Document Type

Journal Article

Department/Unit

Department of Sociology

Title

Modernization of power in legal and medical discourses: The birth of the (male) homosexual in Hong Kong and its aftermath

Language

English

Abstract

The removal of homosexuality from the list of mental disorders and the repeal of restrictive sexual laws deem that Foucault's argument on the discursive control of homosexuality requires refinement to take into consideration the continual modernization and improvement of power. This article examines the multilayered discursive terrain in Hong Kong where homosexuality is created, regulated, and contested in the contemporary era. With the popularization of human rights discourse, sexual dissidents are not simply treated as criminal or pathological; rather, legal and medical discourses have shifted to an increasing reliance on notions of risk to put mechanisms of social regulation in place. © 2012 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Keywords

discourse, HIV/AIDS, Hong Kong, legal reform, risk

Publication Date

2012

Source Publication Title

Journal of Homosexuality

Volume

59

Issue

10

Start Page

1403

End Page

1423

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

DOI

10.1080/00918369.2012.724943

Link to Publisher's Edition

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2012.724943

ISSN (print)

00918369

ISSN (electronic)

15403602

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