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“Thanks, Sensitive”, Queer Reading and Political Navigation Among Chinese Gay Male Fans of Taiwanese Female Singers

Xu, Zijie (2025) COSM40 20251
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
This thesis examines how gay male fans in mainland China understand their admiration for Taiwanese female Mandopop singers, and how they navigate the political controversies that surrounding Taiwanese female singers on Weibo. Drawing on qualitative data from eight semi-structured interviews, it applies a dual theoretical framework—Queer Cultural Decoding and Celebrity Politics under Digital Authoritarianism. Built on that, this thesis analyzes participants’ emotional resonance with divas’ music and these gay fans’ strategies of non-confrontational digital activism when navigate the political controversies.

Findings show that gay fans apply queer reading and diva worship to map their own experiences of marginalization onto divas’... (More)
This thesis examines how gay male fans in mainland China understand their admiration for Taiwanese female Mandopop singers, and how they navigate the political controversies that surrounding Taiwanese female singers on Weibo. Drawing on qualitative data from eight semi-structured interviews, it applies a dual theoretical framework—Queer Cultural Decoding and Celebrity Politics under Digital Authoritarianism. Built on that, this thesis analyzes participants’ emotional resonance with divas’ music and these gay fans’ strategies of non-confrontational digital activism when navigate the political controversies.

Findings show that gay fans apply queer reading and diva worship to map their own experiences of marginalization onto divas’ Mandopop lyrics and triumphs. They create a powerful affective bond that breaks heterosexual based normative narratives. At the same time, they recognize Taiwanese celebrities’ “One China” reposting as a form of state party propaganda. Moreover, they choose either to ignore or to satirize nationalist discourse, or to maintain supportive online communities without direct confrontation.

By revealing how gay fans sustain aesthetic and political alliances with Taiwanese divas under digital authoritarianism, this study fills a gap in the literature on celebrity politics, queer culture, and digital authoritarianism etc. It contributes both theoretically and empirically in this sensitive Sino-Taiwanese context. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Xu, Zijie
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Queer reading, Taiwanese Mandopop music, diva worship, celebrity politics, digital authoritarianism, non-confrontational activism
language
English
id
9202337
date added to LUP
2025-06-18 13:01:00
date last changed
2025-06-18 13:01:00
@misc{9202337,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines how gay male fans in mainland China understand their admiration for Taiwanese female Mandopop singers, and how they navigate the political controversies that surrounding Taiwanese female singers on Weibo. Drawing on qualitative data from eight semi-structured interviews, it applies a dual theoretical framework—Queer Cultural Decoding and Celebrity Politics under Digital Authoritarianism. Built on that, this thesis analyzes participants’ emotional resonance with divas’ music and these gay fans’ strategies of non-confrontational digital activism when navigate the political controversies.

Findings show that gay fans apply queer reading and diva worship to map their own experiences of marginalization onto divas’ Mandopop lyrics and triumphs. They create a powerful affective bond that breaks heterosexual based normative narratives. At the same time, they recognize Taiwanese celebrities’ “One China” reposting as a form of state party propaganda. Moreover, they choose either to ignore or to satirize nationalist discourse, or to maintain supportive online communities without direct confrontation.

By revealing how gay fans sustain aesthetic and political alliances with Taiwanese divas under digital authoritarianism, this study fills a gap in the literature on celebrity politics, queer culture, and digital authoritarianism etc. It contributes both theoretically and empirically in this sensitive Sino-Taiwanese context.}},
  author       = {{Xu, Zijie}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“Thanks, Sensitive”, Queer Reading and Political Navigation Among Chinese Gay Male Fans of Taiwanese Female Singers}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}