Description of Activity
Presented, with Ting Guo (Exeter), the following paper:FAN TRANSLATION AND CHINESE UNDERGROUND QUEER SCREEN CULTURE: QAF AND THE WEEKEND (2011) IN CHINA
Although homosexuality was removed from the list of mental disorders in 2001 by China’s Ministry of Health, LGBT people continue to suffer from discrimination and harassment, lacking legal protection and access to healthcare in China. Media portraying homosexual and transgender topics has been strictly censored or banned by authorities, limiting public discussion of sexual and gender identity in China. However, in sharp contrast to the sanitized Chinese mainstream media, there is an abundance of translated international queer films available online, which are free for viewing and downloading by the Chinese public.
Through examining the translation activities of the well-known Chinese LGBT subgroup, QAF (Queer as Folk), and their translation of a British queer film The Weekend (2011), this paper investigates the role of fan translation in the wider context of the Chinese LGBT rights movement. It asks: What kinds of strategies have been employed by Chinese fan translators and activist translators in translating international queer films? How are these films used to interpret and disseminate key LGBT related concepts such as gender, sexuality and equality? How does translated international queer cinema promote discussion on LGBT rights among the public and shape the development of Chinese LGBT communities? It argues that the underground Chinese translation of international queer films not only provides new vocabulary and terms for LGBT-rights activists to educate, agitate and inspire the Chinese public, but also stimulates the development of a queer screen culture and encourages dialogues among LGBT communities, the mainstream media and the public in China. These links and connections found between online translation communities and LGBT movement in China also reveal the fluidity between fan translation and activist translation as well as the role of translators in defining and shaping the network of knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing.
| Period | 9 Dec 2017 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Manchester, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |