This paper addresses the academic debate on the globalization of LGBTQ+ community, especially non-binary gender. While some scholars argue for Western identity globalization, others emphasize local specificities. By investigating Taiwanese non-binary community formation, this research shows a hybrid model with multiple epistemological sources and localized interpretations. Using Swidler's (1986) cultural toolkit framework, I examine how Taiwanese non-binary identities become intelligible and available.
The research method is based on 14 in-depth interviews with non-binary people in Taiwan, and discourse analysis of publications and social media materials. The discourse analysis is based on the deep reading of 7 collective interviews and personal narratives in "What Binary", which is the first non-binary experience collection in Taiwan. Furthermore, this research also analyzed 89 posts on one non-binary activist organization's social media. I coded the interviews and the contents of publicly published materials, and used grounded theories to develop analytical themes.
The cultural tools for formation of the non-binary is multi-directional, not West-East, or Global North to Global South. This research showed international education and internet exposure enables the first non-binary gender activists to become "cultural carriers", finding the non-binary framework as a cultural tool to interpret their gender, and translating the term non-binary to be intelligible in Taiwanese contexts. The multicultural influences includes the Western countries, such as the US, the Netherlands, but also Japanese "X-gender" influence and diverse genders indigenous communities in Taiwan. Therefore, it is a multi-directional cultural exchange and formation, under a translated term.
Another result challenges Western critiques of identity politics. Instead of the Western model emphasizing rights and visibility, Taiwanese non-binary communities highlight relational politics (Kong, 2019)—emphasizing restraint, mutual understanding, and coalition-building rooted in implicit tolerance (hanxu) and social harmony. Due to different cultural tools and social perceptions, the Taiwanese non-binary community uses a less confrontational, community-focused model rather than demanding visibility.
Using cultural toolkit theory, this paper rejects viewing LGBTQ+ identity globalization as single-directional while acknowledging digital and international influences. The Taiwanese case illustrates how cultural strategies reframe identity in different contexts.
