Dual Narratives, Shared Radiance: A Tropical Asian Queer Collaborative Autoethnography

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.2.2024.4043

Keywords:

collaborative autoethnography, tropical queer researchers, tropical queer Asia, queer methods, tropical queer experiences

Abstract

Employing a tropical Asian queer collaborative autoethnographic approach, this article explores the unique narratives of two diasporic researchers hailing from the Philippines and Taiwan. The paper elucidates the voices, perceptions, and lived experiences of the authors and shows how these align with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory of human development, which asserts that individuals are influenced by their socio-cultural environment comprised of the macrosystem, exosystem, mesosystem, and microsystem. The relationship of these overlapping systems is explored through the lives of the two researcher-authors through personal narratives. These narratives accentuate the methodological queering aspect, employing personal vignettes as pivotal focal points. By intertwining subjective experiences within the socio-ecological systems model, the article seeks to vividly depict the knottiness of tropical Asian queer identity and experience. Through this exploration, the discourse not only enquires into the intricacies of the researcher-authors’ stories but also contributes to a broader understanding of how queer socio-cultural factors shape the diverse narratives within the queer community in tropical Asia.

Author Biographies

Radel James Gacumo, University of Stavanger, Norway

Radel James Gacumo, a native of Manila, Philippines, acquired his BA from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He then worked as a high school teacher and college instructor for five years before pursuing his Master’s degree at Université Côte d’Azur in Nice, France, where he focused on educational technology for children. Afterwards, he stayed in Taiwan for almost two years, where he developed materials for second language learning. Currently, he is in the midst of pursuing his PhD at the University of Stavanger in Norway.

Sheng-Hsiang Lance Peng, University of Cambridge, UK

Sheng-Hsiang Lance Peng, from Taiwan’s cultural backdrop, began a nomadic academic journey starting from NCUE, where he acquired a BA in secondary education with a major in English. He had the opportunity to work as a high school English teacher for a short period in Vietnam. He subsequently relocated to the UK to pursue an MA at the University of Warwick, focusing on drama education and is now nearing the completion of his PhD studies at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Education.

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Published

2024-10-15

How to Cite

Gacumo, R. J., & Peng, S.-H. L. . (2024). Dual Narratives, Shared Radiance: A Tropical Asian Queer Collaborative Autoethnography. ETropic: Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics, 23(2), 147–173. https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.2.2024.4043

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 2 (2024): Queering the Tropics, Part 2. Queering Tropically: Sexuality, Indigeneity, Decoloniality, Spatiality

Section

Essays and Articles

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