The Engaged Spectator:Reading BL Novels in Contemporary China

• 作者: Xi Lin
• 来源期刊: 复旦人文社会科学论丛:英文版
• 学科: 教育
• 关键词: Engaged spectator Reader empathy theory Reticent homophobia BL novels MASCULINITY
• 年，卷（期）: 2020,（2）
• 页码范围: 233-257
• 页数: 25页
• 分类号: G63

摘要

Can a reader,upon reading literary fictions,be moved into social actions or engage in socially meaningful activities?If it is so,then will reading gay-themed,popular fictions mean anything for the LGBTQ issue in contemporary China?This article argues that a reader of gay-themed,“Boys Love”(or“BL”for short)novels may be moved into taking some social actions for greater tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQ community in contemporary China,based on the concept of“engaged spectator”,which is a reconstruct of Adam Smith’s moral-psychological model of“impartial spectator”into an actively reading,socially engaged agent taking affirmative actions to bring about greater social justice.This“engaged spectator”shall have a few steps in its active reading of fictions and engaging in transformative social actions,namely“subjective identification”,“ambience appreciation”,and finally,“social engagement”-the three of which are in a lexical order.This tri-step model is based on a neuropsychological reading of Adam Smith into the reader empathy theory.Furthermore,this model is illustrated with Kirin,a popular BL novel,where the reader may engage in social actions to create a more tolerant environment for the LGBTQ community in contemporary China.The three steps outlined above shall offer us an account of explaining how an active reading experience may lead to a socially transformative result.