There are two groups of clients in “Phoenix Eyes”. In the previous section, I had indicated the first group of clients: Taiwanese men and other Asian gay men who consume Terrence’s body. The second group of gay men is about the non-Chinse, mainly western, clients who visit Taiwanese gay men and male sex workers, seeking pleasures of exoticism. However, these local Taiwanese gay men and male sex
workers are not “local.” Like those terra cotta statues in the National Palace Museum, they are Taiwanese adopting American-styled fashion.
As indicated in Chapter One of this thesis, many gay spaces in Taipei are frequented by non-Chinese customers. These areas are for male sex workers to do a
lucrative business. One of the gay spaces, Shanshui Street, is in the proximity of Lung Shang Temple, an area frequented by Terrence in “Phoenix Eyes” (139). International clients would visit this area to find local prostitutes. Among these male sex workers, Terrence is extremely different from his colleagues: as he says “I was the only Chinese American male on hung kung hsien” (138). Featuring this exoticness, Terrence can deploy his body covered with American-styled clothes in exchange for money. He can use English, Japanese, and knowledge of Chinese culture to gain more chances for business: “I use my English and art background to advantage with my clients: mainly men, but an occasional female” (138). These clients in different Asian cities are similar to the flight attendant in the first part of the story, viewing Terrence’s exotic male body as “beads on a string” (135) and developing relationship with exotic male sex workers as if collecting the experiences of exoticism they could enjoy.
Taiwanese gay men and male sex workers would also use clothes to attract non-Chinese clients. They deploy the chance of shopping in luxurious boutiques to gain more chances for commissions. “My well-built buddy, Wan would wear nothing under his trousers” (133). Like terra cotta statues in the National Palace Museum, these Taiwanese gay men strategically use their sartorial items to make their body more attractive.
In fact, I would view these scenes more than erotic depictions of gay cruising.
These sartorial items of Taiwanese gay men not only add meaning to their Asian bodies, these bodies donned in special clothes also serve as metaphors of (Taiwanese national) allegories. As indicated by Yeh Li-cheng in the previous sections, an
international labor division between Taiwanese textile manufacturers and international clothing brands became real in the 1970s. Taiwanese factories are in charge of
production, while international corporations are in charge of designing. Many
“imports” are locally produced in Taiwan. However, these “imports” are expensive
and often become the “rewards” for Taiwanese gay men and sex workers to compete for.
I would argue that Leong’s designation of sartorial items of Asian young people in the international call station reflects this the international division of labor between manufacturing and designing in the 1970s. As a developing country, Taiwanese manufacturers are dominated by international corporations. Similarly, Taiwanese gay men and sex workers, are dominated by the non-Chinese clients. These non-Chinese clients run lucrative businesses in Asian countries, but the sex workers receive relatively low pay. Non-Chinese clients deploy the chance of gay tourism in Taiwan and many other Asian countries to fulfill their sexual desires with very low expenses.
Non-Chinese clients would take these Taiwanese male sex workers to boutiques in Taipei for seemingly conspicuous consumptions. In my observation, this is a
“seemingly” conspicuous consumption because the price of these clothes is not high.
These items seem alike to those sold in the western countries, but they are not the brandname items people see in the boutiques of western societies, but they are actually clothes that “might have been labeled ‘Bluette Mode-Paris,’ but they were knit in a local factory that made ‘imports’” (133). Without a doubt, the style of the clothes is western, but the material and manufacturing are of local labors. These clothes may appear exotic, but, in fact, they are local. These seemingly imported goods are locally made, suggesting the ambiguity of origin and legitimacy. Wearing these locally made “imports” confuses the identity of Taiwanese gay men and male sex workers. Wearing these clothes is also wearing the paradox of modernity development in the capitalist society.
Among these non-Chinese clients, there is a professor who teaches at one of the Ivy League Schools. Leong introduces this non-Chinese client as a professor famous for his translations and investigations of Ci, a type of Classical Chinese poetry. This
professor likes to take these Taiwanese gay men and male sex workers to these boutiques and is willing to buy clothes for these gay men. Leong describes scenes of intimacy between this professor with these Taiwanese gay men and sex workers in the tryout rooms. These Asian bodies wearing a seemingly western “imports” costume creates an ambivalent feeling. If the purpose of these non-Chinese clients in Taiwan is to find traditional Chinese culture, such as Ci, this purpose would not be fulfilled.
These non-Chinese clients would notice that what they find in Taiwan is a group of people they find both familiar and distant. These non-Chinese clients cannot find any traces of traditional China from the male sex workers because the bodies of these male sex workers are Americanized/westernized/modernized by putting on these
“fake” imports.