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Intersectional Heterotopia: HIV and LGBTQ+ Movement in China
Author(s) -
Pan Xin,
Loopmans Maarten
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/tesg.12409
Subject(s) - gender studies , mainstream , china , homosexuality , heteronormativity , oppression , sociology , intersectionality , prejudice (legal term) , political science , human sexuality , social psychology , psychology , politics , law
Abstract Unprotected sex is the primary mode of HIV transmission in China. In 2014, 25.8 per cent of newly diagnosed cases were attributed to unprotected sex between men (National Health and Family Planning Commission 2015). While the majority of the nation’s new HIV infections are due to heterosexual sex, HIV is deeply tied to homosexuality in public discourse in China. Standing at the intersection of a stigmatised disease and sexual dissidence, HIV‐positive gay men are particularly ‘Othered’, suffering from intense prejudice and discrimination. However, we analyse how this intersection not only presents oppression, but also agency. Whereas Chinese mainstream discourses are often imbued with homo‐negativity, the intersection of being gay and HIV‐positive has allowed the creation of LGBTQ+ NGOs as heterotopia which do not only function as counter‐sites where alternative social relations and norms can be imagined, but also as nodes in wider societal networks from where LGBTQ+ rights can be promoted.