Change the World Gently with Singing: Queer Choirs in China

Bao, Hongwei

Abstract

This chapter examines the production and dissemination of musical cultures in gender and sexual minority communities for political and activist purposes in the Asia Pacific, using the Beijing Queer Chorus (BQC) as a case study. As the longest running lesbian and gay choir in China, the BQC engages in gender and sexual politics through the live performance and online streaming of music. This type of queer activism departs from a conventional emphasis on visibility, confrontation, and direct intervention into politics. Developing the analytical framework of ‘queer audibility’, this chapter interrogates the cultural specificity of queer activism in the Chinese context and argues for a soft type of activism through the production and dissemination of performing arts, culture, and media. It also considers the crucial role of the Internet and social media in broadcasting queer voices to LGBTQ communities and the public throughout China and the Chinese diaspora.

Citation

Bao, H. (2021). Change the World Gently with Singing: Queer Choirs in China. In Sound Communities: Music, Media, and Technology in the Asia Pacific (193-209). Bloomsbury Publishing

• Publication Date: Feb 11, 2021
• Deposit Date: Feb 23, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 12, 2021
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Pages: 193-209
• Book Title: Sound Communities: Music, Media, and Technology in the Asia Pacific
• Chapter Number: 10
• ISBN: 9781501360053
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5347440
• Publisher URL: https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/sound-communities-in-the-asia-pacific-music-media-and-technology/ch10-change-the-world-gently-with-singing-queer-audibility-and-soft-activism-in-china
• Related Public URLs: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/sound-communities-in-the-asia-pacific-9781501360053/