Negotiating queer identity and cultural meaning through translation in China

How individuals negotiate marginalized identities within restrictive sociopolitical environments remains a critical question for understanding the dynamic relationship between culture and the self. This study investigates why and how Chinese professional translators engage with materials related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQI+) in a sociocultural context where queer identities are frequently marginalized or silenced.

Conceptualizing translation as a process of cultural and identity negotiation, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with 23 professional translators who have experience translating queer-related literary, academic, or community materials.

Thematic analysis identifies four translator positions that reflect different strategies of engagement with cultural constraints: visibility-seekers, who leverage sociocultural trends for professional or commercial gain; cautious negotiators, who adapt queer content to meet censorship and market norms; insider advocates, queer translators who use their lived experience to affirm cultural identity and empower their community; and allied activists, non-queer translators who engage in ethical solidarity and social justice through translation. These positions reveal how translators mobilize professional resources, personal experience, and ethical commitments while navigating political regulation, cultural stigma, and market expectations.

The findings highlight translators as socially situated agents whose practices mediate the circulation of marginalized cultural meanings and demonstrate how identity and cultural expression are co-constructed within structures of ideological constraint.