ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on findings from an in-depth longitudinal qualitative study of the lives of 22 Chinese gay-identified men living in Sydney, Australia. The digital space allows new migrants to make links with the local gay diasporic community and helps the men to avoid exclusionary discourses around race and ethnicity that are common in the Australian gay communities. Looking at racial dynamics and relations on a transnational scale helps debunk the persistent ‘victimisation’ of Chinese diasporic gay men in accounts of their experiences in Western societies. Factors such as the export of Chinese-language media, the expansion of digital space for Chinese gay men, and Chinese nation-building projects through social media are nurturing new forms of transnational diasporic gay identity and perhaps even new forms of sexual citizenship, which are as confident as those of the white majority. The emergence of gay-targeted Chinese-language websites and mobile apps allowed interviewees to connect with other Chinese gay men inside and outside Australia.
