Overlooked Voices: A Conversation with Researcher Denise Tang

As Lesbian Visibility Month draws to a close, we speak with academic researcher Denise Tang about her groundbreaking work documenting the lives of older lesbians and bisexual women in Hong Kong. Her oral history book “同聲同氣：香港年長女同志口述史” and collaboration on the film “All Shall Be Well” highlight stories too often left untold.

Q: What inspired your decades-long focus on lesbian and bisexual women’s communities?

Denise Tang: I came out as a lesbian activist in Vancouver B.C, Canada, back in the 1990s. I have often wondered what my life would be if I have never left Hong Kong. I wondered if I could still come out and be an activist. So I returned to the city for my doctoral research on the emergence of lesbian and bisexual women’s spaces in Hong Kong in my thirties! I’m so glad that I did!

As a researcher, I have been working with lesbian and bisexual women’s communities for over twenty years. I have often longed for more lesbian representation on screens, be it in the cinema or on your mobile.

Q: Tell us about your book documenting oral histories of older lesbians and bisexual women.

Denise Tang: In my Chinese book on oral histories (同聲同氣：香港年長女同志口述史), women are often caregivers in families, by choice or not. They play major roles in kinkeeping even when heterosexual family members do not recognize them as family members of equal standing. Lesbians and bisexual women might work even harder towards kinkeeping in order to stay visible in Chinese families!

I have heard over and over again from older lesbians and bisexual women that they do not believe anyone would be interested in their life histories, and that is just so wrong. This inspired both my research and later the collaboration on the film.

Q: How did your research contribute to the film “All Shall Be Well”?

Denise Tang: Ray Yeung, the director, knew of my research on Hong Kong older lesbians and bisexual women and asked if we could collaborate on script development. I introduced some of my informants to Ray, and we interviewed them again to collect more background research for writing up the film’s characters.

From the way they dress to the way they express love and affection in Cantonese, the informants gave a lot of opinions on many detailed aspects of the script. What you see now from the film is a collaboration from many of us!

We launched the Chinese book and the film together at a charity premiere in April 2024 for a local organization, Grey & Pride, the first and only registered charitable organization in Hong Kong serving older LGBTQ+ community members.

Q: Why is representation of lesbian narratives in media so important?

Denise Tang: Lesbian media representations matter because we need to see more of our stories in the public. Lesbians are easily neglected because we are not taken up seriously. This is harmful to the community once others do not perceive our stories worthy of telling.

The idea of losing one’s long-term partner can happen to anyone but the thought of not being recognized as a partner, losing trust in family and expecting to leave one’s home for more than thirty years happens more often to same-sex couples. These are real issues that need visibility.

Q: As Lesbian Visibility Month concludes, what message do you hope people take away from your work?

Denise Tang: I hope my work reminds people to think twice of assuming all older women to be straight. I also hope that we can recognize all relationships that do not fall neatly into legal categories and definitions, and from then onwards, fight to have these relationships protected by law.

Lesbian Visibility Month is important, but visibility should be year-round. Through research, books, films, and other media, we can continue to document and celebrate these stories that have been overlooked for far too long.

Denise Tang’s book “同聲同氣：香港年長女同志口述史” (oral histories of older lesbians and bisexual women) and the film “All Shall Be Well” trailer are available now.

Denise Tse-Shang Tang is an interdisciplinary ethnographer specializing in gender and sexualities with specific focus on lesbian and same-sex desires, transgender and masculinities in an inter-Asian context. Tang is currently Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Cultural Studies at Lingnan University, Hong Kong. Prior to entering academia, Tang was program manager, HIV testing counsellor and treatment advocate for communities including Asian & Pacific Islander LGBTQI+ and First Nations women in San Francisco and Vancouver B.C.