How do Hong Kong Chinese women position themselves in relation to this stigmatized social category of "si-nai" (middle aged-housewives) and the prevailing norms and values regarding women's roles? The case of middleaged, married women in Hong Kong provides empirical support for an alternative understanding of the identity of adult woman and helps to problematize conceptualizations of women's identity as centered on their mother roles. The narratives of these twenty-six women show the fluidity of their roles as mothers (and wives). These roles change with reference to social context, life circumstances, and life course. Many middle-aged women have tried to resist becoming "mad housewives" and have learnt to be "flexible housewives" by actively decentering their role as mothers.

Using the case of a mother who has difficulties accepting that her son is gay, this article explores the possibilities of a social constructionist approach for working with gay men and their families. The aim of therapy is to help the mother and son reconstruct the narrative of their relationship. Social constructionism can inform clinical practice and become social action that can offer alternatives when working with gay men and their families in Hong Kong. The author provides direction for theory-based interventions with individuals and families and sensitizes practitioners to social cultural issues in the helping process. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworthpress inc.com]

This article documents the strategies that married Chinese women in Hong Kong use to cope with the stigmatized identity of being si-nais (middle-aged housewives). It analyzes how, in the larger context of Hong Kong's social, economic, and political transformation, the term si-nai has changed over time from being a mark of respect to being a derogatory label. The dissatisfaction expressed by these women with their lives is matched by resistance to a stigmatized social identity and stereotyping images with which others may seek to confine them. The study problematizes the way in which the figure of the housewife is constituted as some form of “other” by feminism.

This research is to explore the social and psychological forces that influence the identity of a man who has come to describe himself as a "homosexual." An attempt is made to understand the emergence of male homosexual identities in Hong Kong--which is predominantly a Chinese community under western influence for more than one century. The results suggest that male homosexual identity arises not so much from homosexual behavior per se but from the stigma and heterosexist beliefs that encompassed it. The acquisition of homosexual identity is largely a response to the cultural definitions of marriage and family, gender and sex roles, as well as a way to handle a culturally induced set of difficulties of getting access to emotional and sexual fulfillment in an environment that prohibits it.

Democratising social inquiry is particularly relevant in the context of Hong Kong’s recent social movements, where political divisions have created rifts among families and friends. In exploring the Umbrella Movement’s personal impact on activists, bystanders and opponents, we developed a new methodology: collaborative focus group analysis (CFGA). Designed to create a safe space for communicating political differences, the methodology also aims to break down the distinction between researchers and researched and engages the latter as co-researchers. In our first application of CFGA, solidarity was exhibited across political and cultural divides, demonstrating the methodology’s potential to support collaborative knowledge-making among co-researchers with different political stances and educational and cultural backgrounds. By analysing the patterns of interaction that emerged within CFGA, we identify strategies for building ‘situated solidarity’ and maintaining ‘non-hierarchical dialogues’. In so doing, we assess CFGA’s potential and limitations.