Session 3: Sexuality: National Studies

6th Global Conference

Tuesday 10th November – Thursday 12th November 2009
Salzburg, Austria

Specifics of Czech Homosexual “community”: History, Evolution and Ambivalence
Zdeněk Sloboda
Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

In my paper I would like to introduce, highlight and conceptualize some specifics that is Czech homosexual minority showing. I will sketch some historical contexts, mainly the time of communistic regime and evolution of gay and lesbian movement in the Czech Republic in the era of transformation and regain of civil rights and freedom after 1989. I will focus on specifics and ambivalences in gay and lesbian identity and community that I will confront with specific Czech historical circumstances, development and actual state. I will emphasize ambivalences in Czech homosexual (focusing – with regard to some specifics that I will mention in my paper – mainly on gay) community such as visibility and invisibility, tolerance and homophobia, and in/activism that I elaborated on analysis of media representations of gays and analysis of selected gay-politic agendas. My point is to open a discussion on the topic of existence and form of gay community in the Czech Republic that differs from the evolution and current state of the homosexual communities in “western” countries. I would like to offer interpretations and standpoint that leads to conclusion of non-existence of homosexual (gay respectively) community or a bustling creation of post-modern one.

A Study on Development of Chinese Sexual Conception since Reform and Opening: Take Shenzhen For Example
Mingxuan Wang
Department of Sociology, Peking University, China

With Reform and Opening Policy working in China since 1978, various levels of the society, including the sexual conceptions and sexual activities, have gone through a great change. As the outstanding precursor and best model of Chinese reformation, Shenzhen has experienced more vigorous transformation than other places of the country and now become the most inclusive city across the nation especially on the sexual issues. Not only on self-advance, but also on government support which is the most difficult section on sexuality development in Chinese society, Shenzhen plays a significantly exemplary role and offers the creation of Sexual Culture Bar, which is founded by Shenzhen government, as the most powerful evidence. Taking Shenzhen for example and making qualitative researches, this paper firstly describes the evolution process of Chinese sexual conception in this city from two angles including its history state and the current situation. Secondly, the paper pays more attention to explore the reasons for the development at fast speed of Chinese sexual conception in Shenzhen through four aspects such as geographical position, economic enlargement, political support and cultural force. Thirdly, the paper turns to analyze the successful experiences and dilemmas happening to Shenzhen for this moment and the future, additionally, research the factors which make the sexual conception development of this city in trouble. Finally, considering the special conditions of Shenzhen and by analogy to the whole country, this paper proposes several practicable advices for the further improvement of the sexual conception and other sexual issues in this city and other regions of China, and aims to realize the integral development in this field of the whole country.

Sexual Orientation in a Limited-constrained Societies
Naveed Ahmed Khan
COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan

No abstract is presently available