positions Essays:Part ll The Traffic in Money Boys Lisa Rofel Why do so many gay men in China speak anxiously about what they call, using the English term,"money boys"?"Money boys"is a colloquialism in China for men who sell sex to other men.What is it about money boys' activities that lead (other)Chinese gay men to go out of their way to con- demn them and even deny that those who wish to identify as gay deserve to be called"gay"?I have had the pleasure of spending time in various gay ven- ues in Beijing,and in all of them-whether a salon discussion,film view- ing,gay bar,or private gathering in someone's home-the issue of money boys invariably emerges.The vehemence of the condemnations is striking. Gay men I have spoken with about money boys claim they inappropriately blur the boundaries between sex and love,they exploit gay men,they are dangerous,and they are rural migrants just looking for work in the big city-implying both that they are not really gay and that they should either p0 sition518:2Do110.12151o679847-2010-009 Copyright zoto by Duke University Press Published by Duke University Press
Essays: Part II The Traffic in Money Boys Lisa Rofel Why do so many gay men in China speak anxiously about what they call, using the English term, “money boys”? “Money boys” is a colloquialism in China for men who sell sex to other men. What is it about money boys’ activities that lead (other) Chinese gay men to go out of their way to condemn them and even deny that those who wish to identify as gay deserve to be called “gay”? I have had the pleasure of spending time in various gay venues in Beijing, and in all of them— whether a salon discussion, film viewing, gay bar, or private gathering in someone’s home— the issue of money boys invariably emerges. The vehemence of the condemnations is striking. Gay men I have spoken with about money boys claim they inappropriately blur the boundaries between sex and love, they exploit gay men, they are dangerous, and they are rural migrants just looking for work in the big city—implying both that they are not really gay and that they should either positions 18:2 doi 10.1215/10679847-2010-009 Copyright 2010 by Duke University Press positions Published by Duke University Press
positions positions 18:2 Fall 2010 426 return to their rural homes or find a"real"job.Most importantly,those who denigrate money boys argue that they sully the reputation of Chinese gay men.Money boys,it is claimed,hinder the aspirations of other gay men to make a gay sexual orientation acceptable in China.In other words,money boys turn the terrain of sex and desire in China into one that is fraught with ambiguity.Do money boys pervert what otherwise should be the perfectly acceptable desire to have an erotic interchange with men by bringing it into the impure world of commodification and money?Is their desire-for sex, for money,or for sex that involves money-really possible to cordon off from other kinds of desires that appear to be more normalized?Finally, how do they affect the endeavors of other gay men in China to create an identity that will be acceptable within what they view as the norms of Chi- nese culture? In this essay,I argue that money boys are a pressing issue for gay men in China because homophobia and dilemmas about the proper ways to chal- lenge it are framed by the tremendous transformations that have occurred in China over the last twenty-five years that prominent scholars in China have begun to call neoliberalism.These transformations include the pro- motion of a market economy,the steady move toward privatization,the search for profits that includes rent-seeking and corruption,the increasingly stark social inequalities evident in China,the rise of consumerism and a consumer-oriented popular culture,the turn away from post-Bandung third-world alliances toward parity with the West,the vast amount of for- eign direct investment in China,and conversely,China's increasing invest- ments in non-Western countries as they search for energy resources,and, finally,China's entry into the World Trade Organization(WTO),with its attendant neoliberal rules and regulations about so-called free trade. These transformations suture China more tightly into a post-Cold War world in which neoliberal ideologies,backed by an imperial United States and implemented by U.S.-dominated transnational institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank,seem ascendant. However,my approach to neoliberalism in China differs from the most prominent theories about neoliberalism.2 First,in contrast to the common assumption that neoliberalism is a fully formed phenomenon delivered from the West to the third world,I argue that neoliberalism is a histori- Published by Duke University Press
positions 18:2 Fall 2010 426 return to their rural homes or find a “real” job. Most importantly, those who denigrate money boys argue that they sully the reputation of Chinese gay men. Money boys, it is claimed, hinder the aspirations of other gay men to make a gay sexual orientation acceptable in China. In other words, money boys turn the terrain of sex and desire in China into one that is fraught with ambiguity. Do money boys pervert what otherwise should be the perfectly acceptable desire to have an erotic interchange with men by bringing it into the impure world of commodification and money? Is their desire—for sex, for money, or for sex that involves money— really possible to cordon off from other kinds of desires that appear to be more normalized? Finally, how do they affect the endeavors of other gay men in China to create an identity that will be acceptable within what they view as the norms of Chinese culture? In this essay, I argue that money boys are a pressing issue for gay men in China because homophobia and dilemmas about the proper ways to challenge it are framed by the tremendous transformations that have occurred in China over the last twenty-five years that prominent scholars in China have begun to call neoliberalism.1 These transformations include the promotion of a market economy, the steady move toward privatization, the search for profits that includes rent-seeking and corruption, the increasingly stark social inequalities evident in China, the rise of consumerism and a consumer-oriented popular culture, the turn away from post-Bandung third-world alliances toward parity with the West, the vast amount of foreign direct investment in China, and conversely, China’s increasing investments in non-Western countries as they search for energy resources, and, finally, China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), with its attendant neoliberal rules and regulations about so-called free trade. These transformations suture China more tightly into a post –Cold War world in which neoliberal ideologies, backed by an imperial United States and implemented by U.S.-dominated transnational institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, seem ascendant. However, my approach to neoliberalism in China differs from the most prominent theories about neoliberalism.2 First, in contrast to the common assumption that neoliberalism is a fully formed phenomenon delivered from the West to the third world, I argue that neoliberalism is a historipositions Published by Duke University Press
positions Rofel I The Traffic in Money Boys 427 cally contingent,heterogeneous project whose coherence must be continu- ally asserted through transnational articulations between unequally situated nation-states.In China,as elsewhere,one of the central features of struggles to articulate transnational economic policies,only some of which we might label "neoliberal";profit-seeking activities,which are far from uniform;and new kinds of subjects is the simultaneous mobilization of cosmopolitanism, on the one hand,and Chinese civilization,culture,and national identity,on the other.My argument,in brief,is that the place of lesbians and gay men in China is intimately connected to cosmopolitanism because it is through the expression of desire that they,as well as other Chinese citizens,are able to feel part of a universal humanity.The fact that they must do so is itself a result of the embrace of neoliberalism,which changes the relation of China to the world economy and the terms by which its people can relate to each other.3 Neoliberalism thus produces a yearning for cosmopolitanism,which then gets encoded as a difference between licit and illicit desires. The mobilization of cosmopolitanism along with Chinese cultural and national identity occurs in several realms.Official discourse about"socialism with Chinese characteristics"is but one of them and should not be lightly dismissed,as there indeed exists cultural and historical specificity to the manner in which privatization activities occur.Both official and popular discourses also mobilize national identity and"traditional"Chinese moral- ity,which spans invocations of Confucian virtues,family values,Buddhism, and the history of Chinese culture prior to the socialist revolution.These categories,far from taken for granted,are themselves continually debated as various practices-gender,sexual,and otherwise-are deemed to be repre- sentative of Chinese culture or its antithesis that requires vigorous excision. The invocation of Chinese culture,morality,and national identity is meant not only to forestall the worst effects of neoliberalism (the historical ti/lyong dichotomy)but,indeed,more assertively to define its constitution within China and beyond it.That is,Chinese civilization is often seen as that which will save neoliberalism from pure barbarism.Thus,the challenge for lesbi- ans and gay men in China,as well as other citizens,is to prove at once their ability to transcend nation-state boundaries and embrace neoliberal cosmo- politanism but also to display their normativity as Chinese citizens.5 My second disagreement with other theories of neoliberalism is that,while Published by Duke University Press
Rofel ❘ The Traffic in Money Boys 427 cally contingent, heterogeneous project whose coherence must be continually asserted through transnational articulations between unequally situated nation-states. In China, as elsewhere, one of the central features of struggles to articulate transnational economic policies, only some of which we might label “neoliberal”; profit-seeking activities, which are far from uniform; and new kinds of subjects is the simultaneous mobilization of cosmopolitanism, on the one hand, and Chinese civilization, culture, and national identity, on the other. My argument, in brief, is that the place of lesbians and gay men in China is intimately connected to cosmopolitanism because it is through the expression of desire that they, as well as other Chinese citizens, are able to feel part of a universal humanity. The fact that they must do so is itself a result of the embrace of neoliberalism, which changes the relation of China to the world economy and the terms by which its people can relate to each other.3 Neoliberalism thus produces a yearning for cosmopolitanism, which then gets encoded as a difference between licit and illicit desires. The mobilization of cosmopolitanism along with Chinese cultural and national identity occurs in several realms. Official discourse about “socialism with Chinese characteristics” is but one of them and should not be lightly dismissed, as there indeed exists cultural and historical specificity to the manner in which privatization activities occur.4 Both official and popular discourses also mobilize national identity and “traditional” Chinese morality, which spans invocations of Confucian virtues, family values, Buddhism, and the history of Chinese culture prior to the socialist revolution. These categories, far from taken for granted, are themselves continually debated as various practices— gender, sexual, and otherwise— are deemed to be representative of Chinese culture or its antithesis that requires vigorous excision. The invocation of Chinese culture, morality, and national identity is meant not only to forestall the worst effects of neoliberalism (the historical ti/yong dichotomy) but, indeed, more assertively to define its constitution within China and beyond it. That is, Chinese civilization is often seen as that which will save neoliberalism from pure barbarism. Thus, the challenge for lesbians and gay men in China, as well as other citizens, is to prove at once their ability to transcend nation-state boundaries and embrace neoliberal cosmopolitanism but also to display their normativity as Chinese citizens.5 My second disagreement with other theories of neoliberalism is that, while positions Published by Duke University Press
positions positions 18:2 Fall 2010 428 prominent theorists have made the important argument that neoliberalism creates new subjectivities,they tend to emphasize a rationalized subject who must discipline himself or herself into neoliberal modes of being and act- ing.These theories have the advantage that they do not treat neoliberalism as a purely economistic endeavor,but they nonetheless accept neoliberal ide- ologies'own ideas about rationality as that which subtends neoliberalism. Moreover,they tend to draw a direct and rather deterministic line from neo- liberal economic policies to these rational techniques of the self to neoliberal subjectivities.In contrast,I locate the specific appearance of neoliberalism in China in the production of desire.?Desire is the means through which people in China,as elsewhere,prove their cosmopolitan worldliness.But desire is a complicated realm.As psychoanalytical theory has long argued, desire can be unpredictable and difficult to control."Desire"is a historically, socially,and culturally produced field that articulates the new contradictions and inequalities in China to both resolve past dilemmas and create new ones. The desiring subject-whether sexual,affective,or possessive-thus func- tions variously as a trope,a normative ideal,and a horizon of possibility- or impossibility.It promises new freedoms even as it seems to be the only game in town.It also creates a terrain for powerful and dehumanizing exclu- sions.While the neoliberal enticement to have desires is prevalent every- where in China,debates about how to distinguish licit and illicit desires continue to animate public culture.Lesbians and gay men must grapple with the ambivalences,contradictions,and exclusions that the specificity of neoliberalism creates in China. This essay speaks as well to a hoary debate in queer studies,or perhaps I should say to the attacks on queer studies by those who used to accuse it of being"merely cultural"or idealist as opposed to materialist queer.s Those debates were never resolved;they merely faded.But they left certain dichot- omies in place:those who wanted so-called materialist studies of sexuality and desire used the term "materialist"in an obfuscatory manner.Those who had been criticized responded by pointing out that:attention to family, kinship,intimacy,and the body are as"material"as one can get.But what those who invoked materialism really meant,which they did also say,was that studies of desire should be grounded in a study of capitalist relations of production.Ironically,however,as soon as they set out that context,they Published by Duke University Press
positions 18:2 Fall 2010 428 prominent theorists have made the important argument that neoliberalism creates new subjectivities, they tend to emphasize a rationalized subject who must discipline himself or herself into neoliberal modes of being and acting.6 These theories have the advantage that they do not treat neoliberalism as a purely economistic endeavor, but they nonetheless accept neoliberal ideologies’ own ideas about rationality as that which subtends neoliberalism. Moreover, they tend to draw a direct and rather deterministic line from neoliberal economic policies to these rational techniques of the self to neoliberal subjectivities. In contrast, I locate the specific appearance of neoliberalism in China in the production of desire.7 Desire is the means through which people in China, as elsewhere, prove their cosmopolitan worldliness. But desire is a complicated realm. As psychoanalytical theory has long argued, desire can be unpredictable and difficult to control. “Desire” is a historically, socially, and culturally produced field that articulates the new contradictions and inequalities in China to both resolve past dilemmas and create new ones. The desiring subject— whether sexual, affective, or possessive— thus functions variously as a trope, a normative ideal, and a horizon of possibility— or impossibility. It promises new freedoms even as it seems to be the only game in town. It also creates a terrain for powerful and dehumanizing exclusions. While the neoliberal enticement to have desires is prevalent everywhere in China, debates about how to distinguish licit and illicit desires continue to animate public culture. Lesbians and gay men must grapple with the ambivalences, contradictions, and exclusions that the specificity of neoliberalism creates in China. This essay speaks as well to a hoary debate in queer studies, or perhaps I should say to the attacks on queer studies by those who used to accuse it of being “merely cultural” or idealist as opposed to materialist queer.8 Those debates were never resolved; they merely faded. But they left certain dichotomies in place: those who wanted so-called materialist studies of sexuality and desire used the term “materialist” in an obfuscatory manner. Those who had been criticized responded by pointing out that: attention to family, kinship, intimacy, and the body are as “material” as one can get. But what those who invoked materialism really meant, which they did also say, was that studies of desire should be grounded in a study of capitalist relations of production. Ironically, however, as soon as they set out that context, they positions Published by Duke University Press
positions Rofel I The Traffic in Money Boys 429 also let desire drop out of the picture,because they couldn't really figure out, within a certain classical Marxism,how to study the myriad forms desire takes.Thus,Donald Morton,for example,establishes a dichotomy between need and desire and asserts that need is what we,excuse the pun,need to study,but desire is merely an ideological by-product of capitalism.It was difficult to get past such homophobia and so the debate petered out after both sides had had their say.The debate was ironic,because it was based on a basic opposition between the instrumental and the affective:that which is instrumental belongs to a study of capitalism proper-the rational subject with needs-while that which is affective is relegated to a realm that is not part of capitalist relations of production proper.I say it is ironic to base a critique of queer studies on the instrumental versus the affective because,as Marshall Sahlins pointed out a long time ago,this opposition was produced out of capitalism itself.0 Queer studies,on the other hand,has not really figured out how to get past the homophobia implicit in so many of these critiques and analyze the relationship between capitalism and desire.My hope is that this essay contributes to bridging that division. The desiring subject has taken center stage in China because of the his- torically specific allegory constructed to reject Maoism.This allegory revises historical memory through the emancipatory tale that Maoism suppressed a natural human nature and that,by rejecting the socialist state,people can unshackle their gendered and sexual selves.l1 Given the specificity of this history-and its revisionist historiography-the goal in China appears to be not merely to end the suppression of so-called innate gendered and sexual selves,but the positive development of subjects with elaborate sexual, material,and affective self-interests.After the June 4th crisis of legitimacy in 1989,the constitution of a postsocialist humanity in China entailed the intensification of this goal in order to create cosmopolitan citizens of a post-Cold War world.12 For these historical reasons,homoeroticism has created a great deal of ambivalence in China.This ambivalence is evident in public culture debates about well-known legal cases concerning homoerotic desire and gay identity, as well as in informal conversation.3 Indeed,homoeroticism plays a cen- tral role in public discussions about licit and illicit,or proper and improper desires.There are no laws against homosexuality in China.But some con- Published by Duke University Press
Rofel ❘ The Traffic in Money Boys 429 also let desire drop out of the picture, because they couldn’t really figure out, within a certain classical Marxism, how to study the myriad forms desire takes. Thus, Donald Morton, for example, establishes a dichotomy between need and desire and asserts that need is what we, excuse the pun, need to study, but desire is merely an ideological by-product of capitalism.9 It was difficult to get past such homophobia and so the debate petered out after both sides had had their say. The debate was ironic, because it was based on a basic opposition between the instrumental and the affective: that which is instrumental belongs to a study of capitalism proper— the rational subject with needs— while that which is affective is relegated to a realm that is not part of capitalist relations of production proper. I say it is ironic to base a critique of queer studies on the instrumental versus the affective because, as Marshall Sahlins pointed out a long time ago, this opposition was produced out of capitalism itself.10 Queer studies, on the other hand, has not really figured out how to get past the homophobia implicit in so many of these critiques and analyze the relationship between capitalism and desire. My hope is that this essay contributes to bridging that division. The desiring subject has taken center stage in China because of the historically specific allegory constructed to reject Maoism. This allegory revises historical memory through the emancipatory tale that Maoism suppressed a natural human nature and that, by rejecting the socialist state, people can unshackle their gendered and sexual selves.11 Given the specificity of this history— and its revisionist historiography— the goal in China appears to be not merely to end the suppression of so-called innate gendered and sexual selves, but the positive development of subjects with elaborate sexual, material, and affective self-interests. After the June 4th crisis of legitimacy in 1989, the constitution of a postsocialist humanity in China entailed the intensification of this goal in order to create cosmopolitan citizens of a post –Cold War world.12 For these historical reasons, homoeroticism has created a great deal of ambivalence in China. This ambivalence is evident in public culture debates about well-known legal cases concerning homoerotic desire and gay identity, as well as in informal conversation.13 Indeed, homoeroticism plays a central role in public discussions about licit and illicit, or proper and improper desires. There are no laws against homosexuality in China. But some conpositions Published by Duke University Press
positions positions 18:2 Fall 2010 430 demn homosexuality in the name of Chinese morality while others,who do not identify as gay,proclaim that,although they do not understand homo- sexuality,everyone should be free to express their desires.This complex situ- ation means that lesbians and gay men provide a particularly compelling and ambivalent challenge to postsocialist constructions of human nature. Lesbians and gay men in China could view themselves as standing at the forefront of a universal humanity in the expression of their desires.Yet,they must struggle with public debates in China about the differentiation among those deemed appropriate subjects of desire and those cast as inappropriate. The instabilities inherent in the experimental nature of China's neoliberal reforms means that these"desiring-actions,"to borrow a term from Neferti Tadiar,were not determined in advance.+Nonetheless,these debates revolved around attempts to draw a clear boundary between normative and nonnor- mative desires,both within and outside gay communities in China. Money boys thus became a lightening rod among gay men in their efforts to grapple with homophobia and the proper,class-inflected ways to be a desiring subject in this postsocialist world.As queer theory has taught us, desires normalize and,in so doing,constitute those who are also excluded and marked as nonnormative.15 Queer theorists of color have challenged and expanded this canon in order to make compelling arguments about the critical role of postcolonial histories of racism and diaspora in construct- ing normative desires among lesbians and gay men.16 Queer theorists have also argued that normalizations require a great deal of effort to make them effective and in that work,gaps and fissures lead to unexpected outcomes. Gay men who condemn money boys marginalize them as a way to make their own desires appear simultaneously cosmopolitan (in its contemporary neoliberal guise)and appropriately Chinese.But they sometimes have dif ficulty in crafting absolute distinctions between themselves and these"oth- ers,"even as they use these others to make themselves appear to have the more appropriate desires befitting a postsocialist China.7 Thus I locate an anxiety expressed about the "money boy"as a production of the market economy that threatens the ontological certainty of the desiring individual. The fact that the unique term "money boy"is used to refer to these men--rather than,say,“gigolo”or“male prostitute”--is not to be dis- missed as incidental,but bears a critical relation to commodification and the Published by Duke University Press
positions 18:2 Fall 2010 430 demn homosexuality in the name of Chinese morality while others, who do not identify as gay, proclaim that, although they do not understand homosexuality, everyone should be free to express their desires. This complex situation means that lesbians and gay men provide a particularly compelling and ambivalent challenge to postsocialist constructions of human nature. Lesbians and gay men in China could view themselves as standing at the forefront of a universal humanity in the expression of their desires. Yet, they must struggle with public debates in China about the differentiation among those deemed appropriate subjects of desire and those cast as inappropriate. The instabilities inherent in the experimental nature of China’s neoliberal reforms means that these “desiring-actions,” to borrow a term from Neferti Tadiar, were not determined in advance.14 Nonetheless, these debates revolved around attempts to draw a clear boundary between normative and nonnormative desires, both within and outside gay communities in China. Money boys thus became a lightening rod among gay men in their efforts to grapple with homophobia and the proper, class-inflected ways to be a desiring subject in this postsocialist world. As queer theory has taught us, desires normalize and, in so doing, constitute those who are also excluded and marked as nonnormative.15 Queer theorists of color have challenged and expanded this canon in order to make compelling arguments about the critical role of postcolonial histories of racism and diaspora in constructing normative desires among lesbians and gay men.16 Queer theorists have also argued that normalizations require a great deal of effort to make them effective and in that work, gaps and fissures lead to unexpected outcomes. Gay men who condemn money boys marginalize them as a way to make their own desires appear simultaneously cosmopolitan (in its contemporary neoliberal guise) and appropriately Chinese. But they sometimes have difficulty in crafting absolute distinctions between themselves and these “others,” even as they use these others to make themselves appear to have the more appropriate desires befitting a postsocialist China.17 Thus I locate an anxiety expressed about the “money boy” as a production of the market economy that threatens the ontological certainty of the desiring individual. The fact that the unique term “money boy” is used to refer to these men— rather than, say, “gigolo” or “male prostitute”— is not to be dismissed as incidental, but bears a critical relation to commodification and the positions Published by Duke University Press
positions Rofel I The Traffic in Money Boys 431 anxieties attendant upon the loss or the blurring of the boundaries between epistemic zones.After repeatedly hearing disparaging remarks about money boys,I decided I should talk to money boys themselves.I was hesitant at first,because I was not sure how one would go about asking someone ques- tions about their engagement in an activity that is so roundly condemned.I began to ask some of my gay male friends in Beijing to introduce me to any money boys they knew.While I am sure there are men who sell sex to other men-one stroll through Beijing's famous Dongdan Park makes that activ- ity obvious-the men I was introduced to as money boys all refused that label.They argued that their actions did not represent a simple equation of sex for money.1s As I describe below,their rejection of the money boy label is more than simply a matter of denial.These men had a much more complex interpretation of their activities that,as with other gay men,broadened out into a consideration of the place of desire in contemporary China.They led me to understand that their activities were as much an intimate part of the transformations that had moved China away from socialism and toward a world of what I would call neoliberal cosmopolitanism as any other activi- ties centered around desire.Indeed,their analyses of their own lives and the debates among gay men over money boys led me to realize that the question of desire lies at the very heart of these transformations. I offer two "scenes"that develop my arguments about not simply the views of those labeled money boys but also the cultural anxieties of other gay men about money boys.That is,my intent is not just to describe so-called money boys'attempts to decouple money and sex,but other gay men's fears about their own inabilities to do so,the reasons why this distinction comes to matter at all,and the politically and culturally specific context that shapes these anxieties.The first scene occurred in my room in Beijing when one of my gay male friends introduced me to someone he labeled a money boy.The disagreements that ensued in the conversation exemplify the anxious pursuit of neoliberal respectability among certain gay men.The second scene is a film by the well-known queer filmmaker Cui Zi'en.Through satire and subversion,Cui Zi'en challenges gay men about their desires for neoliberal normalization. Published by Duke University Press
Rofel ❘ The Traffic in Money Boys 431 anxieties attendant upon the loss or the blurring of the boundaries between epistemic zones. After repeatedly hearing disparaging remarks about money boys, I decided I should talk to money boys themselves. I was hesitant at first, because I was not sure how one would go about asking someone questions about their engagement in an activity that is so roundly condemned. I began to ask some of my gay male friends in Beijing to introduce me to any money boys they knew. While I am sure there are men who sell sex to other men— one stroll through Beijing’s famous Dongdan Park makes that activity obvious— the men I was introduced to as money boys all refused that label. They argued that their actions did not represent a simple equation of sex for money.18 As I describe below, their rejection of the money boy label is more than simply a matter of denial. These men had a much more complex interpretation of their activities that, as with other gay men, broadened out into a consideration of the place of desire in contemporary China. They led me to understand that their activities were as much an intimate part of the transformations that had moved China away from socialism and toward a world of what I would call neoliberal cosmopolitanism as any other activities centered around desire. Indeed, their analyses of their own lives and the debates among gay men over money boys led me to realize that the question of desire lies at the very heart of these transformations. I offer two “scenes” that develop my arguments about not simply the views of those labeled money boys but also the cultural anxieties of other gay men about money boys. That is, my intent is not just to describe so-called money boys’ attempts to decouple money and sex, but other gay men’s fears about their own inabilities to do so, the reasons why this distinction comes to matter at all, and the politically and culturally specific context that shapes these anxieties. The first scene occurred in my room in Beijing when one of my gay male friends introduced me to someone he labeled a money boy. The disagreements that ensued in the conversation exemplify the anxious pursuit of neoliberal respectability among certain gay men. The second scene is a film by the well-known queer filmmaker Cui Zi’en. Through satire and subversion, Cui Zi’en challenges gay men about their desires for neoliberal normalization. positions Published by Duke University Press
positions positions 18:2 Fall 2010 432 Scene One It was a spring evening in 1998.Ah Zhuang had agreed to introduce me to someone he said was a money boy.19 I had first met Ah Zhuang through other foreign lesbians and gay men living in Beijing.Then in his early for- ties,Ah Zhuang was a radiologist.Ah Zhuang considered himself to be someone who had always known he was gay.He had never married,as have so many other gay men,but lived at home taking care of his mother.He also considered himself to be part of a long-lost line of aristocratic Mongo- lians,through his father's ancestors.Ah Zhuang had embraced the newly emergent gay scene with unabashed enthusiasm.Though many older men who have sex with other men shunned that scene and,given their histori- cal experiences of harassment,feared exposure,Ah Zhuang,in contrast, worked on the gay hotline,attended all the salon discussions,met with psy- chiatrists to argue with them about the normality of homosexuality,and established himself as an "elder"among what were mostly young gay men in their twenties.He loved dispensing advice.Ah Zhuang felt it was critical for all people who have a homoerotic orientation to identify themselves as gay and embrace that identity.His experience of having been arrested in the 198os for approaching another man for sex in the public bathrooms made him all the more adamant that normalizing a gay identity would put an end to the police harassment to which he had been subjected.20 On the other hand,he felt equally vehement about the need to not expose one's family to social condemnation and thus he felt it important to be discreet. Ah Zhuang had decided ideas about what constitutes a proper gay iden- tity.These ideas were made most apparent to me on the evening in question. That night,Ah Zhuang arrived at my room with a young man named Ah Pei.Ah Zhuang introduced him as his former boyfriend.I was immediately confused.I thought he had said he would introduce me to a money boy. And if this person was his former boyfriend,was he telling me he had been involved with a money boy?As the conversation developed,things turned out to be more complex.For Ah Pei and Ah Zhuang argued during the entire evening about whether Ah Pei was indeed a money boy at all.Ah Zhuang stayed for the whole conversation,in part because Ah Pei has a very thick Beijing working-class accent and I sometimes found it hard to follow Published by Duke University Press
positions 18:2 Fall 2010 432 Scene One It was a spring evening in 1998. Ah Zhuang had agreed to introduce me to someone he said was a money boy.19 I had first met Ah Zhuang through other foreign lesbians and gay men living in Beijing. Then in his early forties, Ah Zhuang was a radiologist. Ah Zhuang considered himself to be someone who had always known he was gay. He had never married, as have so many other gay men, but lived at home taking care of his mother. He also considered himself to be part of a long-lost line of aristocratic Mongolians, through his father’s ancestors. Ah Zhuang had embraced the newly emergent gay scene with unabashed enthusiasm. Though many older men who have sex with other men shunned that scene and, given their historical experiences of harassment, feared exposure, Ah Zhuang, in contrast, worked on the gay hotline, attended all the salon discussions, met with psychiatrists to argue with them about the normality of homosexuality, and established himself as an “elder” among what were mostly young gay men in their twenties. He loved dispensing advice. Ah Zhuang felt it was critical for all people who have a homoerotic orientation to identify themselves as gay and embrace that identity. His experience of having been arrested in the 1980s for approaching another man for sex in the public bathrooms made him all the more adamant that normalizing a gay identity would put an end to the police harassment to which he had been subjected.20 On the other hand, he felt equally vehement about the need to not expose one’s family to social condemnation and thus he felt it important to be discreet. Ah Zhuang had decided ideas about what constitutes a proper gay identity. These ideas were made most apparent to me on the evening in question. That night, Ah Zhuang arrived at my room with a young man named Ah Pei. Ah Zhuang introduced him as his former boyfriend. I was immediately confused. I thought he had said he would introduce me to a money boy. And if this person was his former boyfriend, was he telling me he had been involved with a money boy? As the conversation developed, things turned out to be more complex. For Ah Pei and Ah Zhuang argued during the entire evening about whether Ah Pei was indeed a money boy at all. Ah Zhuang stayed for the whole conversation, in part because Ah Pei has a very thick Beijing working-class accent and I sometimes found it hard to follow positions Published by Duke University Press
positions Rofel I The Traffic in Money Boys 433 him.Ah Zhuang helpfully repeated some of Ah Pei's statements to make sure I understood.But Ah Zhuang also kept inserting his own views,inter- rupting Ah Pei at every turn. We began the conversation in a desultory manner,with my questions about Ah Pei's background.He explained that his parents both had had a hard life when they were young,before the 1949 revolution.His father was from the Northeast and had always had to move around looking for work. But fortunately he had ended up in Beijing,working in a factory under the Central Television Bureau,constructing television reception towers.His mother worked in a radio factory.When his father fell ill with cancer,Ah Pei had taken over his factory position.At the time,of course,job inheri- tance in state-run factories was seen as a privilege.Then Ah Pei's second brother and sister-in-law also came to work there.By the time of our con- versation,Ah Pei had taken what was then the risky step of abandoning his secure position in the factory.Perhaps he had the foresight to realize that factory workers'living conditions were declining under economic reform. Indeed,by the time of our conversation,half the factory had been let go and were on unemployment.Ah Pei had become a taxi driver.He was then in his mid-thirties. Perhaps I was moving too slowly toward the ostensible topic of the eve- ning.Or perhaps he had his own agenda.In any case,Ah Zhuang suddenly interjected with a question that abruptly changed the direction of our con- versation:"What are your feelings when you are with women?"Ah Pei pro- ceeded to tell a story about his factory:"All the women I have encountered have been from our factory."He then described how,at the age of 19,he had his first sexual relationship with an older,married woman,after another woman he was apprenticed to introduced them to each other.She,too,was an apprentice.According to Ah Pei,she had seduced him.Prior to that,he had no interest in sex with women,at least not women his age.They carried on their affair for over a year.The woman's husband never knew;he worked in another factory.The main point that Ah Pei stressed in telling this story was that with an older person,he finally felt secure.Since then,he added, he has always wanted to be with older people. When he first made this assertion,I did not pick up on its larger implica- tion in relation to the issue of money boys.Only later,when Ah Zhuang was Published by Duke University Press
Rofel ❘ The Traffic in Money Boys 433 him. Ah Zhuang helpfully repeated some of Ah Pei’s statements to make sure I understood. But Ah Zhuang also kept inserting his own views, interrupting Ah Pei at every turn. We began the conversation in a desultory manner, with my questions about Ah Pei’s background. He explained that his parents both had had a hard life when they were young, before the 1949 revolution. His father was from the Northeast and had always had to move around looking for work. But fortunately he had ended up in Beijing, working in a factory under the Central Television Bureau, constructing television reception towers. His mother worked in a radio factory. When his father fell ill with cancer, Ah Pei had taken over his factory position. At the time, of course, job inheritance in state-run factories was seen as a privilege. Then Ah Pei’s second brother and sister-in-law also came to work there. By the time of our conversation, Ah Pei had taken what was then the risky step of abandoning his secure position in the factory. Perhaps he had the foresight to realize that factory workers’ living conditions were declining under economic reform. Indeed, by the time of our conversation, half the factory had been let go and were on unemployment. Ah Pei had become a taxi driver. He was then in his mid-thirties. Perhaps I was moving too slowly toward the ostensible topic of the evening. Or perhaps he had his own agenda. In any case, Ah Zhuang suddenly interjected with a question that abruptly changed the direction of our conversation: “What are your feelings when you are with women?” Ah Pei proceeded to tell a story about his factory: “All the women I have encountered have been from our factory.” He then described how, at the age of 19, he had his first sexual relationship with an older, married woman, after another woman he was apprenticed to introduced them to each other. She, too, was an apprentice. According to Ah Pei, she had seduced him. Prior to that, he had no interest in sex with women, at least not women his age. They carried on their affair for over a year. The woman’s husband never knew; he worked in another factory. The main point that Ah Pei stressed in telling this story was that with an older person, he finally felt secure. Since then, he added, he has always wanted to be with older people. When he first made this assertion, I did not pick up on its larger implication in relation to the issue of money boys. Only later, when Ah Zhuang was positions Published by Duke University Press
positions positions 18:2 Fall 2010 434 arguing with him,did I realize that since that first affair with a woman, Ah Pei had been mainly with older men who took care of him-including Ah Zhuang.In talking about his first affair,Ah Pei thus traced his inter- est in older men to an emotional and sexual history of feeling comfortable with older people.Ah Zhuang,as we will see,reduced Ah Pei's story to one of opportunism.For at this point,Ah Zhuang sarcastically interjected a counterpoint to Ah Pei's insistence that this older woman had taken the initiative:"Maybe the first time,but then what about the second and third ones?Because you've told me that there were quite a few,including the top leader of the factory.And even the manager's wife.Didn't you take some of the initiative in these later encounters?I would really like to know,what exactly is your psychological attitude when you are with older people?"Ah Pei ignored the first part of Ah Zhuang's question,answering that with older people he feels particularly able to relax and let go. Here,we find the first point of contention between Ah Pei and Ah Zhuang over whether Ah Pei fits into the category of money boy.Ah Pei tried to tell me a story of his psychological and emotional history.He feels that older people take the initiative with him,which puts him at ease.Ah Zhuang,on the other hand,tried to turn Ah Pei's actions into self-seeking advantage.Ah Zhuang was not objecting so much to a seeming bisexuality that might make a gay identity more ambiguous as to what in his view was naked opportun- ism that did not distinguish between genders.Ah Zhuang elaborated on his view when I asked Ah Pei how he felt starting an affair with this woman. Ah Pei responded about the sex,saying that looking back on it he could see that he didn't feel entirely comfortable because she did everything,he didn't have to budge.She helped him with everything.Ah Zhuang then interjected:"China has a way of saying this:this woman served(cihou)him. That's a clearer way to put it.China's traditional view is that the man should take care of(cihou)the woman and make her feel comfortable.In his case, he made the woman do it,so that he could feel comfortable."This situation, in Ah Zhuang's view,was evidently one clear marker of a money boy.Other- wise,why would a man not act like the man that he should be?Why would a man let himself be treated like a woman?Ah Zhuang's decided views on appropriate gender attributes reproduce the dominant mode of delineating the boundary between normative and nonnormative desire through gen- Published by Duke University Press
positions 18:2 Fall 2010 434 arguing with him, did I realize that since that first affair with a woman, Ah Pei had been mainly with older men who took care of him—including Ah Zhuang. In talking about his first affair, Ah Pei thus traced his interest in older men to an emotional and sexual history of feeling comfortable with older people. Ah Zhuang, as we will see, reduced Ah Pei’s story to one of opportunism. For at this point, Ah Zhuang sarcastically interjected a counterpoint to Ah Pei’s insistence that this older woman had taken the initiative: “Maybe the first time, but then what about the second and third ones? Because you’ve told me that there were quite a few, including the top leader of the factory. And even the manager’s wife. Didn’t you take some of the initiative in these later encounters? I would really like to know, what exactly is your psychological attitude when you are with older people?” Ah Pei ignored the first part of Ah Zhuang’s question, answering that with older people he feels particularly able to relax and let go. Here, we find the first point of contention between Ah Pei and Ah Zhuang over whether Ah Pei fits into the category of money boy. Ah Pei tried to tell me a story of his psychological and emotional history. He feels that older people take the initiative with him, which puts him at ease. Ah Zhuang, on the other hand, tried to turn Ah Pei’s actions into self-seeking advantage. Ah Zhuang was not objecting so much to a seeming bisexuality that might make a gay identity more ambiguous as to what in his view was naked opportunism that did not distinguish between genders. Ah Zhuang elaborated on his view when I asked Ah Pei how he felt starting an affair with this woman. Ah Pei responded about the sex, saying that looking back on it he could see that he didn’t feel entirely comfortable because she did everything, he didn’t have to budge. She helped him with everything. Ah Zhuang then interjected: “China has a way of saying this: this woman served (cihou) him. That’s a clearer way to put it. China’s traditional view is that the man should take care of (cihou) the woman and make her feel comfortable. In his case, he made the woman do it, so that he could feel comfortable.” This situation, in Ah Zhuang’s view, was evidently one clear marker of a money boy. Otherwise, why would a man not act like the man that he should be? Why would a man let himself be treated like a woman? Ah Zhuang’s decided views on appropriate gender attributes reproduce the dominant mode of delineating the boundary between normative and nonnormative desire through genpositions Published by Duke University Press
