Sartorial Practices of Chinese Gay Men - 衣櫃裡的服裝：白先勇〈Tea for Two〉與梁志英〈鳳眼〉中男同志服裝實踐與文學再現

This section focuses on Chinese gay men in various Chinese communities in Asia. Similar to that of Asian American gay men, effeminacy is conflated to

homosexuality in Taiwan during the martial law period. Thus, many Taiwanese gay men would identify gay men through effeminate clothes. These sartorial practices are also indicators for gay cruising. Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men (《彩虹熟年巴士：12 位老年同志的青春記憶》2010) collects many accounts on gay life during the martial law period. In addition to references to stories in Senior Rainbows, I would also provide two literary texts in this section to explicate on sartorial practices of Taiwanese and Chinese gay men and its cultural meanings.

Similar to accounts on the childhood of Asian American gay men, many

Taiwanese gay men’s homosexuality is initiated in homosocial settings. These settings include boys’ schools, working-class factories, or military base. Some recount that their homosexual encounters are initiated by elder male co-workers while working as apprentices in the local factories. Xu Dage²³ (許大哥) recounts that he always masturbates with his fellow co-workers in the shower room of the factories after he moves to Taipei in the 1950s (Yoyo 86). While Xu Dage actively embraces his

23 Yoyo。2010 年。〈阿伯戀少年—自在花叢間的把弟高手許大哥〉 “A bo lian shao nian: zi zai hua cong jian de ba di gao shou xu da ge” [Seeking the Youth: Brother Xu’s Account on His Lifestyle]，《彩虹熟年巴士—12 位老年同志的青春記憶》Cai hong shu nan ba shi: 12 wei lao nian tong zhi de qing chun ji yi [Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men]。台灣同志諮詢熱線編 [Ed. Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association]。台北：基本書坊 [Taipei: GBooks P] 83-94。

preferences for young men, Hei Meiren²⁴ (黑美人) recounts his traumatic rape experience with his senior co-worker in the factories in the 1960s (Xiaodu 小杜 98).

Others recount that their first homosexual experience is initiated by their batchmates in the army (Heimao Yi 黑貓姨²⁵ 58-60; Qiaokeli 巧克力²⁶ 149-150). They later end up in Taipei because they want to fulfill their homosexual desires. They work hard and struggle on their limited income. Before the appearances of gay bars in the 1970s, many work in restaurants or bars as waiters. Some of them work as masseurs in gay or ordinary saunas (Yongge 勇哥²⁷ 26-28; Jiaxin 家新 61-62). However, without much freedom, most of these gay men have to stay in the closet and fulfill the heteronormal expectations enforced on them by their families or the society. Some got married, with a wife and kids (Yongge 勇哥 26; Yoyo 87-89; Tim²⁸ 136-137;

24 小杜（Xiaodu）。2010 年。〈回首坎坷淚漣漣—黑美人的曲折人生〉 “Hui shou kan ke lei lian lian: hei mei ren de qu zhe ren shen” [Tearful Life Account: Hei Mei Ren’s Twisted Journey]，《彩虹熟年巴士—12 位老年同志的青春記憶》Cai hong shu nan ba shi: 12 wei lao nian tong zhi de qing chun ji yi [Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men]。台灣同志諮詢熱線編 [Ed. Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association]。台北：基本書坊 [Taipei: GBooks P] 95-108。

25 家新（Jiaxin）。2010 年。〈猶存風韻的優雅姿態—黑貓姨走過抗婚的自在從容〉 “Yun cun

feng yun de yu ya zi tai: hei mao yi zou guo kan hun de zi zai cong rong” [Graceful Behaviors: Heimao Yi’s Accounts on Anti-marriage]，《彩虹熟年巴士—12 位老年同志的青春記憶》Cai hong shu nan ba shi: 12 wei lao nian tong zhi de qing chun ji yi [Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men]。台灣同志諮詢熱線編 [Ed. Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association]。台北：基本書坊 [Taipei: GBooks P] 55-68。

26 小蜜蜂（Xiaomifeng）。2010 年。〈濃情巧克力—七年級小蜜蜂訴說四年級熟男的故事〉

“Nong qing qiao ke li: qi nian ji xiao mi feng su shuo si nian ji shu nan de gu shi” [An Account on Senior Gay man in the 1970s]，《彩虹熟年巴士—12 位老年同志的青春記憶》Cai hong shu nan ba shi: 12 wei lao nian tong zhi de qing chun ji yi [Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men]。台灣同志諮詢熱線編 [Ed. Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association]。台北：基本書坊 [Taipei: GBooks P] 145-158。

27 勇哥（Yongge）。2010 年。〈抓住歲月尾巴勇敢做自己—加倍把握人生的阿嬤〉 “YZhua zhu

sui yue yi ba yong gan zuo zi ji: jia bei ba wo ren shen de a ma” [Be Courageous: Ama’s Account]，

《彩虹熟年巴士—12 位老年同志的青春記憶》Cai hong shu nan ba shi: 12 wei lao nian tong zhi de qing chun ji yi [Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men]。台灣同志諮詢熱線 編 [Ed. Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association]。台北：基本書坊 [Taipei: GBooks P] 19-30。

28 Tim。2010 年〈舞動生機破繭而出—賣麵郎變身舞蹈老師的蝴蝶大哥〉 “Wu dong shen ji p

jian er chu: mai mian lang bian shen wu dao lao shi de hu die da ge” [Dancing through the Life: Big Brother Hu Die’s Dancing Career]，《彩虹熟年巴士—12 位老年同志的青春記憶》Cai hong shu nan ba shi: 12 wei lao nian tong zhi de qing chun ji yi [Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men]。台灣同志諮詢熱線編 [Ed. Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association]。台北：基本書坊 [Taipei: GBooks P] 133-144。

Xiaomifeng 小蜜蜂²⁹ 151-153).

For those Taiwanese gay men growing up in rural areas, many of them move to Taipei because of gay spaces in Taipei. Many existing studies point out that before the 1970s in Taipei, Sanshui Street (三水街) in Wanhua (萬華), saunas in Taipei, Taipei New Park, Taipei Main Station, National Taiwan University Hospital, and some public toilets in random parks and Zhonghua Shopping Mall (中華商場) near Taipei Main Station area are all spaces for gay men to hang out for random casual sex and gay cruising (Wu 46-47; Chi 232-261). In some of these places, especially Sanshui Street, male sex workers gather here to find some potential clients (Wu 46). New Nanyang Cinema (新南陽戲院) and Mingxin Café (明星咖啡廳) are also places frequented by gay men before the 1970s (Wu 47-49; Chi 252). However, these places are not exclusively designed to cater to gay consumers. According to Wu Jui-Yuan (吳瑞元)’s MA thesis, it is said that some tea houses on Sanshui Street (三水街) are ran by cross-dressing owners. These tea-houses are places frequented by gay men before the establishment of the first gay bar, which was ran by Ta-K (他 K), in the 1970s (46). The clients include Bensheng Ren (Taiwanese Islanders), Waisheng Ren (Mainlanders) and non-Chinese tourists. Among the clients, non-Chinese tourists are the wealthiest, but Mainlanders and some veteran soldiers are the majority of this body of clients. Wu considers that this is because of the proximity of the army base in this area (46-47). The very first gay bar in Taipei is established around the 1970s. This is the place for gay men to have an affordable drink with other gay men without any unnecessary questionings (47).

29 小蜜蜂（Xiaomifeng）。2010 年。〈濃情巧克力—七年級小蜜蜂訴說四年級熟男的故事〉

From the accounts of senior Taiwanese gay men collected in Senior Rainbows, it is possible to see the conflation of effeminacy with homosexuality. Some of the gay men would deploy the chance of acting in theatres to fulfill their transvestite wishes.

According to the account of Heimao Yi³⁰ (黑貓姨) from the Senior Rainbows, Heimao Yi recounts his first homosexual romance starts from his chances to play the part as Zhu Yingtai (祝英台, a transvestite character in traditional Chinese story) when he serves the military in the 1960s. The homosexual desire is aroused after a sergeant starts to express his affection to him (JiaXin 58). Heimao Yi later develops a homosexual romance with this sergeant in the army base. From the account of Fairy Yulan³¹ (玉蘭仙子) in the same book, Fairy Yulan had his first homosexual

experience while he was working in a Taiwanese theatre (Kefei 喀飛 74). Even though Fairy Yulan never had a performance on stage, Fairy Yulan would still deploy some chances for wearing feminine clothes.

Interestingly, the account of Taiwanese gay teenagers in 1980s is quite similar to those of Chinese American gay men and Japanese American gay men. In Taiwanese gay literature, it is possible to see that some Taiwanese gay men have understood their homosexuality before they move to the United States. These Taiwanese gay teenagers are depicted as normalized models in literary representation. They are overachievers in the competitive studying environment. These teenagers find it hard to fit into the

30 家新（Jiaxin）。2010 年〈猶存風韻的優雅姿態—黑貓姨走過抗婚的自在從容〉 “Yun cun

31 喀飛（Kefei）。2010 年〈流浪江湖無歌不歡—玉蘭仙子說不出口的人生〉 “Liu lan jiang hu wu ge bu huan: yu lan xian zi shuo bu chu kou de ren shen” [Singing in the Clique: Fairy Yulan’s Untold Stories]，《彩虹熟年巴士—12 位老年同志的青春記憶》Cai hong shu nan ba shi: 12 wei lao nian tong zhi de qing chun ji yi [Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men]。台 灣同志諮詢熱線編 [Ed. Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association]。台北：基本書坊 [Taipei: GBooks P] 69-82。

heteronormative society in terms of their closeted sexuality. Gu Zhao-sen (顧肇森)’s

“Zhang Wei” (〈張偉〉, originally published in 1984 from Life of a Cat’s Face (《貓 臉的歲月》, collected and published in 1986) is a good example. “Zhang Wei” is a biographical account of a fictional character Zhang Wei. It starts with Zhang Wei’s successful childhood as a hardworking student. Before Zhang Wei moves to the United States, he is a model student who never gets into trouble: “He has been a neat and timid boy and his mother never needs to worry about him” (83). Zhang’s room is always dustless. He even “irons his own clothes” (83) signifying a well-disciplined lifestyle. However, ironing one’s clothes is also traditionally considered as an

effeminate behavior; heteronormative male teenagers should go for outdoor activities.

Zhang’s problem is that he is never interested in approaching female classmates.

Unlike his heteronormative male classmates, who are always keen in talking about girls, Zhang Wei only concentrates on his studies in the elite high school. The collection, Senior Rainbow, also demonstrates a similar case. In the end, some of these case studies even show that, if with enough amount of money accumulated from the jobs they have in Taipei, they can deploy this agency to move abroad. Born in Macau, Lairui³² (萊瑞) realizes his homosexuality while studying in a boy’s high school in Macau. His homosexuality is developed in this homosocial setting. After he moves to Taiwan with his family after the Chinese Civil War, he again joined an elite boy’s high school in Tainan and later got enrolled in a prestigious university. Lairui later ends up migrating to Canada because his lover wants to study abroad.

For Chinese gay men, they are also depicted as people who lead a neat lifestyle.

32 奧利佛（Oliver）。2010 年〈天涯遠颺追逐青春—動盪遷徙一甲子的萊瑞〉 “Tian ya yuan yang zhui zhu qing chum: dong dang qian xi yi jia zi de lai rui” [Chasing Youth: Lairui’s Sixty Years Romance]，《彩虹熟年巴士—12 位老年同志的青春記憶》Cai hong shu nan ba shi: 12 wei lao nian tong zhi de qing chun ji yi [Senior Rainbows: A Collection of Memories of Senior Gay Men]。台灣同 志諮詢熱線編 [Ed. Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association]。台北：基本書坊 [Taipei: GBooks P]

159-171。

Ha Jin’s “The Bridegroom” from the collection of The Bridegroom (2001) depicts a gay man’s conversion therapy during the Cultural Revolution. The narrator’s

daughter, Beina, marries to a well-mannered young man, Baowen. Baowen’s homosexuality is revealed after he is caught in the police raid of a secret gay gathering. Baowen is forced to take the conversion therapy. After the event, the narrator visits his daughter’s newlywed apartment. Baowen’s room with Beina is extraordinary neat and tidy. It’s decorated with a wide variety of blooming flowers.

The furniture comes in bright colors, such as orange and yellow. The texture and material of decorations in the room are of wooden materials. The narrator of the story, Baowen’s father in law, soon recognizes these arrangements and decorations are of Baowen’s. These arrangements and decorations are even better than that of the narrator’s wife, and these beautiful arrangements are sabotaged by the narrator’s own daughter with “an empty flour sack and a pile of spoiled laundry” (100). This pile of spoiled laundry not only indicates the lack of discipline of the narrator’s daughter but also emphasizes Baowen’s tidiness. As assumed by the narrator, the laundry is done by Baowen. This also shows Baowen’s effeminate behaviors.

在文檔中衣櫃裡的服裝：白先勇〈Tea for Two〉與梁志英〈鳳眼〉中男同志服裝實踐與文學再現 (頁 31-36)