Gay Men in Midlife: Moral Time and Temporal Expectations in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau

Abstract

This qualitative research project examines how time operates as a moral classification system in shaping the self-understandings of gay men aged 35–55 in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Macau. Rather than treating midlife as a biological stage, the study conceptualizes it as a culturally organized and morally saturated temporal position within broader institutional and social expectations. The project will generate primary qualitative data through 24–36 semi-structured narrative interviews conducted in Cantonese and Mandarin. Interviews will explore participants’ understandings of maturity, responsibility, stability, family expectations, and alternative forms of generativity. Data collected will include audio recordings (with informed consent), verbatim transcripts, anonymized participant identifiers, and researcher field notes documenting contextual observations and analytic reflections. All identifiable information will be removed during transcription. Pseudonyms and coded identifiers will be used in all analytic files. Audio files and transcripts will be stored on encrypted, password-protected devices in accordance with institutional data protection guidelines. Where interviews are conducted in Shenzhen, audio files may be securely transferred to Hong Kong for transcription and analysis. Data transfer will occur through encrypted storage devices or secure institutional cloud systems to ensure confidentiality and data security. The project contributes to theorizing moral time as a cultural classificatory infrastructure while documenting regional variations in midlife temporal expectations across the Greater Bay Area.