Global metaphors and local strategies in the construction of Taiwan's lesbian identities

Over the past four decades, two forms of lesbian community have come gradually into existence in Taiwan: The T-Po community which revolves around butch-femme distinctions, and the feminist lesbian community which advocates women's liberation through same-sex practises. This paper examines the ways in which each community has come into formation. It highlights how, via a process of 'domestic colonialism', the feminist lesbian community has appropriated many of the gender and sexual roles performed by the T-Po community so as to establish a global and progressive 'queer' identity. The paper end by exploring a number of issues that remain problematic in Taiwan's feminist lesbian discourse today. These include notions of social class and the relevance of concepts of globalization for an understanding of contemporary lesbian identities and practises.