not just any media, but sexual media. These websites challenge conventional notions and stereotypes of Asian male sexuality and masculinity. Global and transnational community ties over technology is used to discuss the stigma of sexuality within the Asian community, and also racism within the online community. One anecdote where a man changed his ethnicity from Chinese to white online and interest in him increased dramatically is an example of the prevalence of racism. I think it's important to show visibility for Queer Asians, especially in a time when many Asian -interest organizations are being political but aren't representing the queer Asian community within their organizations, or that their organizations represent. I'd like to compare Tsang's study to GameBoi, a monthly clubbing scene in downtown San Francisco targeted towards the gay Asian male audience. It provides a space for a very specific group, and also promotes visibility for sexual queer Asian men. However, when society only sees queer Asian men as sexualized beings in sexual spaces, like clubs and online site for sexual encounters, does this visibility help us or only hurt us further?

A promotional flyer for a GameBoi event (APIWC)

No comments:

Post a Comment