Navigating the State-Family Nexus: Gay and Lesbian Experiences of Sexuality Governance in Urban China

(or "face"). Third, affective governance describes the reciprocal mobilization of emotional and cultural obligations, framing compliance as an expression of care. Finally, economic dependencies rooted in the post-reform neo-familist context provide the material foundation that strengthens the other mechanisms. Our contribution is positioned as a middle-range theorization within the governmentality tradition, specifically applied to post-reform urban China. We highlight familial sovereignty as the most novel mechanism, distinguishing it from perspectives that oversimplify parental authority to intergenerational reciprocity or cultural inheritance.