Exploring self-identities, bodies, and psychological well-being of Hong Kong Chinese lesbians : a mixed-method study

Abstract

This research examines the implications of the interplay between lesbians’ self-identities and bodies for their psychological well-being as well as for their reflexive strategies for being a lesbian within socio-cultural, economic, and political conditions in Hong Kong. While the gay rights movement especially in some Western countries has encouraged a growing number of people to live a life as an openly gay man or lesbian, it is relatively rare for sexual minorities to openly disclose their sexual identities in Chinese society where homosexuality remains stigmatized. Given family-oriented Chinese culture and traditional gender norms, the lesbian identity and body represent a contested site where heteronormative expectations and lesbian subcultural norms come into play. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to the ways in which Hong Kong Chinese lesbians negotiate gender and sexual boundaries and family expectations towards childbearing. Building on Bourdieusian theory of habitus, this research maps lesbians’ gender, sexual, and potential maternal self-identities with their bodies, including body-esteem and body practices, with the aim of elucidating conditions for both reflexivity and constraints imposed on Hong Kong Chinese lesbians. 438 lesbian-identified women aged between 18 and 35 completed an online survey. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with 12 informants who had completed the survey. This mixed-method research demonstrated the ways in which Hong Kong Chinese lesbians were subjected to, but at the same time, reflexively negotiated the tension and discrepancies between their gender and sexual dispositions and social norms within and across social fields, including school, the workplace, intimate relationships, families, and the lesbian community. While the survey data suggested that more than half of the respondents adopted a lesbian subcultural label (TB, TBG, or PURE), interview informants complicated the picture of self-identification as they demonstrated reflexivity in constructing a meaningful self beyond identity categorization. Additionally, their narratives about the embodiment and doing of body work further illuminated the mediating role of body-esteem between masculinity and depression shown in the survey data. This study suggested that lesbians might develop bodily reflexivity especially with their adoption of masculinity, which served as the means through which they acted as an agent manoeuvring for their desired position as a non-heterosexual and non-traditional woman. Concerning childbearing attitudes, whereas about half of the respondents in the online survey expressed their desire to have their own children, interview informants illustrated their reconstruction of the meanings of womanhood and motherhood as well as unveiled socio-cultural, economic, and political factors that shaped lesbians’ reproductive decisions. By unravelling internal heterogeneity among Hong Kong Chinese lesbians, this research sheds light on different lesbians’ reflexive strategies for asserting their sense of self as well as for reworking the established boundaries governing femininity, sexuality, and maternity, with which they may not fit in. It provides insights into the distinct forms of masculinities and femininities which are mapped on the lesbian body. It has important implications as it would sensitize social workers, healthcare professionals, and policy makers to lesbians’ needs and wants as well as enhance public understanding of gender, sexual, and bodily diversity.