Russell Leong’s short story describes how a Chinese American gay man can survive with his American-styled sartorial items in Taiwan in the 1970s. In previous sections, I had demonstrated how Terrence’s sartorial items carry exotic
characteristics that attract Taiwanese gay men. Other Taiwanese gay men deploy these tactics and may also get benefit. This characteristic helps Terrence gain more chances for lucrative transactions. In the following section, I would like to demonstrate what would happen to Chinese American gay men if these sartorial items are ripped off.
In transnational sex industry, American characteristics succeed to turn Terrence exotic to attract people from all over the world. English, along with his knowledge of art history makes Terrence more appearing than his other colleagues. Therefore, Terrence does not need to apply powders and cosmetics like other Taiwanese male sex workers for his job.
The sartorial items of Terrence in the latter part of the story show Terrence
better economic capabilities. Russell Leong latter describes a dialogue between the shoeshine boy and the narrator, portraying the establishment of conspicuous consumption:
Shoeshine boys prodded me until I gave in. One examines the leather of my shoes and said the hide must be expensive. “We do not have this here.” I turned to him and nodded my head, mumbling that a friend had sent them from Hong Kong. I tipped him a dollar for polishing them. (139)
Compared with what had happened at the beginning of the story, Terrence is now a man with money. He now holds a better economic capability and can tip like his non-Chinese clients.
However, even so, Terrence is still a male sex worker. After all, Terrence’s body is a Chinese body. When it comes to confronting against other Japanese
businesspeople, Terrence is capable of conducting a conversation with Japanese businessmen in Japanese, Chinese, and English in the restaurant. This management of three languages demonstrates his global dexterity: that is, being able to manage the complexity of Asian knowledge. However, when he is ripped off the clothes, in other words, ripped off the cultural capitals, privately in the hotel room. Terrence is still captivated as sex slaves in his subordinated position. At the end of the short story, the clothes that symbolize Terrence’s cultural capital are removed from the body. Terrence cannot help but only follows the control of his Japanese client.
V. Conclusion
This chapter is divided into four sections. The first section discusses why Terrence, the Chinese American expatriate, wants to leave their home in the United States. I have demonstrated two kinds of home Chinese American gay expatriate want to escape from. Similar to Taiwanese gay man, Terrence deploys chances of seeking
success to escape from inhibitions of their family. In additional to family of blood, Terrence also wants to escape from the pseudo-familial relationships within Asian American communities. This pseudo-familial relationship is built on the
internalization of effeminate images endowed by white gay communities.
The second section demonstrates how American-styled clothes add meaning to Terrence’s Asian bodies. Unlike other Taipei gay men and male sex workers who need to apply cosmetics to their body to appear attractive. Terrence’s American-styled clothes make Terrence exotic and masculine and thus he does not need to apply cosmetics to his body. Many clients want to consume Terrence’s exotic body and Terrence can thus make a lucrative business.
In the 1970s, American commodity, such as fashionable attires, is very popular in the Taiwanese society. In Chi Ta-Wei’s “American Orientation: Historicizing Male Homosexuality in 1970s Taiwan Literature” (2017), Chi points out that Taiwanese gay men would consume products from the U.S. in order to experience the American consumer lifestyle and live in an “alternative American temporality” (216-218). Non-Chinese clients of Taipei call station bring gay men and male sex workers to
boutiques that sell locally manufactured “imports”. These gay men and male sex workers consume “American-styled clothes” and their bodies are modified by these clothes. These seemingly exotic clothes add new colors to the Taiwanese body. If the purpose of these non-Chinese clients in Taipei is to find traditional Chinese cultures, these Chines clients will realize their purpose cannot be fulfilled. These non-Chinese consumers can only find a Taiwanese body mixed with “fake” western color:
in other words, the legitimate color no longer exist in Taipei.
Lastly, in transnational sex industry, American characteristics succeed to turn Terrence exotic to attract people from all over the world. However, the bodies of Taiwanese male sex workers can be read as a national allegory. Taiwanese
manufacturers are dominated by international corporations. Similarly, Taiwanese gay men and sex workers are dominated by the non-Chinese clients. Taiwanese gay men and male sex workers receive relatively low pay in the transnational gay sex tourism.
Similarly, manufacturers in Taiwan can merely make limited profit in the industry because they are dominated by international corporations.
This thesis discusses sartorial practices of Chinese American gay men through textual analysis of Pai Hsien-Yung’s “Tea for Two” and Russell Leong’s “Phoenix Eyes”. The literary representation of sartorial practices works as metaphors,
embodying a variety of masculinities. Characters in these stories represent different images of gay men, from effeminate, straight-acting, to hyper-masculinist. Effeminate Chinese gay men wear effeminate sartorial items and often become transvestites.
According to some account of life-stories, these gay men would deploy some chances of theatre performance to fulfill their transvestite wishes. As for hyper-masculine Chinese/American gay men, they would try to follow the dress codes celebrated by hyper-masculine white gay men, who deploy sartorial items that are appropriated from that of working-class men. However, these two types are not preferred by most Chinese/American. They tend to conform to certain dress codes of straight men, on the one hand, adopting hetero-normalized sartorial dress codes to pass as straight gay men, and on the other hand, strategically wearing some items for other gay men to identity in certain accepted gay spaces.
Existing studies show that many Chinese gay men who are aware of their homosexuality may choose to neglect their sexuality. These gay men would diligently concentrate on their studies or works. They enroll prestigious schools and get high education degrees. I deploy Chi Ta-Wei’s conception of “giving up home and
becoming men” to articulate these straight gay men’s long-term agenda for life: they successfully move abroad, mainly to the United States, to pursue their gay American dreams. I also deploy Kam Louie’s theorizations on wen masculinity and raises an argument considering that gay men’s homosexuality be disguised by wen masculinity.
Since wen masculinity celebrates literacy and civility, many Chinese gay men would
deploy wen masculinity to conceal their homosexuality. Many straight-acting
Chinese/American gay men deploy chances for studying abroad to fulfill their gay life agenda. With high educational degrees in hand, these straight-acting gay men are climbing upward on social ladders, and later succeed in fulfilling socioeconomic requirements. These socioeconomically successful gay men can lead a hipster lifestyle and employ expensive taste of clothes. They are successful dedicators of economic developments and thus rid themselves off the stigmatization of gay men. However, I would argue that this represses those gay men who fail to meet the socioeconomic standards.
Existing studies also show that rendering gay men as fashion trendsetters is a myth. This thesis argues that Pai Hsien-Yung’s “Tea for Two” deploys expensive sartorial items to represent gay men with high economic capabilities. These gay men’s sartorial practices all come in expensive tastes and fabric. Homonormative and
monogamous gay men are wearing expensive clothes and thus becomes embodiments of good men from “respectful” backgrounds. On the other hand, Pai links hyper-masculine sartorial items to contemporary gay subculture, and portrays those with hyper-masculine sartorial items as ill-taste wearers. Their behaviors such as gay cruising, and their preferences for certain commodity such as gay nudity and gay pornography are designated as part of derogatory gay culture. Contemporary hyper-masculine culture is thus rendered as derogatory behaviors in Pai Hsien-Yung’s narrative.
Fashion items would add meanings to the identity of the wearers, as we see in Russell Leong’s “Phoenix Eyes.” During the 1970s, American fashion market casts strong influences on Taiwan’s fashion market. Many Taiwanese gay men would follow American fashion and consider wearers of American sartorial items attractive.
In “Phoenix Eyes”, bodies donned in American sartorial items are rendered masculine
and attractive. Thus, bodies of Chinese American do not need other cosmetics for modification. American fashion items manufactured by Taiwanese local factories blur the meaning of originality and legitimacy. Locally produced “imports” seem
Americanized and would make the body of the Taiwanese wearers looked like American.
This thesis studies how sartorial items in literature may carry meanings and add meanings to the wearers’ identity in terms of class, gender, and ethnicity. Through analysis of the Pai Hsien-Yung’s “Tea for Two” and Russell Leong’s “Phoenix Eyes”, I had demonstrated how sartorial items are used as metaphors. The following passages demonstrate possible topics for future analysis.