Ming Luo's project aims to scrutinise the evolution of the lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LBT) women's movement in Beijing from the 1980s to the 2010s, focusing on shifts in the pursuit of sexual rights among LBT women and assessing the impact of transnational and transregional dynamics on these changes. Despite sharing common social and cultural norms rooted in Confucian values and Chinese family ideals with other LGBTQ+ groups, LBT women have developed distinct cultural and political approaches to identity construction, community development and rights advocacy. Employing a sociohistorical lens, this project examines how transnational forces and interconnectedness of different regions within China have shaped the trajectory of post-identity-based politics within the LBT community in Beijing from the 1980s to the 2010s, and how the LBT community, in response to these transnational and transregional forces, has actively pursued visibility and asserted its sexual rights.
Derived from an oral history initiative I led at Common Language, a grassroots LBT NGO in Beijing, this project utilises interviews with activists, scholars, artists, and business figures. The report for the oral history initiative, reviewing the history of the LBT movement in Beijing, has revealed a departure from rigid identity categories since its inception, forming coalitions with shared values and common goals across diverse civil groups. This form of social movement challenges identity essentialisation while introducing tension between identity-based activism and more fluid, post-identity approaches.