'The glowing fireflies': Invisible activism under China's queer necropolitics

Abstract

In China, the escalating repression of gender and sexual diversity has given rise to 'queer necropolitics'. 'Queer necropolitics' - a concept we build on - refers to the hegemonic ability to determine who is allowed to suffer, survive, or thrive. We examine China's sustained re-enforcement of traditional gender norms, which has rendered queer communities non-existent from official recognition. In this context, we aim to understand how China's state queer necropolitics has shaped queer organising in the country. From 2021 to 2022, we conducted 26 semi-structured interviews with a diverse cohort of self-identified LGBTIQ+ members and activists across 12 provinces in China. We find that the interplay of legal invisibility and politicised, moralised visibility has placed queer communities under hegemonic governance techniques of suppression. The paper argues that China's queer necropolitics has established invisible activism. The juxtaposition of invisibility with activism denotes the quiet, implicit, and everyday embodied acts of communal care among queer communities as a form of resistance. Building on the metaphor of 'glowing fireflies' shared by a research participant, invisible activism presents a more sustainable approach than conventional rights-based activism. The paper expands our understanding of politically antagonistic practices, acknowledging the diversity and complexity embedded within queer activism.

Keywords: China; LGBTIQ+; criminalisation; gender governance; invisible activism; queer necropolitics; re-criminalisation; surveillance.

Figure 1.

Patrons of Roxie, a Shanghai lala (women-loving-women) bar, hang bras on ceiling pipes during the final night before its closure. Photo courtesy of an anonymous activist.