So far I’ve only found a total of three sources for my topic, which is a little bit daunting – still better than nothing, though, as I wasn’t expecting to find sources as good as I have. As it is, information surrounding queer culture and identity in Han China is fairly lacking in comparison to western countries, so why would Uighur sexuality be a heavily studied topic? I’m definitely excited by what I’ve found, though. They’ve provided me with a decent thread to follow, and they themselves were just interesting in general (who wants to read a bunch of clinical stuff when you’re researching something?).
The one source that I found particularly cool is an essay that was published on Gawker. It was written by Massoud Hayoun, an ethnically Middle Eastern journalist, and it’s his account of his sexual development while spending a year abroad in China back when he was in college. It’s unexpectedly very explicitly detailed – while I know that some people would find that to be an uncomfortable read, I appreciated it. I’ve never been one to shy away from or be bothered by openness towards sexuality, and the way the essay reads feels far more genuine and honest than if Hayoun had tried to remain ‘polite,’ for lack of a better term. Only a small part of the essay focuses on anything related to the Uighur people – a single tale of love lost with a Uighur dude from Xinjiang who was studying in Beijing – but it at the very least provided a brief glimpse into what it’s like to be gay in an “ethnic” community within China (the ending of the story was far from happy, though perhaps not as bad as it could have been). The piece also touches on what currently feels like Urumqi’s mythical gay bar, wherein Uighur drag queens put on shows objectified by the Han patrons due to their more “exotic” qualities. Despite having found several references to the bar, I’ve yet to find it’s name.
Outside of the Gawker essay, I also found a blog entry on Blogspot by Kim Baskin that references the same bar. It goes deeper into what it means to be queer and Uighur, recounting several rather unfortunate stories and once again highlighting the way in which Uighur queens are problematic in their reception inside the bar. Unlike the Gawker piece, however, I’m unable to find any info about the author. I’ve managed to find a brief news article that mentions the bar and (I believe) the owner’s name, so I know that what the blog entry is based in is true, but the rest is based entirely in Kim’s personal experiences. I’m tempted to try and contact Baskin and Hayoun in hopes of hearing more about the bar (or, if I’m extremely lucky, obtain photos/videos of the interior and the queens performing), but I’m unsure of how to go about that. I’m not sure how much additional info I’ll be able to find on the internet, so I should probably start looking into them.
For anyone interested:
Gawker Essay
When Queens Go Ethnic in Gay Urumpqi