GLQ:A Joumal of Lesbian and Gay Studies IMAGINING GAY IDENTITIES IN CHINA 469 men is seen as natural;that gay identity therefore refers to all forms of homoeroti- cism;that sex lies at the crux of one's identity;that for this identity to signify,oth- ers must know about it and recognize it in public space;that one builds commu- nity around sexual identity;and that this community supersedes other forms of community.Yet Jamie and a few other Western gay men have also playfully dis- played drag queen behavior,deliberately and self-consciously destabilizing gender dichotomies.Moreover,Jamie has felt that it is inappropriate to hold public demonstrations demanding gay rights;China,he explains,changed him,not the other way around.Sally argues forcefully for acceptance of bisexuality.Sam strongly feels that his desire to become more Chinese has made it impossible for him to represent one side of an West-East divide.Thus those from the West by no means present a homogeneous version of gay identity. Nonetheless,both the activism of these foreigners and the prestige and cultural hegemony already accorded the United States in China make the interest in some form of identification compelling.But Western gay identity does not enter China simply as an unimpeded flow.Whether or not we want to argue about the extent to which these individuals embody discursive formations,the fact remains that gay men in China view them as at once idiosyncratic and representative of Western culture.Where the dividing line between these categories is drawn depends, again,on the matter of cultural citizenship.Jamie's drag queen behavior is regarded as idiosyncratic,since it transgresses respectable performances of gayness in China.But his desire to further people's sense of normality about being gay is completely accepted. Several activists from Hong Kong who come for short visits and longer stays work in the same circles.Chinese-language books and magazines from Hong Kong have circulated in Beijing for some time.Those in China who write about sexuality and gender also have their books published in Hong Kong.Iden- tification with gay men from Hong Kong,as I have argued above,slips between sameness and difference.The bifurcated gay identity of Hong Kong leads main- land Chinese gay men,in line with public discourse,to view Hong Kong simulta- neously as a very foreign place and as connected to China-but as never simply having a self-identical relationship with China.One day a young gay man who called himself Edward spoke to me passionately of his need to get out of China to lead a freer gay life.He recounted for me a recent gay tourist trip he had taken- to Thailand and Hong Kong.For him,this exotic imagined geography represented alluring sexual freedom. Gay men from other places who participate in this transnational scene are not elevated to exemplars of distinctive sexual systems,even if at times they por- Published by Duke University PressIMAGINING GAY IDENTITIES IN CHINA 469 men is seen as natural; that gay identity therefore refers to all forms of homoeroti￾cism; that sex lies at the crux of one’s identity; that for this identity to signify, oth￾ers must know about it and recognize it in public space; that one builds commu￾nity around sexual identity; and that this community supersedes other forms of community. Yet Jamie and a few other Western gay men have also playfully dis￾played drag queen behavior, deliberately and self-consciously destabilizing gender dichotomies. Moreover, Jamie has felt that it is inappropriate to hold public demonstrations demanding gay rights; China, he explains, changed him, not the other way around. Sally argues forcefully for acceptance of bisexuality. Sam strongly feels that his desire to become more Chinese has made it impossible for him to represent one side of an West-East divide. Thus those from the West by no means present a homogeneous version of gay identity. Nonetheless, both the activism of these foreigners and the prestige and cultural hegemony already accorded the United States in China make the interest in some form of identification compelling. But Western gay identity does not enter China simply as an unimpeded flow. Whether or not we want to argue about the extent to which these individuals embody discursive formations, the fact remains that gay men in China view them as at once idiosyncratic and representative of Western culture. Where the dividing line between these categories is drawn depends, again, on the matter of cultural citizenship. Jamie’s drag queen behavior is regarded as idiosyncratic, since it transgresses respectable performances of gayness in China. But his desire to further people’s sense of normality about being gay is completely accepted. Several activists from Hong Kong who come for short visits and longer stays work in the same circles. Chinese-language books and magazines from Hong Kong have circulated in Beijing for some time. Those in China who write about sexuality and gender also have their books published in Hong Kong. Iden￾tification with gay men from Hong Kong, as I have argued above, slips between sameness and difference. The bifurcated gay identity of Hong Kong leads main￾land Chinese gay men, in line with public discourse, to view Hong Kong simulta￾neously as a very foreign place and as connected to China-but as never simply having a self-identical relationship with China. One day a young gay man who called himself Edward spoke to me passionately of his need to get out of China to lead a freer gay life. He recounted for me a recent gay tourist trip he had taken￾to Thailand and Hong Kong. For him, this exotic imagined geography represented alluring sexual freedom. Gay men from other places who participate in this transnational scene are not elevated to exemplars of distinctive sexual systems, even if at times they por￾GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies Published by Duke University Press