The matrices of female bonding and lesbian sexuality

Female homoerotic cinema in Mainland China

Bibliographic Data

ID7154302
AuthorsFan Yang (0000-0003-2978-7102, Hangzhou Normal University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume25
Issue3
Pages593-608
Publication date2025-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Media Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-0777 • E-ISSN: 1471-5902
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14680777.2023.2297164
OpenAlexW4390396522
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited18

The mis-representation of female homoeroticism in China and misunderstanding of films in this regard leads to the question: What explanatory frameworks should we adopt to analyze Chinese female homo-erotic films in the way that respects the local historical and cultural context? After studying the local history of women’s separatism and formation of lesbian identity under Western influences, I suggest two frameworks, namely, the matrix of female bonding and the matrix of lesbian sexuality. Adopting these two frameworks, respectively, I conduct close analysis of Sweet Eighteen (甜蜜18岁, 2012) and Fish and Elephant (今年夏天, 2001), to locate the “Chinese lesbianism” in these not very lesbian films in the eyes of American audience. I will argue that the narrative of homosexual-maternal transferability in the former resonates with Chinese women’s literature, while the narrative of homosexual normality and a coming-home rather than coming-out strategy in the latter film speak to the local specificity of lesbian discourse since the 1990s

Aesthetics · Art · China · Human sexuality · Lesbian · Literature · Mainland China · Movie theater · Narrative · Political science · Sexual orientation · Sociology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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