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Boys’ Love, Cosplay, and Androgynous Idols: Queer Fan Cultures in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
Chinese-speaking popular cultures have never been so queer in this digital, globalist age. The title of this pioneering volume, Boys' Love, Cosplay, and Androgynous Idols: Queer Fan Cultures in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan already gives an idea of the colorful, multifaceted realms the fans inhabit today. Contributors to this collection situate the proliferation of (often online) queer representations, productions, fantasies, and desires as a reaction against the norms in discourses surrounding nation-states, linguistics, geopolitics, genders, and sexualities.
Moving beyond the easy polarities between general resistance and capitulation, Queer Fan Cultures explores the fans' diverse strategies in negotiating with cultural strictures and media censorship. It further outlines the performance of subjectivity, identity, and agency that cyberspace offers to female fans. Presenting a wide array of concrete case studies of queer fandoms in Chinese-speaking contexts, the essays in this volume challenge long-established Western-centric and Japanese-focused fan scholarship by highlighting the significance and specificities of Sinophone queer fan cultures and practices in a globalized world. The geographic organization of the chapters illuminates cultural differences and the other competing forces shaping geocultural intersections among fandoms based in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Moving beyond the easy polarities between general resistance and capitulation, Queer Fan Cultures explores the fans' diverse strategies in negotiating with cultural strictures and media censorship. It further outlines the performance of subjectivity, identity, and agency that cyberspace offers to female fans. Presenting a wide array of concrete case studies of queer fandoms in Chinese-speaking contexts, the essays in this volume challenge long-established Western-centric and Japanese-focused fan scholarship by highlighting the significance and specificities of Sinophone queer fan cultures and practices in a globalized world. The geographic organization of the chapters illuminates cultural differences and the other competing forces shaping geocultural intersections among fandoms based in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
- GenresNonfiction
292 pages, Hardcover
Published June 21, 2017
63 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 24, 2021
It's difficult to not compare this book with the other, similarly titled Boy's Love book I read this year, Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan though that book was entirely focused on Japan. Not that this book does not touch on Japan (it does, mostly in relation to Taiwan). The one critique I would have towards this book that I think the other does better is that the individual essays in Boys Love, Manga and Beyond are frequently in conversation with each other in a way that these essays are not.
The essays here are fairly solid -- the strongest in my estimation is about the Alice Cos Group and it's complicated relationship with gender and masculinity.
I came into this book hoping to get more background information on danmei, and while it does touch a bit on that, specifically in a historical context (historical to the early ages of web sharing, not historical in the sense of "where did the term cutsleeve come from") it doesn't really get into a lot of the information I would've liked to know more about. The book does touch on some hyper niche (in my opinion) subjects, like the Chinese fandom for an L-word actor, or how Hetalia: Axis Powers fandom contends with both homosexuality and also national identity.
Overall, I'm happy to have read this book, as I think it does give me more context for the media I consume, but I will continue to be on the hunt for a book that goes more into danmei specifically.
The essays here are fairly solid -- the strongest in my estimation is about the Alice Cos Group and it's complicated relationship with gender and masculinity.
I came into this book hoping to get more background information on danmei, and while it does touch a bit on that, specifically in a historical context (historical to the early ages of web sharing, not historical in the sense of "where did the term cutsleeve come from") it doesn't really get into a lot of the information I would've liked to know more about. The book does touch on some hyper niche (in my opinion) subjects, like the Chinese fandom for an L-word actor, or how Hetalia: Axis Powers fandom contends with both homosexuality and also national identity.
Overall, I'm happy to have read this book, as I think it does give me more context for the media I consume, but I will continue to be on the hunt for a book that goes more into danmei specifically.
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July 14, 2021/Just some random thoughts I had while reading/
I. Mainland China
Chapter 1. Chinese Danmei Fandom and Cultural Globalization from Below
I liked the discussion about "low-end globalization", which basically means promoting one's culture by the means of popular media. In the end of the day, I myself started from bl novels, which led me to learning Chinese and generally being interested in everything China-related.
Chapter 2. Cosplay, Cuteness, and Weiniang: The Queered Ke’ai of Male Cosplayers as “Fake Girls”
I'll just leave this quote here:
"He claims that since he regards himself a real man he dared to challenge himself to do what most men dared not—the message was accompanied by a series of photographs in which Haoge is in a Japanese high school girl’s tight swimming suit showing off his long legs and slim shape cosplaying Japanese anime/manga female characters with different backgrounds, one of which shows Haoge smiling tenderly while sitting on a pink Hello Kitty carpet".
Chapter 3. “The World of Grand Union”: Engendering Trans/nationalism via Boys’ Love in Online Chinese Hetalia Fandom
I've always been vaguely aware of Hetalia existing, but I'm not in the fandom or anything. Now I've learnt that Hetalia is a mess and no, I'm not getting into it, god forbid.
I do admire the fandom for its persistence though.
Quote: "To fill the gaps and lapses in the original Hetalia, fans have dug up many intriguing neta for shipping. For instance, the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was signed on February 14, 1950, Valentine’s Day. The 2008 Russo-Georgian War broke out on the opening day of the Beijing Olympics".
Chapter 4. Queering the Post-L Word Shane in the “Garden of Eden”: Chinese Fans’ Gossip about Katherine Moennig
That's literally the first time I've heard of the show or the actress in question, and I didn't care enough to do the research, so I just skipped this chapter.
Chapter 5. From Online BL Fandom to the CCTV Spring Festival Gala: The Transforming Power of Online Carnival
The chapter raises an interesting moral question about queer-baiting as a go-to way to commercial success, it made me think about where I stand on the issue.
Chapter 6. Dongfang Bubai, Online Fandom, and the Gender Politics of a Legendary Queer Icon in Post-Mao China
Again, I do admire the fandom for its persistence.
Quote: "Usually, the subcharacters of the new Dongfang Bubai are natural brother and sisters in one family; otherwise, it is hard to explain why they look the same and are played by one actress. Not only do the family members engage in love relations, they sometimes have sex with each other. And such incestuous love and sex relations are also lesbian because these fan artifacts are star centered".
Yeeeap, sure, whatever, I'm not even surprised.
II. Hong Kong
Chapter 7. Desiring Queer, Negotiating Normal: Denise Ho (HOCC) Fandom before and after the Coming-Out
A chapter about internalization of heteronormative values (among lgbt communities as well). Probably my favourite article from the collection. Now I can't stop analyzing every single thing around me on how it plays into the heteronormative values. I also can't stop spotting my own internalized heteronormative values, analyzing them and deciding if I should keep them or not.
Chapter 8. Hong Kong–Based Fans of Mainland Idol Li Yuchun: Elective Belonging, Gender Ambiguity, and Rooted Cosmopolitanism
The chaprer seemed too similar to the previous one, so I skipped it.
III. Taiwan
Chapter 9. Exploring the Significance of “Japaneseness”: A Case Study of Fujoshi’s BL Fantasies in Taiwan
It's always fun to read about weaboos.
Chapter 10. Girls Who Love Boys’ Love: BL as Goods to Think with in Taiwan
A beginner-level introduction to bl. You probably know most of it already. Some insight into Taiwan's history through the lense of publishing bl manga was pretty interesting though.
I. Mainland China
Chapter 1. Chinese Danmei Fandom and Cultural Globalization from Below
I liked the discussion about "low-end globalization", which basically means promoting one's culture by the means of popular media. In the end of the day, I myself started from bl novels, which led me to learning Chinese and generally being interested in everything China-related.
Chapter 2. Cosplay, Cuteness, and Weiniang: The Queered Ke’ai of Male Cosplayers as “Fake Girls”
I'll just leave this quote here:
"He claims that since he regards himself a real man he dared to challenge himself to do what most men dared not—the message was accompanied by a series of photographs in which Haoge is in a Japanese high school girl’s tight swimming suit showing off his long legs and slim shape cosplaying Japanese anime/manga female characters with different backgrounds, one of which shows Haoge smiling tenderly while sitting on a pink Hello Kitty carpet".
Chapter 3. “The World of Grand Union”: Engendering Trans/nationalism via Boys’ Love in Online Chinese Hetalia Fandom
I've always been vaguely aware of Hetalia existing, but I'm not in the fandom or anything. Now I've learnt that Hetalia is a mess and no, I'm not getting into it, god forbid.
I do admire the fandom for its persistence though.
Quote: "To fill the gaps and lapses in the original Hetalia, fans have dug up many intriguing neta for shipping. For instance, the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was signed on February 14, 1950, Valentine’s Day. The 2008 Russo-Georgian War broke out on the opening day of the Beijing Olympics".
Chapter 4. Queering the Post-L Word Shane in the “Garden of Eden”: Chinese Fans’ Gossip about Katherine Moennig
That's literally the first time I've heard of the show or the actress in question, and I didn't care enough to do the research, so I just skipped this chapter.
Chapter 5. From Online BL Fandom to the CCTV Spring Festival Gala: The Transforming Power of Online Carnival
The chapter raises an interesting moral question about queer-baiting as a go-to way to commercial success, it made me think about where I stand on the issue.
Chapter 6. Dongfang Bubai, Online Fandom, and the Gender Politics of a Legendary Queer Icon in Post-Mao China
Again, I do admire the fandom for its persistence.
Quote: "Usually, the subcharacters of the new Dongfang Bubai are natural brother and sisters in one family; otherwise, it is hard to explain why they look the same and are played by one actress. Not only do the family members engage in love relations, they sometimes have sex with each other. And such incestuous love and sex relations are also lesbian because these fan artifacts are star centered".
Yeeeap, sure, whatever, I'm not even surprised.
II. Hong Kong
Chapter 7. Desiring Queer, Negotiating Normal: Denise Ho (HOCC) Fandom before and after the Coming-Out
A chapter about internalization of heteronormative values (among lgbt communities as well). Probably my favourite article from the collection. Now I can't stop analyzing every single thing around me on how it plays into the heteronormative values. I also can't stop spotting my own internalized heteronormative values, analyzing them and deciding if I should keep them or not.
Chapter 8. Hong Kong–Based Fans of Mainland Idol Li Yuchun: Elective Belonging, Gender Ambiguity, and Rooted Cosmopolitanism
The chaprer seemed too similar to the previous one, so I skipped it.
III. Taiwan
Chapter 9. Exploring the Significance of “Japaneseness”: A Case Study of Fujoshi’s BL Fantasies in Taiwan
It's always fun to read about weaboos.
Chapter 10. Girls Who Love Boys’ Love: BL as Goods to Think with in Taiwan
A beginner-level introduction to bl. You probably know most of it already. Some insight into Taiwan's history through the lense of publishing bl manga was pretty interesting though.
December 17, 2025
Aprendi mucho sobre idols que no sabia, fueron temas muy nicho que no me esperaba. Tampoco me esperaba y me sorprendio muy gratamente el ensayo de Hetalia!!! me emociono mucho cuando hablo de los fanfics de Yao e Iván porque en el mundo occidental creo que nunca he encontrado nada así ni a nadie capaz de escribir esa nostalgia. El de danmei fue muy informativo en el ámbito social. Además me gustaron mucho los dos ensayos enmarcados en taiwan. Muy interesante.
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August 8, 2020this is a collection of academic essays about queer fan cultures in china, hk and taiwan. it was okay. i skipped some essays from boredom, but some were really interesting and explained a lot of the trends i see in danmei.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews