Between revolution and capitulation : an ethnography of everyday queer worldmaking in the Chinese city Hangzhou

Paradigmatic queer movements tend to emphasise confrontation and equal rights. However, the socio- political particularities of mainland China in the early 2020s necessitated a non-teleological model for queer sexual progress and identity. To better account for the discrepancies between Chinese queer social movements and the global queer politics, my thesis focuses on unfolding processes of everyday queer worldmaking in Hangzhou, China. In particular, I ask how Chinese queer people negotiated their queerness in everyday life. Through ethnography fieldwork, this research suggests that queer world-making took a non-confrontational and inward approach. In the face of increased political surveillance of queer social movements, Chinese queers did not tend to seek equal rights or public recognition but focus on sharing and making sense of their everyday experiences. They constantly unsettled the dominant power regimen that shaped their daily life, such as patriarchy and heteronormativity. This focus on the (cracks) of everyday life also allowed them to reimagine and invent alternatives. These findings underscore the radical potential of everyday life in queer politics. At the same time, however, I also recognise the individualising tendency in everyday politics and caution against complicity with neoliberalism in queer world-making in mainland China.