Queer Mobility of Chinese Women: An Ethnographic Study of Mainland Chinese Queer Women in Australia

Past studies of sexuality and migration have a heavy focus on North American societies and the movement of queer people from the so-called global south to the global north. This paper is part of a research project that will explore an entirely new path of movement of queer mobility— the movement of Chinese queer women (lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer identified women) from China to Australia. Australia is one of the most popular destinations of work, study and emigration for queer women in China. “Queer mobility” refers to the transnational or trans-continental movement of queer Chinese women from China to have temporary or permanent stay in the host countries. It is queer because the cause of the movement is mainly or partly related to one’s sexual or gender nonconformity. Extensive field studies such as participant observation and in-depth interviews will be conducted in the chosen cities to document personal lives and community development. This paper will discuss the queer networking of young Chinese women in Melbourne and Sydney including the various way they use mobile technologies and social media to connect and interact with each other. The project intends to generate community-based field knowledge of the lived experiences of Chinese queer women in their overseas destination, and therefore enriches the existing scholarship of queer migration in ethnic, geographical and theoretical dimensions.