Abstract
This article explores a range of marital ideologies and relationship strategies in the lives of lala (lesbian) women in contemporary Beijing. Although new discourses on same-sex marriage rights and sexual equality are becoming popular in parts of Chinese lala communities, the traditional marriage ideal continues to appear desirable, and it structures same-sex life aspirations as well as social, romantic, and family relationships. The author offers ethnographic data to demonstrate why seemingly oppressive structures retain such significance and overall positive association in lala everyday life and ideology. Narratives of 3 complex relationship strategies demonstrate that marriage is at the core of negotiations that reconcile personal same-sex desires with normative social pressures. Compliant-like conjugal strategies enable subversive possibilities that subtly challenge the status quo while appearing normal. This observation requires a rethinking of notions and meanings of agency, power, and the approach to studying the current global diversity of nonnormative sexualities.
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Engebretsen, E.L. Intimate practices, conjugal ideals: Affective ties and relationship strategies among Lala (Lesbian) women in contemporary Beijing. Sex Res Soc Policy 6, 3 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1525/srsp.2009.6.3.3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/srsp.2009.6.3.3