Queer Subcultures Among Students at Art Universities:Identity, Practice, and Visual Expression

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jmsd.202612403

Author(s)

Peixin Gan

Affiliation(s)

School of Philosophy and Public Administration, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

As issues of gender diversity have entered public discourse through the Internet, the visual expression of queer communities has increasingly become an important means of constructing identity. As a distinctive social field where fashion culture and artistic practice are closely intertwined, art universities provide crucial spatial conditions for queer students' identity formation and self-expression. Drawing upon Butler's theory of gender performativity and Ahmed's politics of visibility as the theoretical framework, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with thirteen queer students from art universities across ten provinces and municipalities in China. The collected data were analyzed through thematic analysis and systematic coding. The findings suggest that queer dressing practices constitute a relatively flexible form of political action, continuously negotiated within the triple tensions of familial discipline, group belonging, and spatial oppression. Both resistance and compromise function as survival strategies through which queer individuals maintain a sense of security and subjectivity within heteronormative spaces. Furthermore, the visibility afforded to queer communities in specific environments such as art universities is conditional and constrained, making it difficult to transcend existing cultural frameworks. In addition, increased queer visibility does not necessarily lead to social recognition. A structural disjunction exists between being visible and being recognized, revealing the deep-seated control exerted by heteronormativity over public space. These findings offer a new perspective for discussing queer experiences within the Chinese socio-cultural context and contribute to the localization of queer studies in China.

Keywords

Queer Culture; Art Universities; Visual Expression; Identity Construction; Gender Performativity; Politics of Visibility

References

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