Being Gay and Grey in Taiwan: Ideological Codes behind the Interview between Young and Old Gay Men

This presentation reflects on the oral history interview project I collaborated on with the LGBTQ+ Hotline in 2005, focusing on the lived experiences of older gay men. It explores the social organization of misunderstanding occurs in the interview between younger and older gay men. Using ideological codes from institutional ethnography, I analyze the barriers that hinder younger gay men from accessing the life experiences of older gay men during the oral history interviews.

The first ideological code is "identity." For younger gay individuals, identity is the starting point of their homosexual identity; therefore, they often ask, "When did you start identifying as gay?" In contrast, for older gay individuals, their experience begins not with identity but with behavior, so the same question would be, "When did you start having relationships with men?" or "When did you realize you liked guys?"

The second code is "marriage." For younger gay people, rejecting heterosexual marriage is seen as a sincere acknowledgment of their gay identity. However, for older gay men, marriage was something that everyone was expected to undertake, and for them at that time, there were no other choices.

The third code is "coming out." For younger gay men, coming out is a daily performance confirming their gay identity, and it is common for them to discuss LGBTQ+ topics openly. On the other hand, older gay individuals who grew up during the period of martial law view their gay identity as unspeakable; public displays of homosexuality could cause anxiety.

The mutual understanding between different generations of gay men could not be taken for granted. The ideological codes embedded within age, class, and educational disparities create barriers to solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community during interviews. The oral history project is a political action to reveal and to transcend these ideological divides.