Sexuality, migration and family: understanding Jia and its impact on Chinese young gay men’s migration motives from a temporal perspective

Abstract

Based on analyses of the lived experiences and narratives of Chinese intranational migrant young gay men, this article investigates the complicated ways in which jia (family/home) motivates their migrations from a temporal perspective. I identify three temporal aspects of their migrations—life course, generation, and imagining the future. I also demonstrate the different ways in which jia motivates their migrations in relation to their past (pre-migratory experiences), their present (migratory experiences) and their future (narratives of an imagined future). I argue that by combining hetero – and homonormativity with the intersection of individualisation and familism, or, to use Yan’s term, neo-familism, the complicated role that jia plays in motivating Chinese young gay men’s migration can be better understood. By illustrating the intricate entanglements of sexuality, migration, and family, this article aims to challenge the North-centric conceptualizations of intranational queer migration and open up new possibilities to theorise queer migration from an East Asian perspective.

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