Non-conformist Visions of Chinese Female Queers: Locating Emotional Appealing in Chinese Lesbian Movies Small Talk (2016) and Intimates (1997)

Abstract

Lesbian group is an important topic in minority research. This paper mainly discusses how the film reveals lesbian identity, empowers lesbian feminism, and improves the popularity of LGBTQ culture. This paper reviews the social and cultural background of Chinese lesbians and the development of Chinese gay films. Based on queer theory and feminist theory, this study discusses four themes for the empowerment of Chinese lesbians in Chinese lesbian films Intimates (1997) and Small Talk ( 2016) through text analysis. This paper finds that both films portray lesbians as independent, capable and strong individuals who try to break social restrictions and pursue non-traditional ways of making a living. Both films fully demonstrate queer feminism and the reconstruction of women's subjectivity. This paper holds that films can use emotional appeal to attract audiences from different cultural backgrounds and empower sexual minorities. This paper will be beneficial to provide new perspectives and cases for LGBTQ research.