{"product_id":"unlocking-the-red-closet-eileen-yuk-ha-tsang-9781479821228","title":"Unlocking the Red Closet: Gay Male Sex Workers in China","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn inside look at the lives of gay male and transgender sex workers in China\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eUnlocking the Red Closet\u003c\/i\u003e, Eileen Yuk-ha Tsang takes us to an upscale gay bar in the port city of Tianjin in Northeastern China, where the male staff have sex with regular clientele. She brings this world to life through interviews with over two-hundred people, including gay male sex workers and their wives, known as \"Tongqi\" (heterosexual women married to gay men), transgender sex workers, HIV patients, and the doctors who care for them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTsang argues that the violent oppression against the LGBTQ community in China has far-reaching consequences: the limitation of careers outside of the sex industry for gay men, because they do not adhere to traditional ideas of masculinity; the constant exposure to high-risk sexual practices and poor medical care due to stigma in the medical community; and the maintenance of the facade of heterosexual married life. Tsang denounces the homophobic culture and state-sanctioned oppression of the gay community, making a case that, in addition to the very real health risks many face in their profession, many of the gay male and trans sex workers also face social death should they try to lead lives that would embrace their gender and sexual identities. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eUnlocking the Red Closet\u003c\/i\u003e is a fascinating look into a rarely seen world that successfully locates the necropolitical within the queer and the queer within the necropolitical.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Eileen Yuk-Ha Tsang\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1479821225\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781479821228\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New York University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/29\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.80d","brand":"Eileen Yuk-Ha Tsang","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47520472367359,"sku":"9781479821228","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_841df9fe-38c4-4d9d-bb3b-52dc6dc4e21a.jpg?v=1762885436","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/unlocking-the-red-closet-eileen-yuk-ha-tsang-9781479821228","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}