My dissertation examines how Chinese diasporic communities in early 20th-century California and Guangdong navigated, contested, and reshaped gender and sexual norms through transnational exchanges. By focusing on practices like cross-gender performance, interracial intimacy, and unconventional kinship, it highlights how local and emigrant elites constructed modern identities amid external scrutiny. Drawing on sources such as Chinese newspapers, immigration records, and personal letters, the study explores how marginalized voices negotiated heteronormativity, challenging binaries between the queer and the normative. This work bridges Asian American and Chinese historiography, uncovering the fluidity of intimate practices and their impact on evolving societal norms.