Cruising homotopia: Radical pragmatism, critical presentism, and the PFLAG China Rainbow Cruise

How might we rethink not only what queer can do but also where and when queer can be? This article analyzes the PFLAG China Rainbow Cruise to expand existing understandings of queerness, including its spatial and temporal dimensions and its relationship to antinormativity. Drawing inspiration from Milani and Levon’s idea of “homotopia,” I use the phrase “cruising homotopia” to playfully extend and critique Muñoz’s theory of queerness as “cruising utopia.” Cruising homotopia encourages us to question idealized understandings of queerness that insist on its inherent antinormativity and fundamental futurity by redirecting our attention to examples of pragmatic yet radical queer heterotopias like the Rainbow Cruise that exist in the imperfect present while also expressing a collective hope for a better future. Rethinking queerness as cruising homotopia advances ongoing projects in queer anthropology, transnational queer studies, and queer Asian studies to decolonize and provincialize Western/US queer theory, navigating us toward less essentializing and more inclusive projects of queer hope and transformation by recognizing and celebrating instances of queer community, kinship, and worldmaking in the here and now and opening up new horizons for transnational queer coalition building and solidarity.