The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified global geopolitical tensions, casting a renewed spotlight on Sinophobia and anti-Asian racism. At the same time, a growing Asian diasporic consciousness has emerged—one that celebrates cultural heritage and asserts new forms of visibility. Yet, caught between the forces of racial violence and the rise of Asian advocacy, queer voices within the diaspora have too often been overlooked or excluded.
Queering the Asian Diaspora addresses this gap. Through a series of contemporary case studies spanning art, fashion, performance, film, and political activism, Dr Bao proposes a powerful intersectional cultural politics—anti-nationalist, anti-racist, decolonial, feminist, and queer—that challenges dominant narratives and amplifies marginalised voices.
This book is part of the Social Science for Social Justice series, a publishing initiative that moves beyond the Ivory Tower of academia, creating space for academics, journalists, and activists of colour to respond to the most pressing social issues of our time.
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Following the talk, Dr Hongwei Bao will lead a collective reading group, offering a space for participants to read together and reflect on selected passages from Queering the Asian Diaspora.
Participants are kindly asked to purchase a copy of the book in advance. A 25% discount is available via sagepub.com or ebook.com using the code SSSJ25.
Attendance is free, but advance booking is recommended due to limited capacity.
Dr Hongwei Bao is a queer Chinese writer and academic based in Nottingham. He teaches media studies at the University of Nottingham. His work explores queer desire, Asian identity, diasporic positionality and transcultural intimacy. He is the author of the poetry pamphlet Dream of the Orchid Pavilion (Big White Shed, 2024), poetry collection The Passion of the Rabbit God (Valley Press, 2024) and nonfiction Queering the Asian Diaspora (Sage, 2024).
