Chinese Journal of Sociology

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Male Migrant Workers and their Subjective Construction of Social Status, Gender, and Sexuality

Author 1: Huang Yingying, The School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China； Author 2: Wang Wenqing, Department of Social Work, Beijing Institute of Technology； Author 3: Pan Suiming, The School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China.   

  1. Author 1: Huang Yingying, The School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China； Author 2: Wang Wenqing, Department of Social Work, Beijing Institute of Technology； Author 3: Pan Suiming, The School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China.
  • Online:2011-09-20 Published:2011-09-20
  • Contact: Huang Yingying, The School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China E-mail:yiyingsu@yahoo.com.cn
  • About author:Author 1: Huang Yingying, The School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China； Author 2: Wang Wenqing, Department of Social Work, Beijing Institute of Technology； Author 3: Pan Suiming, The School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China.

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Abstract:

Male migrant workers’ sexuality has gradually attracted attention in society but sociological research in this regard is lacking. With the interview of 136 male migrant workers at four construction sites in Beijing, this paper takes the workers ”talking about "xiaojie” as their daily discourse and gets further into the constructive meaningfulness of such discourse at the level of the root theory. Beyond the construction of the “siaojie image” (the object of the discourse), the paper further discusses how these men subjectively construct their own social status, gender, and sexuality through the “talking of xiaojie”; and analyzes the relationships among the trio of status, gender, and sexuality. By presenting such subjective construction, the paper tries to reveal how male migrant workers anchor themselves in society and determine their positive survival strategies in the real life.

Key words: male migrant workers ,   discourse ,   social status ,   gender/sexuality