Forgive me while I rant.  Chinese lesbians in Britain.  Where are they?  Subcultures both within mainstream society, and the lesbian communities, become increasingly recognised but there is still an invisibility of Chinese lesbians.  You can find a group, network, website etc for almost any other cultural minority lesbian, but none for us.  Why is that?  Do we need them?  Do we not care?  Do we not exist?  I will return to the first question in a minute and answer (from a personal viewpoint) yes, yes and YES to the latter questions.

Ignorant people could argue that perhaps there just are not that many Chinese women who are lesbians, this of course is nonsense.  It is a matter of invisibility and why they are invisible.  This does not necessarily mean it singles down to the issue of coming out (although of course this is an important issue especially concerning the family etc), rather it also points to a lack of representation of Chinese lesbians.  By this I mean within the media, both mainstream and sub-culturally.

There are many layers of (non) representation that needs to be clarified.  Firstly the Chinese community within British society has been named the ‘hidden minority’.  Whilst other ethnic minorities have become increasingly accepted into the mainstream, Chinese people have been left behind.  When you turn on the TV (accepted the majority of the people are white, especially in advertisements) there are an increasing number of black presenters, Asian newsreaders, title sequences that play on the Bollywood chic etc.  Are there any Chinese people in the same positions?  The answer is a resounding no.  Although of course Chinese people have seemed to be represented within advertising but these can be dismissed (with the possible exception of the Head and Shoulders advert?) almost immediately for their stereotypical portrayal (e.g. that Chinese people always do kung-fu, eat noodles and make high pitched noises).

But what about films I hear you cry!  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and of course Lucy Liu!  Ang Lee, John Woo, Chow Yun Fat, Wong Kar-Wai, Tong Leung!  Of course this is not an exhaustive list by any means, and it does accept that these people have made a cultural impact, that they have broken free from the stereotypes.  However, how many are British?  How many are women?  How many still in some way (innovatively or not) play on the martial arts/triad representation?  Also beyond any other names that are famous within the Chinese community, can you think of any others that are visible in the mainstream?

Staying with films, how about representations of Chinese lesbians within lesbian films?  There are many films (again non-British) that feature black and Asian lesbians.  The Watermelon Woman, Go Fish, When Night is Falling, The Incredible True Adventure of Two Girls in Love, Fire, But I’m A Cheerleader.  Again not exhaustive (and it is not to say that I don’t recognise that other ethnic minority lesbians don’t still occupy that position of the minority) but once again how many films can you think of that feature Chinese lesbians?  I can only think of a small handful including Fish and Elephant (which has been credited as the first lesbian film to be made in China), Ho Yuk: Let's Love Hong Kong, Blue Gate Crossing and Wild Side.  The first three deal with the lives and loves of being a Chinese lesbian (within China, Hong Kong and Taipei) whilst the latter, despite it’s misogyny (!), offers a portrayal of a mixed race lesbian relationship with one half of the couple being an Asian American.  You could add High Art to the list but I would argue that Chinese lesbians as glorified extras do not count.                                

   How about real life within Britain?  Britain is often promoted as a multi-cultural diverse country, but the reality?  I won’t go into issues surrounding asylum seekers etc.  Gastronomically we have been accepted into the mainstream, and like the Asian community have played on this stereotype.  However unlike the Asian community it is very difficult to find prominent Chinese people outside of the food industry. Now of course this is not to say that there aren’t any, but again Chinese people just aren’t visible.  Can you think of any Chinese MP’s?  Can you ever think of times too when Chinese people are included into discourses on racism and identity?

Again following that to look at the British lesbian community, there are many groups, networks, websites, books etc that provide a support structure for ‘lesbians of colour’.  However, how many of these are inclusive of Chinese lesbians?  I would argue hardly none.  There are many club nights that cater for black/Asian lesbians, again none for Chinese lesbians.  Although I do recognise that I am making reductive statements, I am not arguing that other ethnic minorities do not suffer from repression, but I am arguing that within the hierarchy of representation Chinese lesbians are the ‘minority within the minority within the minority’ epitomised.

However, when the British is omitted (and other words added in its place like gay, china, Asian American etc) a surprising number of links appear.  Of course ignoring the pornography that turns up, there are many sites that turn up relating to Chinese lesbians within other western countries, e.g. Canada, Australia, and America.  Also there are many texts that have been written that have grown out of these contexts.  More importantly however is the number of dedicated websites for Chinese lesbians (and gay men) within South East Asian countries.  Again this is not to say that Chinese lesbian and gay men are readily accepted into Chinese societies, but that there is a visible support system in place.  So why is the Chinese community within Britain so conservative?  I do not presume to know all the answers but would offer that the insecurity of the first generation in the host country, coupled with the racism prevalent towards Chinese people has led to the repression of issues relating to Chinese lesbians and gay men.

All of this leads to the establishment of this website.  As a British Born Chinese lesbian I began to be less tolerant of all of which I have outlined.  I no longer wanted to be included underneath the umbrellas of ‘black’ and ‘lesbians of colour’.  I no longer wanted to be tolerant about the negation of Chinese identity within cultural discourse.  Above all I wanted to know, ‘Am I really the only one?’

I have been asked as to whether I began this project simply to meet other Chinese lesbians.  After pushing all the intellectual motivations aside the answer is a simple yes.  Through this project I want to break down the barriers that exist between other Chinese lesbians knowing each other.  I want to offer a space for women to explore their maligned identity, begin a discourse, and share experiences with one another.  Begin a network. 

As an artist too I wanted to create a project that used art as a tool to foreground these issues.  I want to explore how art can be used to highlight, change, issues of social inequality, how art can offer empowerment.  I am not a ‘traditional’ artist (e.g. I do not paint, sculpt, draw) but have predominantly worked in the realms of installations and happenings.  I firmly believe that for art to break down the barriers of inequality it must also challenge its own boundaries as to what an ‘artwork’ should be.  Therefore this website, the interactions that it produces, is part of the ongoing process of the ‘artwork’ itself, alongside the research and the dialogues that I have entered into with Chinese lesbians.    

I hope this website is successful as the spring board for the visibility of Chinese lesbians but most of all I hope that the women that visit this website (if you’re a man please respect this space) to explore their identity come away feeling at least a little empowered, and excited, to learn that they aren’t the only ones…

Amy Cham, 2004

Did you know...that 'grinding tofu' is the literal translation of the   Chinese word for lesbian?  Something about our counterparts in early China fashioning dildos out of tofu...!

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