Abstract
Situated in the “doing intimacy” literature, which examines intimate lives as a set of everyday practices, this chapter investigates the intimate experiences of older (aged 60+) Chinese gay men in Hong Kong based on their life stories collected since 2008. Their stories are illuminated by diverse models of “being single” and “long term couple/committed relationship” with its’ sub-models. Through the narratives in relation to sex, love, and the aging bodies of these older gay men, the findings show intimacy are primarily affected by heteronormative culture intersecting with homonormativity and ageism embedded in a Confucian cultural context. The chapter concludes that there are many ways of doing intimacy among older Chinese gay men, but their same-sex intimate lives have always remained closeted, confined by the notion of heteronormativity, homonormativity, and ageism, thus inhibiting the process of successful ageing both inside and outside the gay community.
Lee, B.M.W. & Kong, T.S.K. (2023). Doing complex intimacy in later life: Case studies of Chinese gay men in Hong Kong, In K. Ghisyawan, D. Harley, S. Shah & P. Simpson (Eds), Later Life Sex and Intimacy in the Majority World (pp. xxx-xxx). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
