She-SF

This essay examines the contested landscape of contemporary Chinese She-SF as a queer utopia—an intricate blend of literary genre, highly gendered imaginings, and socio-cultural blueprints. The first section explores and defines She-SF in its socio-historical context, providing a brief introduction of the She-SF panorama. The second part introduces two crucial concepts: China’s “new women” and “queer utopia.” The term “new women” is derived from Tani Barlow’s analysis of the historical catachresis nüxing 女性 and the intricate historical context surrounding this concept in modern China and the concept of “queer utopia” builds on the queerness found in Virginia Woolf’s endorsement of “androgyny.” I connect these two concepts to situate She-SF within the realm of Chinese feminist development and Western queer theory, complicating our understanding of Chinese new women.