《性别、亲密关系与社会》课程教学资源（女权主义与LGBT争论）The Traffic in Money Boys

positions positions 18:2 Fall 2010 430 demn homosexuality in the name of Chinese morality while others,who do not identify as gay,proclaim that,although they do not understand homo- sexuality,everyone should be free to express their desires.This complex situ- ation means that lesbians and gay men provide a particularly compelling and ambivalent challenge to postsocialist constructions of human nature. Lesbians and gay men in China could view themselves as standing at the forefront of a universal humanity in the expression of their desires.Yet,they must struggle with public debates in China about the differentiation among those deemed appropriate subjects of desire and those cast as inappropriate. The instabilities inherent in the experimental nature of China's neoliberal reforms means that these"desiring-actions,"to borrow a term from Neferti Tadiar,were not determined in advance.+Nonetheless,these debates revolved around attempts to draw a clear boundary between normative and nonnor- mative desires,both within and outside gay communities in China. Money boys thus became a lightening rod among gay men in their efforts to grapple with homophobia and the proper,class-inflected ways to be a desiring subject in this postsocialist world.As queer theory has taught us, desires normalize and,in so doing,constitute those who are also excluded and marked as nonnormative.15 Queer theorists of color have challenged and expanded this canon in order to make compelling arguments about the critical role of postcolonial histories of racism and diaspora in construct- ing normative desires among lesbians and gay men.16 Queer theorists have also argued that normalizations require a great deal of effort to make them effective and in that work,gaps and fissures lead to unexpected outcomes. Gay men who condemn money boys marginalize them as a way to make their own desires appear simultaneously cosmopolitan (in its contemporary neoliberal guise)and appropriately Chinese.But they sometimes have dif ficulty in crafting absolute distinctions between themselves and these"oth- ers,"even as they use these others to make themselves appear to have the more appropriate desires befitting a postsocialist China.7 Thus I locate an anxiety expressed about the "money boy"as a production of the market economy that threatens the ontological certainty of the desiring individual. The fact that the unique term "money boy"is used to refer to these men--rather than,say,“gigolo”or“male prostitute”--is not to be dis- missed as incidental,but bears a critical relation to commodification and the Published by Duke University Press

positions 18:2 Fall 2010 430 demn homosexuality in the name of Chinese morality while others, who do not identify as gay, proclaim that, although they do not understand homo￾sexuality, everyone should be free to express their desires. This complex situ￾ation means that lesbians and gay men provide a particularly compelling and ambivalent challenge to postsocialist constructions of human nature. Lesbians and gay men in China could view themselves as standing at the forefront of a universal humanity in the expression of their desires. Yet, they must struggle with public debates in China about the differentiation among those deemed appropriate subjects of desire and those cast as inappropriate. The instabilities inherent in the experimental nature of China’s neoliberal reforms means that these “desiring-actions,” to borrow a term from Neferti Tadiar, were not determined in advance.14 Nonetheless, these debates revolved around attempts to draw a clear boundary between normative and nonnor￾mative desires, both within and outside gay communities in China. Money boys thus became a lightening rod among gay men in their efforts to grapple with homophobia and the proper, class-inflected ways to be a desiring subject in this postsocialist world. As queer theory has taught us, desires normalize and, in so doing, constitute those who are also excluded and marked as nonnormative.15 Queer theorists of color have challenged and expanded this canon in order to make compelling arguments about the critical role of postcolonial histories of racism and diaspora in construct￾ing normative desires among lesbians and gay men.16 Queer theorists have also argued that normalizations require a great deal of effort to make them effective and in that work, gaps and fissures lead to unexpected outcomes. Gay men who condemn money boys marginalize them as a way to make their own desires appear simultaneously cosmopolitan (in its contemporary neoliberal guise) and appropriately Chinese. But they sometimes have dif￾ficulty in crafting absolute distinctions between themselves and these “oth￾ers,” even as they use these others to make themselves appear to have the more appropriate desires befitting a postsocialist China.17 Thus I locate an anxiety expressed about the “money boy” as a production of the market economy that threatens the ontological certainty of the desiring individual. The fact that the unique term “money boy” is used to refer to these men— rather than, say, “gigolo” or “male prostitute”— is not to be dis￾missed as incidental, but bears a critical relation to commodification and the positions Published by Duke University Press

positions Rofel I The Traffic in Money Boys 431 anxieties attendant upon the loss or the blurring of the boundaries between epistemic zones.After repeatedly hearing disparaging remarks about money boys,I decided I should talk to money boys themselves.I was hesitant at first,because I was not sure how one would go about asking someone ques- tions about their engagement in an activity that is so roundly condemned.I began to ask some of my gay male friends in Beijing to introduce me to any money boys they knew.While I am sure there are men who sell sex to other men-one stroll through Beijing's famous Dongdan Park makes that activ- ity obvious-the men I was introduced to as money boys all refused that label.They argued that their actions did not represent a simple equation of sex for money.1s As I describe below,their rejection of the money boy label is more than simply a matter of denial.These men had a much more complex interpretation of their activities that,as with other gay men,broadened out into a consideration of the place of desire in contemporary China.They led me to understand that their activities were as much an intimate part of the transformations that had moved China away from socialism and toward a world of what I would call neoliberal cosmopolitanism as any other activi- ties centered around desire.Indeed,their analyses of their own lives and the debates among gay men over money boys led me to realize that the question of desire lies at the very heart of these transformations. I offer two "scenes"that develop my arguments about not simply the views of those labeled money boys but also the cultural anxieties of other gay men about money boys.That is,my intent is not just to describe so-called money boys'attempts to decouple money and sex,but other gay men's fears about their own inabilities to do so,the reasons why this distinction comes to matter at all,and the politically and culturally specific context that shapes these anxieties.The first scene occurred in my room in Beijing when one of my gay male friends introduced me to someone he labeled a money boy.The disagreements that ensued in the conversation exemplify the anxious pursuit of neoliberal respectability among certain gay men.The second scene is a film by the well-known queer filmmaker Cui Zi'en.Through satire and subversion,Cui Zi'en challenges gay men about their desires for neoliberal normalization. Published by Duke University Press

Rofel ❘ The Traffic in Money Boys 431 anxieties attendant upon the loss or the blurring of the boundaries between epistemic zones. After repeatedly hearing disparaging remarks about money boys, I decided I should talk to money boys themselves. I was hesitant at first, because I was not sure how one would go about asking someone ques￾tions about their engagement in an activity that is so roundly condemned. I began to ask some of my gay male friends in Beijing to introduce me to any money boys they knew. While I am sure there are men who sell sex to other men— one stroll through Beijing’s famous Dongdan Park makes that activ￾ity obvious— the men I was introduced to as money boys all refused that label. They argued that their actions did not represent a simple equation of sex for money.18 As I describe below, their rejection of the money boy label is more than simply a matter of denial. These men had a much more complex interpretation of their activities that, as with other gay men, broadened out into a consideration of the place of desire in contemporary China. They led me to understand that their activities were as much an intimate part of the transformations that had moved China away from socialism and toward a world of what I would call neoliberal cosmopolitanism as any other activi￾ties centered around desire. Indeed, their analyses of their own lives and the debates among gay men over money boys led me to realize that the question of desire lies at the very heart of these transformations. I offer two “scenes” that develop my arguments about not simply the views of those labeled money boys but also the cultural anxieties of other gay men about money boys. That is, my intent is not just to describe so-called money boys’ attempts to decouple money and sex, but other gay men’s fears about their own inabilities to do so, the reasons why this distinction comes to matter at all, and the politically and culturally specific context that shapes these anxieties. The first scene occurred in my room in Beijing when one of my gay male friends introduced me to someone he labeled a money boy. The disagreements that ensued in the conversation exemplify the anxious pursuit of neoliberal respectability among certain gay men. The second scene is a film by the well-known queer filmmaker Cui Zi’en. Through satire and subversion, Cui Zi’en challenges gay men about their desires for neoliberal normalization. positions Published by Duke University Press

positions positions 18:2 Fall 2010 432 Scene One It was a spring evening in 1998.Ah Zhuang had agreed to introduce me to someone he said was a money boy.19 I had first met Ah Zhuang through other foreign lesbians and gay men living in Beijing.Then in his early for- ties,Ah Zhuang was a radiologist.Ah Zhuang considered himself to be someone who had always known he was gay.He had never married,as have so many other gay men,but lived at home taking care of his mother.He also considered himself to be part of a long-lost line of aristocratic Mongo- lians,through his father's ancestors.Ah Zhuang had embraced the newly emergent gay scene with unabashed enthusiasm.Though many older men who have sex with other men shunned that scene and,given their histori- cal experiences of harassment,feared exposure,Ah Zhuang,in contrast, worked on the gay hotline,attended all the salon discussions,met with psy- chiatrists to argue with them about the normality of homosexuality,and established himself as an "elder"among what were mostly young gay men in their twenties.He loved dispensing advice.Ah Zhuang felt it was critical for all people who have a homoerotic orientation to identify themselves as gay and embrace that identity.His experience of having been arrested in the 198os for approaching another man for sex in the public bathrooms made him all the more adamant that normalizing a gay identity would put an end to the police harassment to which he had been subjected.20 On the other hand,he felt equally vehement about the need to not expose one's family to social condemnation and thus he felt it important to be discreet. Ah Zhuang had decided ideas about what constitutes a proper gay iden- tity.These ideas were made most apparent to me on the evening in question. That night,Ah Zhuang arrived at my room with a young man named Ah Pei.Ah Zhuang introduced him as his former boyfriend.I was immediately confused.I thought he had said he would introduce me to a money boy. And if this person was his former boyfriend,was he telling me he had been involved with a money boy?As the conversation developed,things turned out to be more complex.For Ah Pei and Ah Zhuang argued during the entire evening about whether Ah Pei was indeed a money boy at all.Ah Zhuang stayed for the whole conversation,in part because Ah Pei has a very thick Beijing working-class accent and I sometimes found it hard to follow Published by Duke University Press

positions 18:2 Fall 2010 432 Scene One It was a spring evening in 1998. Ah Zhuang had agreed to introduce me to someone he said was a money boy.19 I had first met Ah Zhuang through other foreign lesbians and gay men living in Beijing. Then in his early for￾ties, Ah Zhuang was a radiologist. Ah Zhuang considered himself to be someone who had always known he was gay. He had never married, as have so many other gay men, but lived at home taking care of his mother. He also considered himself to be part of a long-lost line of aristocratic Mongo￾lians, through his father’s ancestors. Ah Zhuang had embraced the newly emergent gay scene with unabashed enthusiasm. Though many older men who have sex with other men shunned that scene and, given their histori￾cal experiences of harassment, feared exposure, Ah Zhuang, in contrast, worked on the gay hotline, attended all the salon discussions, met with psy￾chiatrists to argue with them about the normality of homosexuality, and established himself as an “elder” among what were mostly young gay men in their twenties. He loved dispensing advice. Ah Zhuang felt it was critical for all people who have a homoerotic orientation to identify themselves as gay and embrace that identity. His experience of having been arrested in the 1980s for approaching another man for sex in the public bathrooms made him all the more adamant that normalizing a gay identity would put an end to the police harassment to which he had been subjected.20 On the other hand, he felt equally vehement about the need to not expose one’s family to social condemnation and thus he felt it important to be discreet. Ah Zhuang had decided ideas about what constitutes a proper gay iden￾tity. These ideas were made most apparent to me on the evening in question. That night, Ah Zhuang arrived at my room with a young man named Ah Pei. Ah Zhuang introduced him as his former boyfriend. I was immediately confused. I thought he had said he would introduce me to a money boy. And if this person was his former boyfriend, was he telling me he had been involved with a money boy? As the conversation developed, things turned out to be more complex. For Ah Pei and Ah Zhuang argued during the entire evening about whether Ah Pei was indeed a money boy at all. Ah Zhuang stayed for the whole conversation, in part because Ah Pei has a very thick Beijing working-class accent and I sometimes found it hard to follow positions Published by Duke University Press

positions Rofel I The Traffic in Money Boys 433 him.Ah Zhuang helpfully repeated some of Ah Pei's statements to make sure I understood.But Ah Zhuang also kept inserting his own views,inter- rupting Ah Pei at every turn. We began the conversation in a desultory manner,with my questions about Ah Pei's background.He explained that his parents both had had a hard life when they were young,before the 1949 revolution.His father was from the Northeast and had always had to move around looking for work. But fortunately he had ended up in Beijing,working in a factory under the Central Television Bureau,constructing television reception towers.His mother worked in a radio factory.When his father fell ill with cancer,Ah Pei had taken over his factory position.At the time,of course,job inheri- tance in state-run factories was seen as a privilege.Then Ah Pei's second brother and sister-in-law also came to work there.By the time of our con- versation,Ah Pei had taken what was then the risky step of abandoning his secure position in the factory.Perhaps he had the foresight to realize that factory workers'living conditions were declining under economic reform. Indeed,by the time of our conversation,half the factory had been let go and were on unemployment.Ah Pei had become a taxi driver.He was then in his mid-thirties. Perhaps I was moving too slowly toward the ostensible topic of the eve- ning.Or perhaps he had his own agenda.In any case,Ah Zhuang suddenly interjected with a question that abruptly changed the direction of our con- versation:"What are your feelings when you are with women?"Ah Pei pro- ceeded to tell a story about his factory:"All the women I have encountered have been from our factory."He then described how,at the age of 19,he had his first sexual relationship with an older,married woman,after another woman he was apprenticed to introduced them to each other.She,too,was an apprentice.According to Ah Pei,she had seduced him.Prior to that,he had no interest in sex with women,at least not women his age.They carried on their affair for over a year.The woman's husband never knew;he worked in another factory.The main point that Ah Pei stressed in telling this story was that with an older person,he finally felt secure.Since then,he added, he has always wanted to be with older people. When he first made this assertion,I did not pick up on its larger implica- tion in relation to the issue of money boys.Only later,when Ah Zhuang was Published by Duke University Press

Rofel ❘ The Traffic in Money Boys 433 him. Ah Zhuang helpfully repeated some of Ah Pei’s statements to make sure I understood. But Ah Zhuang also kept inserting his own views, inter￾rupting Ah Pei at every turn. We began the conversation in a desultory manner, with my questions about Ah Pei’s background. He explained that his parents both had had a hard life when they were young, before the 1949 revolution. His father was from the Northeast and had always had to move around looking for work. But fortunately he had ended up in Beijing, working in a factory under the Central Television Bureau, constructing television reception towers. His mother worked in a radio factory. When his father fell ill with cancer, Ah Pei had taken over his factory position. At the time, of course, job inheri￾tance in state-run factories was seen as a privilege. Then Ah Pei’s second brother and sister-in-law also came to work there. By the time of our con￾versation, Ah Pei had taken what was then the risky step of abandoning his secure position in the factory. Perhaps he had the foresight to realize that factory workers’ living conditions were declining under economic reform. Indeed, by the time of our conversation, half the factory had been let go and were on unemployment. Ah Pei had become a taxi driver. He was then in his mid-thirties. Perhaps I was moving too slowly toward the ostensible topic of the eve￾ning. Or perhaps he had his own agenda. In any case, Ah Zhuang suddenly interjected with a question that abruptly changed the direction of our con￾versation: “What are your feelings when you are with women?” Ah Pei pro￾ceeded to tell a story about his factory: “All the women I have encountered have been from our factory.” He then described how, at the age of 19, he had his first sexual relationship with an older, married woman, after another woman he was apprenticed to introduced them to each other. She, too, was an apprentice. According to Ah Pei, she had seduced him. Prior to that, he had no interest in sex with women, at least not women his age. They carried on their affair for over a year. The woman’s husband never knew; he worked in another factory. The main point that Ah Pei stressed in telling this story was that with an older person, he finally felt secure. Since then, he added, he has always wanted to be with older people. When he first made this assertion, I did not pick up on its larger implica￾tion in relation to the issue of money boys. Only later, when Ah Zhuang was positions Published by Duke University Press

positions positions 18:2 Fall 2010 434 arguing with him,did I realize that since that first affair with a woman, Ah Pei had been mainly with older men who took care of him-including Ah Zhuang.In talking about his first affair,Ah Pei thus traced his inter- est in older men to an emotional and sexual history of feeling comfortable with older people.Ah Zhuang,as we will see,reduced Ah Pei's story to one of opportunism.For at this point,Ah Zhuang sarcastically interjected a counterpoint to Ah Pei's insistence that this older woman had taken the initiative:"Maybe the first time,but then what about the second and third ones?Because you've told me that there were quite a few,including the top leader of the factory.And even the manager's wife.Didn't you take some of the initiative in these later encounters?I would really like to know,what exactly is your psychological attitude when you are with older people?"Ah Pei ignored the first part of Ah Zhuang's question,answering that with older people he feels particularly able to relax and let go. Here,we find the first point of contention between Ah Pei and Ah Zhuang over whether Ah Pei fits into the category of money boy.Ah Pei tried to tell me a story of his psychological and emotional history.He feels that older people take the initiative with him,which puts him at ease.Ah Zhuang,on the other hand,tried to turn Ah Pei's actions into self-seeking advantage.Ah Zhuang was not objecting so much to a seeming bisexuality that might make a gay identity more ambiguous as to what in his view was naked opportun- ism that did not distinguish between genders.Ah Zhuang elaborated on his view when I asked Ah Pei how he felt starting an affair with this woman. Ah Pei responded about the sex,saying that looking back on it he could see that he didn't feel entirely comfortable because she did everything,he didn't have to budge.She helped him with everything.Ah Zhuang then interjected:"China has a way of saying this:this woman served(cihou)him. That's a clearer way to put it.China's traditional view is that the man should take care of(cihou)the woman and make her feel comfortable.In his case, he made the woman do it,so that he could feel comfortable."This situation, in Ah Zhuang's view,was evidently one clear marker of a money boy.Other- wise,why would a man not act like the man that he should be?Why would a man let himself be treated like a woman?Ah Zhuang's decided views on appropriate gender attributes reproduce the dominant mode of delineating the boundary between normative and nonnormative desire through gen- Published by Duke University Press

positions 18:2 Fall 2010 434 arguing with him, did I realize that since that first affair with a woman, Ah Pei had been mainly with older men who took care of him—including Ah Zhuang. In talking about his first affair, Ah Pei thus traced his inter￾est in older men to an emotional and sexual history of feeling comfortable with older people. Ah Zhuang, as we will see, reduced Ah Pei’s story to one of opportunism. For at this point, Ah Zhuang sarcastically interjected a counterpoint to Ah Pei’s insistence that this older woman had taken the initiative: “Maybe the first time, but then what about the second and third ones? Because you’ve told me that there were quite a few, including the top leader of the factory. And even the manager’s wife. Didn’t you take some of the initiative in these later encounters? I would really like to know, what exactly is your psychological attitude when you are with older people?” Ah Pei ignored the first part of Ah Zhuang’s question, answering that with older people he feels particularly able to relax and let go. Here, we find the first point of contention between Ah Pei and Ah Zhuang over whether Ah Pei fits into the category of money boy. Ah Pei tried to tell me a story of his psychological and emotional history. He feels that older people take the initiative with him, which puts him at ease. Ah Zhuang, on the other hand, tried to turn Ah Pei’s actions into self-seeking advantage. Ah Zhuang was not objecting so much to a seeming bisexuality that might make a gay identity more ambiguous as to what in his view was naked opportun￾ism that did not distinguish between genders. Ah Zhuang elaborated on his view when I asked Ah Pei how he felt starting an affair with this woman. Ah Pei responded about the sex, saying that looking back on it he could see that he didn’t feel entirely comfortable because she did everything, he didn’t have to budge. She helped him with everything. Ah Zhuang then interjected: “China has a way of saying this: this woman served (cihou) him. That’s a clearer way to put it. China’s traditional view is that the man should take care of (cihou) the woman and make her feel comfortable. In his case, he made the woman do it, so that he could feel comfortable.” This situation, in Ah Zhuang’s view, was evidently one clear marker of a money boy. Other￾wise, why would a man not act like the man that he should be? Why would a man let himself be treated like a woman? Ah Zhuang’s decided views on appropriate gender attributes reproduce the dominant mode of delineating the boundary between normative and nonnormative desire through gen￾positions Published by Duke University Press