Reconstruction Vol. 15, No. 2

Return to Contents»

Manufacturing the Sex(ual) / Gender Justice Machine in Greater China and Singapore, Possible? / Man-chung Chiu

Introduction

<1> In this special issue, we attempt to examine and investigate if and how sex(ual) / gender politics is evolving in the cultural context of Greater China, including Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong (but unfortunately not Macau). Articles in this special issue discuss different topics from different theoretical perspectives - Foucauldian, Deleuzean and Daoist theories are engaged to produce and engineer critical and positive lines of arguments. We start with analyzing different discursive definitions of 'xing' (性) (Ying-ying Huang) in Mainland China and how romance discourse for girls is constituted in Hong Kong media (Iris Kam). Joseph Cho from Hong Kong, besides discussing the dialogue between the media and sexual politics, also articulates how the stance and agenda of sexuality are formatted and manipulated by the social majority. While Cho also touches upon the law machine, the law controlling sexual behavior is the focus of Ya-fei Xu's's article: she successfully explores how law reconstitutes and normalizes private monogamous opposite-sex activities. Both George Radics and Man-chung Chiu create a very precarious yet productive scrutiny of recent legal developments in Singapore and Hong Kong respectively in relation to sexuality (Law controlling male to male sexual behavour and Rape Law reform proposal). We all hope that through the discussion of different socio-sexual issues, new paradigms can be created to galvanise more trenchant reforms of both law and society.

De/Mythologization of Postcolonial Violence Reinstatement

<2> When discussing issues in the discourse / machine of Greater China in an International English-language academic journal, a question always arises: would this serve to re-manufacture post-colonial violence? Gayatri Spivak once accused even poststructuralists like Gilles Deleuze, who always emphasizes the vitality of multiplicities and differences, of being 'guilty' of Eurocentrism and of not being sensitive towards a possible privileged Euro-American epistemology[1]. I then ask: is postcolonalism not itself a study originating and developed in Western societal and academic assemblages? And is the study of postcolonialism itself not a reinstatement of postcolonial violence itself? Or, does not the issue of whether a school of philosophy is local or not affect the effectiveness and impact of applying and deploying a postcolonial perspective in analyzing a situation or condition, even when different representations are appropriately, seriously and efficiently being heard? The key obstacle seems, as argued by Simone Bignall and Paul Patton, to be that:

…for the 'West', to think outside of these established structures of meaning and 'hear' the alternative sense of the Other involves a certain effort…which rarely seems to be made[2].

<3> To avoid possible postcolonial violence, as elaborated by Gilles Deleuze, it is not enough to listen to the (once-)colonized or culturally powerless; what also required is the process of 'negotiation', a machine which articulates the insightful understanding of sexual problems and conflicts, and thus the solutions and settlements, tabled by each stakeholder and player[3].

<4> That is why, when Radic's article, in this issue, discusses in great detail section 377A of Singaporean Penal Code and related court cases, and its possible connection with LBG movement, the author expects the society and the Singporean Court can in near future have more negotiations with regard to the expression of beliefs, which is protected by its Constitution.

<5> Adopting such a perspective, and then publishing English articles in International academic journals in the matrix of new technologies (smartphone, internet for example), is thus becoming a starting point of such a negotiation - whereby a never-ending dialogue between every interested party can kick off and meaningful interaction can attempt to solve such problems, including discrimination. As Rey Chow records:

…it was nonetheless only by actively seizing media attention - and competing for the right to own and manage the visual field, to fabricate the appropriate images and distribute the appropriate stories - that such insurgencies could fulfil their obligation of emancipating the respective groups[4].

De/Historicization of Subject Formation

<6> Negotiation, as a kind of inter-connection, is also a 'stepping-stone to sustainable flows of becoming'[5]. In other words, negotiations take part in the production of subjects/concepts. Deleuzean becoming means 'a process of expression, composition, selection, an incorporation of forces aimed at positive transformation of the subject'[6]; simply put, becoming recognizes both immanent differences and never-ending changings. Negotiation, as a form of becoming, challenges the limits formatted and established by the mainstream and dominating ideologies / fantasies, such as phallocentric heterosexism.

<7> The body, as a subject, is full of forces, driven by desires (of Others), always wanting to interconnect and disconnect. As a result, individuals are open to other people and are always undergoing transformations. Kam further elaborates this line of argument in her article by pointing out that 'the various acts of tennage girls are not expressive by constitutive to the model of feminine subjectivity'. By the same token, 'disgust', as a practice in the contemporary machine / discourse of culture, as argued by Cho in his article, is always working together with new technologies in identity production:

We used to express hatred for something disgusting in private and avoid further exposure. We now witness massive and open hatred that invites repetitive exposure from which pleasure is sometimes derived.

<8> Transformation, however, always encounters memory / history, which contains and actualizes a subject. Huang's detailed and well-structured analysis of the term (or concept), 'xing' (性), in this issue, successfully demonstrates how it devises multiple meanings by de/connecting or negotiating with different relationships / discourses / machines (including romantic relationship, different-sex sexual relationship and extramarital sexual relationship, etc.) She concludes:

The study is interesting and challenging in terms of the process of questioning the taken for granted understanding of xing, rather than seeking a certain answer in a sense. Most of our participants felt confused as the interviews proceeded…The thinking of 'what is xing?' itself is probably a more important and positive reply we got from this study.

<9> The Deleuzean notion of the subject becoming also suggests that a subject can never control the process of its own formation and constitution. On the one hand, it is essential that the subject becoming has connections and has been actualized within the discourse / machine of history / time / memory; however, due to the unpredictable and unforeseeable exercises of human desire, resistance is also generated to challenge this historical process[7]. Desire is thus the force which (pro)actively mobilizes the subject becoming to destabilize the Kantian linear equation of 'Past -> Present-> Future'. As Bartlett et al put it:

Time today is a problem for philosophy that has an essential link to the rubric of the contemporary, precisely because the received notions that have regulated the thought of time - past, present, future, of course, but also potential (or virtual) and actual, not to mention the distribution of other, more classical modal categories - have themselves been placed in question by the time or times[8].

<10> History / memory which is freed from the Enlightenment formula of time allows subject formation to shrug off ossified molar restrictions and limitations. Braidotti terms this kind of memory 'nomadic remembering'[9]. I have to emphasise that, this does not, hmean a free-flowing and random construction of history or memory, but rather that the relation between subject and time is temporary, and that when it is fueled by affect and desire subject formation can move on and transcend the jail of temporality. History is thus no longer an objective real experience or summary of facts, but can become the construction of a powerful mainstream databank; as Braidotti argues:

Time is no longer related to the movement which it measures, but movement is related to the time which conditions it: this is the first great Kantian reversal[10].

<11> From this perspective, the connection between subject (formation) and time is deterritorialized and politicized. In short, (minority / powerless) subject formation in the 'present' is empowered and can locate itself in an untold, unheard and unfolding future; the multiple, creative and virtual possibilities of subject formation can then be actualized.

Re/Creation of Rights

<12> Rights as a concept, according to Paul Patton, is also a becoming that challenges the existing state authority and majority / powerful hegemonies. New rights, in the age of new technologies, can hence be created by 'electoral and legislative steps' and the 'judicial review and modification of existing laws.[11]' So, 'Rights' are not a natural product of universal human characteristics (like Freedom and Democracy), but a historical and contextualised product, as argued by both Foucault and Deleuze. Analogous to this line of argument, Cho, in his article, respectfully argues that rights, (including rights to sexual activities which are not accepted by mainstream heterosexism), are becoming restricted by misunderstandings of democracy, where moral populism dominates. Cho also argues that this is a sign reproducing the failure of liberalism to take moral issues seriously.

<13> Please however note: Rights as becoming would also help construct a fixed and rigid socio-legal system, the start of territorialization, which will then, of course, be followed by de/re-territorialization. A way to create new rights (for the minority / powerless) is vital to the protection of the (newly-emerged) marginalized:

Rights of Man become the rights of those who have no rights, the rights of bare human beings subjected to inhuman repression and inhuman conditions of existence. They become humanitarian rights, the rights of those who cannot enact them, the victims of the absolute denial of right[12].

<14> Only if Rights are essentially linked to Law can Justice can be rendered. This does not mean there is a clear definition of justice: 'Justice must be rendered to the singularity of existents and is therefore infinite.[13]' Justice is thus a void, an impossible Real, which still works and constructs the symbolic order (including Law).

<15> If Justice is a void, then Zizek is correct to argue that a new Master Signifier can be created and produced by an act, which is then mobilized by desire. Desire again plays a very vital part in the Deleuzean production of Justice - since desire initiates deterritorialization, Deleuzeans believe that only when all desires are released (still partially controlled and regulated by molar forces), then justice is realized and substantiated. Chiu therefore argues that phallocentric heterosexism must be removed by the desexualization of law, where different sexual desires are recognized and accepted, so as to provide better and fuller protection of victims of sexual offences.

<16> Justice has a very different meaning in the historical and cultural context / machine of Greater China. Justice, in Euro-American societies has a strong religious perspective; Thomas Aquinas said 'no one is bound to obey another human being, but to obey God alone'[14], so the human body is a vehicle for communication between the soul, God and the body itself. However, the Han-Chinese traditional notion of Justice does not have any religious perspective; it puts the emphasis on legitimacy and appropriateness in the discourse of hierarchal harmony, among humans and between humans and the universe.

<17> As argued by Long-Can Wu (2013), while Justice always connects with Law in Euro-America, this is not the case in Greater China[15]. Justice, in traditional Han-Chinese culture, contains three aspects: Rule of Virtue, Rule of Li (moral order) and Rule of Fa (Traditional Han-Chinese Law).

<18> In the Rule of Virtue, Virtue means righteousness, which is something external, not inborn. The Rule of Virtue is the regulation of human behavour by traditional customary law[16]. According to ShangShu (尚書), substantiation of the Rule of Virtue includes (1) bringing all people happiness; (2) lenient penalties and generous rewards; and (3) equality among people -- provisions of assistance to the unfortunate and no resentment against the upper class; (4) the appointment of capable and virtuous officials; and (5) a ruling class which is neutral and just.

<19> The Rule of Li does not simply mean compliance with a man-made moral order, but the maintenance of harmony between humans, in the common sense world, and cosmos-universe. According to traditional Han-Chinese philosophy, the human common-sense world and the universe is not a kind of dichotomy, but a continuum, following the philosophical cosmology of five elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Earth and Fire). The five elements initially represented the five basic natural materials which were essential to human living and survival. Han-Chinese, due to the philosophical perspective of harmony, related and combined the five elements with different combinations of body organs, locations and seasonal weathers (Wood -- Liver -- East -- Spring, Metal -- West -- Lung -- Autumn, Water -- North -- Kidney -- Winter, Fire -- Heart -- South -- Summer and Earth -- Spleen Center -- End of Summer / Start of Autumn)[17].

<20> The principle of supplement / destruction applies among the five elements; and the dialectic relationship was devised and can best be described by two cycles, productive and destructive, below:

Fire

Wood

Wood

Earth

Metal

Earth

Water

Metal

Fire

Water

Diagram 1: Productive Cycle Diagram 2: Destructive Cycle

<21> The principles of five elements have had a great influence on legal-political decisions in China. Since Li was the set of rules regulating human behaviours and actions, a related punishment system, XING (刑, penalty ; it is different from xing性, which is mentioned above) also appeared[18]. XING was the source of Fa (法, traditional Law) in Imperial China[19]. As BaiHuTongYi ( 白虎通義) writes: The five XING in Han Dynasty included (1) Death; (2) Castration; (3) Amputation of limbs; (4) Slashing of the nose; and (5) Facial tattoos, and each represented a destructive relation between two of the five elements - Death signifies 'Water dousing the Fire (Heart belongs to Fire)'; Castration, 'Earth mudding the Water (Sex organ is part of the Kidney / Water)'; Amputation of limbs, 'Metal cutting down the Wood (Limbs are Wood)'; Slash of nose, 'Wood clogging the Earth / Nose' and Facial tattoos is 'Fire melts the Metal (Skin is part of Lung / Metal)'. The effort of the author, Ku Pan, shows how important it was that Xing had to be harmonized with the respective seasons; for example, the Death penalty (Water dousing Fire) could only be carried out in winter, which is water in nature; and at the southern gate of the Capital, which is a Fire (South) object[20].

<22> The Rule of Fa - the Spring and Autumn Annals ('The Annals' hereafter), regarded as the most sacred text of Confucianism, was seen as the philosophical guideline for law-making and ther dispensing of justice. The Annals stressed the importance of a legitimacy that can only be achieved by fulfilling the duties according to one's position in the socio-political hierarchy. For instance, a father has to fulfil his duty towards his son(s); and a husband his liabilities towards his wife. Another principle was the maintenance of the socio-political hierarchy; and the last principle is the respect of virtuous people and care for the people. And according to Wu, there is another theorem which oversees the above three principles - the theory of appropriateness:, which states that in order to achieve and maintain harmony, a minor adjustment to the above principles was allowed. In the case of a trial, the Annals argued that the most important factor was the primary intention of the law breaker.

<23> It is in this context that Chiu, in his article, critically investigates how (Orthodox) Daoism manufactures 'Justice', doing its best to sustain the continuum of the human world and heaven / universe; more significantly, scholars of Daoism argue that justice can only be achieved and maintained by making human desire work for the betterment of the human common-sense world.

<24> It seems we have a dilemma here - as I argue above, history (including tradition) should not be facilitated to limit the development of new subjects, concepts and rights (for the projection of minority / powerless); so why do I seek to elaborate and illustrate in detail the Han-Chinese conventional concept of Justice? Although history should not be viewed as a limitation, it does affect and control, to an unpredictable extent, the devising of new subjects / concepts / rights and stop their free-floating development. Huang in her article also demonstrates how traditional Confucianism affects the constitution of the meaning of 'xing' (性). Also, in order to avoid postcolonial violence, any transplantation of concepts should engage with the local / recipient's culture and heritage, after meticulous analysis of the latter. That is exactly why Xu, when discussing the regulation of underage sexual behavior in Taiwan and Hong Kong, revisits and analyzes the mooi-jai (female child domestic servant) system. This detailed examination of the once-legal and common daily phenomenon not only historicizes and contextualizes the control of children, it also explains how overseas morality has replaced the Han-Chinese traditional perspective and is becoming the most important molar social force in the constitution of 'modern' childhood and related sexuality.

<26> What has not been discussed and analyzed in detail in this special issue is the implementation of these theoretical analyses. With the rapid and sophisticated growth of knowledge and reflection taking place in the context of Greater China, no one can underestimate the understanding and influence of theories, whether originating locally or overseas ; the conclusion of Kam's article, for example, effectively illustrates the importance of implementation : '[w]ithout a new lens of perspective, the diversity of girls' repsonse and reactions to the male narrative in romance discourse on screen will be overlooked easily'. Yet, we can see so many examples of unjust cases and the resistance to a Deleuzean Revolution becoming stronger and stronger. We have seen repeatedly, in numerous locations, how policy debates and law lobbying have simply turned into aimless angry encounters. Perhaps better and more effective strategies and critical reflections should be developed and implemented; otherwise, if they continue to fail to engage with the common sense world, our theoretical discussions will be futile.

Notes

[1] Spivak, Gayatri (1988).

[2] Signall, Simone and Patton, Paul 'Introduction' in Signall, Simone and Patton, Paul (2010:6-7).

[3] Deleuze, Gilles (trans. Joughin, Martin) (1995).

[4] Signall, Simone and Patton, Paul 'Postcolonial Visibilities: Questions Inspired by Deleuze's Method' in Signall, Simone and Patton, Paul (2010: 71).

[5] Braidotti, Rosi (2006: 161).

[6] Braidotti, Rosi (2006: 145).

[7] Negri, Antonio (1981).

[8] Roffe, Barlett (2014:11).

[9] Braidotti, Rosi (2006: 168).

[10] Deleuze, Gilles (1984: 11).

[11] Patton, Paul (2014: 243).

[12] Rancière, Jacques (2004: 305).

[13] Douzinas, Costas and Cearty, Conor 'Introduction' in Douzinas, Costas and Cearty, Conor (eds) (2014: 2).

[14] Summa Theologiae IIaIIae 104.5).

[15] Wu, Long-Can (吳龍燦) (2013: 35).

[16] Zhang, Kai (鄭開) (2009:10).

[17] Kuang, Zhi-ren (1998: 24).

[18] Jiang, Shan (trans., 江山) (2005: 35).

[19] Zhang, Ren-shan (trans., 張仁善) (2001: 32).

[20] Pan, Ku (班固) (2002) Book 9 BaiHuTongYi (《白虎通義‧五刑》)

Works Cited

English

Braidotti, R. (2006). Transpositions Cambridge. UK: Polity.

Deleuze, G. (trans. Joughin, Martin) (1995). Negotiations 1972-1990. Columbia, USA: Columbia University Press.

Deleuze, G. (trans. Tomlinson, Hugh and Habberjam, Barbara). (1984). Kant's Critical Philosophy Minneapolis, USA: University of Minnesota Press.

Douzinas, C. & Cearty, C. (Eds.). (2014). The Meanings of Rights: the Philosophy and Social Theory of Human Rights. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Negri, A. (1981). The Savage Anomaly: The Power of Spinoza's Philosophy of Man' in Proceedings of the Scandinavian Spinoza Symposium, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo.

Patton, P. (2014). History, normativity, and rights' in Douzinas, Costas and Cearty, Conor (Eds.). The Meanings of Rights: the Philosophy and Social Theory of Human Rights Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Rancière, J. (2004). Who is the Subject of the Rights of Man. South Atlantic Quarterly, 103 (2/3), 297-310.

Barlett, A. J., Jon. R., Clemens, J. & AJ, B. (2014). Lacan Deleuze Badiou. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.

Signall, S. & Patton, P. (2010). Deleuze and Postcolonialism. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press

Spivak, G. (1988). Can the Subaltern Speak in Nelson, C & Grossberg, L. (Eds.). Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Urbana, Ill: University of Illinois Press; pp 271-313.

Chinese

Jiang, S. (trans., 江山) (2005). Concept of Chinese Law. (trans., 中國法理念). Bejing: China

University of Political Science and Law.

Kuang, Z. R. (鄺芷人) (1998). The System of Yin-Yang and Five Elements. 陰陽五行及其體系. Taipei: WenJin 文津.

Pan, K. (班固) (2002). BaiHuTongYi. (白虎通義) Hong Kong: iTVentures.

Wu, L. C. (吳龍燦) (2013). Destiny, Justice and Ethics. (trans. 天命、正义與倫理) Beijing: People.

Zhang, R. S. (張仁善) (2001). Li, Fa, Society. 禮, 法, 社會 . TianJin: TianJin GuJi 天津古籍.

Zheng, K. (鄭開) In Between Virtue and Li. (trans. 德禮之間) Beijing: Joint Publication 三联.

A note of apology and appreciation

For unexpected personal reasons, Dr. Laurence Leong and Mr. Maurice Chang could not submit their promised articles. I hereby wish them very good luck and extend apologies to those readers who were expecting their articles. I hope their academic insights can be shared in the near future via other channels. I would also like to thank Dr. Laurence Leong for liaising with George Radics for us, and Miss Suki Law for her help in editing these articles.

Return to Top»