Women's sex/porn sanctuaries and social movements in Hong Kong and San Francisco

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the views and activities of sex activists and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong and San Francisco who were interviewed about the topic of queer and feminist pornography and its relationship to social movements. Hong Kong in recent years has become an exemplary East Asian protest site where questions of feminism, LGBTQ rights and erotic entertainment are negotiated at the borders of a larger democracy movement. For decades, San Francisco has been a mecca for LGBTQ activism, while also being at the forefront of queer pornography industries. This cross-cultural study and its ethnographic encounters will highlight and compare manners of queering porn and politics, while offering an interpretation of Judith Butler's writings on performativity and assembly as a way to understand contemporary activism and body politics. Finally, in a push to decolonize the myth of San Francisco as the more ideal erotic city, the article reflects on geo-political shifts affecting counter-cultural legacies of sexual collectivity and entertainment, including ongoing real-estate speculation coinciding with a global upsurge of supremacist governments.

KEYWORDS:

• Hong Kong
• San Francisco
• pornography
• feminism
• LGBTQ
• social activism
• democracy

Acknowledgements

This article reflects on the outcomes of a research project funded by the Hong Kong University Grants Council entitled ‘Trans-Asian Forum on Women's Erotic/Pornographic Media and Cultural Affect’ (CUHK 14404514). Information about the project is located at www.womenspornographies.com which develops cross-cultural platforms for researching women's pornographies and activism within diverse cultural environments. Special thanks to all interviewees in San Francisco and Hong Kong, research assistants Chan Ting Fung, Selene Zhang and Bing Czeng, web designers Chan Ting Fung and Angelo Costadimas, and Prof. Lisa Rofel for her uplifting feedback on an earlier draft.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 See www.womenspornographies.com (accessed February 16, 2018).

2 See note 1.

3 Video documentation of Martina Ngai's interview can be found online. https://www.womenspornographies.com/martina (accessed December 1, 2017).

4 See www.crashpadseries.com (accessed February 15, 2018).

5 See the Pink & White mission statement online. www.crashpadseries.com (accessed November 1, 2017).