Going public: The production and transformation of queer spaces in postsocialist Chengdu, China

This urban ethnographic study examines public gay life in Chengdu, China, with a special focus on a successful local gay organization---the Chengdu Gay Community Care Organization (CGCCO). "Going public" is the local expression for coming-out. My dissertation explores multiple dimensions of "going public"---asserting a gay identity in public, claiming public space for community-building, and participating in the construction of public sphere. I use document analysis, participant observation, and in-depth interviews to study the production and transformation of queer space in contemporary urban China and reveal the dynamic interactions between an emerging gay community and movement and Chinese state, market, and society in transition. The formation of alternative sexual identities and the building of local gay communities serve as a unique lens through which we can observe the rapid and profound social change in present-day China. By bringing a comparative perspective to being gay in the Chinese context, this study critically engages the academic debates on identity politics, urban space, and public sphere.