Chinese Lesbians Research Articles

Typologies of Minority Stressors and Depressive Symptoms among LGBTQ Employees in the Workplace: A Moderated Mediation Model of Workplace Climate and Resilience

Abstract Introduction The pathways between minority stressors and depressive symptoms require a nuanced understanding of how these stressors affect the mental health of sexual and gender minority people. It remains unclear whether minority stressors are associated with depressive symptoms through perception of workplace climate and if resilience moderates these effects. Methods This study examined the direct and indirect effects of different minority stressors (experiences of discrimination, internalized homophobia, expectations of rejection, and concealment of identity) on depressive symptoms through the mediating factor of perception of workplace climate and the moderating factor of resilience. Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) employees (N = 706) completed a cross-sectional online survey in 2021–2022. We examined the moderated mediating effects using PROCESS macro with a bootstrapping approach. Results Mediation results showed that the four minority stressors were each negatively associated with perceptions of workplace climate, which were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms among Chinese LGBTQ employees. Moderated mediation models demonstrated that the conditional indirect effects of different types of minority stressors on depressive symptoms through perception of workplace climate were only significant for those with lower levels of resilience. Conclusions Extending the minority stress model to work settings, this study offers new knowledge about the mediating role of perception of workplace climate in the relationship between minority stressors and depressive symptoms. Knowledge about the moderating role of resilience also informs targeted interventions. Policy Implications Interventions targeted at reducing minority stressors, enhancing perceived workplace climate, and promoting resilience are vital to enhance LGBTQ individuals’ mental health.

Effects of sexual orientation-based prejudice and discrimination in family of origin on depressive symptoms and life satisfaction in a Chinese sample: Reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety as moderators.

Experiencing prejudice and discrimination from family has been found to be positively associated with mental health problems among sexual minorities. Emerging evidence also shows the value of contextualizing the internalization of minority stress by considering individual cultural factors, such as filial piety. We examined whether authoritarian filial piety (AFP) and reciprocal filial piety (RFP) moderated the link between distal stressors in one's family and mental health outcomes. A total of 362 (56.9% male; age: M = 24.55, SD = 6.60) Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer/questioning, and other non-heterosexual (LGBQ+) individuals participated in this study. They provided demographic information and completed a battery of measures for AFP and RFP, sexual orientation-based prejudice and discrimination in family of origin (SOPDF), depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling results showed that SOPDF had a positive and negative link with depressive symptoms and life satisfaction, respectively. In addition, we identified AFP and RFP as significant moderators for the association between SOPDF and depressive symptoms, and the association between SOPDF and life satisfaction, respectively. Specifically, the positive effect of SOPDF on depressive symptoms was greater for participants with higher levels of AFP; the negative effect of SOPDF on life satisfaction was greater for participants who endorsed higher levels of RFP. Our findings corroborated past studies' conclusion about the detrimental impact of familial sexual stigma on LGBQ+ people's mental health. Furthermore, such impact on negative and positive mental health outcomes are respectively conditioned by the degree to which LGBQ+ individuals endorse AFP and RFP. These findings underscore the importance for therapists who endorse family therapy to help LGBQ+ clients navigate familial sexual stigma and consider the role of filial piety beliefs in shaping the impact of familial sexual stigma on these clients' mental health.

Intimate networks of care: Perceptions of intergenerational family care and experiences of ageing among Chinese midlife and older lesbians and gay men.

This article examines how lesbians and gay men imagine and build their 'intimate networks of care' and negotiate moral expectations towards intergenerational family care as they age. To date, little is known about the strength and complexities of different intimate ties or the role of intergenerational dynamics in shaping ageing sexual minority people's care needs and choices. Based on narrative interviews with ageing Chinese lesbians and gay men, the findings reveal their experiences of constantly juggling their ties with families of origin, moral values around intergenerational care and the urge to receive support from and offer support to chosen networks of people. Participants exercised agency in expanding their networks of care by building friendship and (online and offline) community networks for mutual care and support in later life. Nevertheless, as evidenced by the centrality of ageing with(out) children, and the moral obligation of caring for parents in participants' narratives, participants experienced tensions between enacting what was considered morally right/wrong and developing networks of care that were perceived as emotionally intimate. Linking relational sociology with the sociology of morality, we discuss the conceptual utility of 'intimate networks of care' for sociological theorising of the linkages between sexuality, care and relational lives.

Reflexive Planning for Later Life: Minority Stress and Aging Challenges among Midlife Chinese Lesbians and Gay Men

ABSTRACT This study examines how Chinese lesbians and gay men make sense of the prospect of growing old and plan for later life in Hong Kong, where same-sex relationships are yet to be legally recognized. Drawing on in-depth narrative interviews, the results show that lesbians and gay men in midlife reported a range of previous, current, and anticipated challenges associated with the stigma attached to homosexuality. These, in turn, shaped their ways of perceiving and planning for later life. Three forms of reflexivity in response to minority stress and the prospect of aging were identified: coping with fears of aging alone, striving for self-mastery, and planning ahead with feelings of wariness. Participants’ concerns and plans around aging demonstrated differing degrees of reflexivity, through which they attempted to navigate family norms and structural constraints and find ways to accumulate resources for later life. Meanwhile, their heightened sense of uncertainty and insecurity showed that their perceptions and experiences of aging were influenced by minority stress and material, familial, and socio-political circumstances. This article builds a constructive dialogue between sexuality and aging studies by unraveling both the aging insecurity and capacities for reflexive planning among an oft-neglected group of sexual minority people in midlife.

Conditions for Social Exclusion Leading to Distress Change in Chinese Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) People.

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people are likely to be at risk of distress because of social exclusion, including the feelings of resentment, resistance, and rejection they might experience from society. Nevertheless, the conditions for social exclusion leading to changes in distress are empirically unclear, especially in Chinese LGB people. To examine these conditions, this study surveyed 303 Chinese LGB people in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and various places in Mainland China. For comparability with other LGB studies, the study did not explicitly identify asexual, demisexual, or pansexual people in the LGB group. Results show that the retrospective reporting of social exclusion in 2016 did not significantly and unconditionally predict levels of distress in 2017. However, the reporting of exclusion significantly predicted current distress when the retrospective report of distress in 2016 was high. These results from the stress-vulnerability model indicate that prior distress is a vulnerability condition that allows social exclusion to exert its stressful effect. This study implies the need to prevent the social exclusion of highly distressed LGB people.

On the links between parental support and life satisfaction: General and LGBQ+ specific self-concepts as mediators, and parent-oriented interdependent self-construal as a moderator

Introduction Previous studies found that perceptions of parental support for sexual orientation was negatively associated with psychological distress, this study aimed to examine whether, how, and when perceived parental support for sexual orientation (PPSSO) contributed to mental well-being. Method A total of 477 (66.5% male; age: M = 26.61, SD = 5.95) Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer/questioning, and other non-heterosexual (LGBQ+) individuals participated in this study. They provided demographic information and completed measures of PPSSO, parent-oriented interdependent self-construal (POISC), self-esteem, internalized homonegativity, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modelling was conducted for data analyses. Results PPSSO was found to be positively associated with life satisfaction. The positive link between PPSSO and life satisfaction was fully mediated by self-esteem and internalized homonegativity. Furthermore, we identified POISC as a significant moderator. Specifically, high levels of POISC strengthened the negative association between PPSSO and internalized homonegativity. The indirect positive effect of PPSSO on life satisfaction through internalized homonegativity was stronger for participants who endorsed high levels of POISC. Conclusions Self-esteem and internalized homonegativity might be the underlying mechanisms for the positive link between PPSSO and life satisfaction. Parental support may contribute to Chinese sexual minorities’ self-stigma and, in turn, life satisfaction to a greater extent, especially for those who depend largely on their parents to define themselves.

Heterosexist events and psychological problems: internalized homophobia as a mediator and perceived parental support as a moderator

ABSTRACT Introduction: Past research focusing on Western samples has demonstrated that heterosexist harassment, rejection, and discrimination (HHRD) were associated with psychological problems. How and when this relation would occur, however, remains unclear, especially for understudied Chinese sexual minorities. Method: A convenience sample of 1,453 Chinese lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals aged 18–50 participated in this study. They provided demographic information and completed measures of HHRD, internalised homophobia, perceived parental support for sexual orientation, anxiety, and depression. Structural equation modelling was conducted for data analyses. Results: Internalised homophobia partially accounted for the positive relation between HHRD and psychological problems (i.e. anxiety and depression). The indirect effect of HHRD on psychological problems through internalised homophobia was smaller when Chinese LGB persons had higher levels of perceived parental support for sexual orientation. Conclusions: Internalised homophobia might be an underlying mechanism for the relation between HHRD and psychological problems, and perceived parental support for sexual orientation may play a critical role in disrupting the pathway from HHRD to psychological problems through internalised homophobia.

Visual methods in family and sexuality research: Picturing the everyday, the imaginary, and the void

Engaging with visual methodology literature and the concept of ‘family display’, this article examines how visual methods can generate new ways of understanding the (in)visibility of queer family life. Engaging Chinese lesbians in image-making and photo-elicitation interviews, I illustrate how visual methods give access to different ways of making sense of ‘family’, including the ‘everyday’, the ‘imaginary’, and the ‘void’. By exploring the image-maker’s intentions, the presence or absence of the image-maker, and diverse ways of displaying family, I show how visual methods can facilitate the display of family ties, tensions, and ideals. Adopted in an open format that allows flexibility and creativity, visual methods generate space for participants to communicate the unrealisable and unseeable and for researchers to examine how dominant heteronormative representations and discourses around the ‘family’ restrict possibilities of displaying family. I highlight the importance of maintaining openness and sensitivity to cultural peculiarities when adopting visual methods.

How to Realize the Ideal Life of LGBT: Based on Field Observation of Mainland China

In this paper, the ideal life patterns of Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) are investigated. The ideal life includes the views of educational, policy environments, and LGBT-related organizations. The method employed is a semi-structured interview with questions about coming out experience, victimization, support networks, and demands. By the principle of identifying problems and seeking solutions, the inconveniences of LGBT life lead them to find their ideal objective environment by reviewing experience. Key results indicate that plebification outweighs explicit stipulations of anti-discrimination for LGBT people in Mainland China, which addresses the entrenched stigma from a demand perspective. These findings highlight the needs and expectations of living conditions in daily life occasion for LGBT people. Findings also have implications for LGBT-specific laws and regulations regarding suggestions for sex education and plebification in workplaces or schools in Mainland China.

For the Sake of Parents? Marriages of Convenience between Lesbians and Gay Men in China

A marriage of convenience involves a lesbian and a gay man. They know about each other’s sexual orientation but typically do not disclose it to parents. Prior research has often cited parents as a primary source of pressure driving Chinese lesbians and gay men into marriages of convenience. However, parents are also found to be a key source of support for the Chinese LGBTQ+ community. Incorporating perspectives of parents of lesbian and gay individuals, whose voices have rarely been represented, I examine how these parents, in addition to lesbians and gay men, make sense of marriages of convenience. Such marriages imply the tension facing sexual minorities between preserving sexual autonomy and maintaining intergenerational harmony. This tension is fundamentally shaped by the ingrained institution of different-sex marriage that foregrounds reproduction. Marriages of convenience likely consolidate heteronormativity through day-to-day rituals. Both sexual minorities and their parents may internalize heteronormative values and label them as “parental pressure” leading to marriages of convenience. Yet there are prospects that both generations actively navigate the unease of conflicting family/personal interests and leverage intergenerational support to fight against heteronormativity. Drawing on neo-familism, I highlight how familism and individualism are intertwined to shape Chinese families and sexualities.

On the Link Between Reciprocal/Authoritarian Filial Piety and Internalized Homonegativity: Perceived Pressure to Get Married in a Heterosexual Marriage as a Mediator.

Previous research has revealed that filial piety belief plays a critical role in self-acceptance of sexual orientation, but studies have rarely examined whether and how reciprocal (i.e., providing care and support based on affective bonding) and authoritarian (i.e., showing unconditional obedience to parents because of parental authority) filial piety contribute to internalized homonegativity. A total of 477 Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/queer, or other non-heterosexual (LGBQ +) adults participated in this study. These participants completed a battery of measures for reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety, perceived internalized, social, and parental pressure to get married in a heterosexual marriage, internalized heteronormativity, socially oriented identity (i.e., negative beliefs about how others in society would negatively treat them because of their sexual orientation), and family-oriented identity (e.g., guilt related to filial piety and worries about present and future life). The results indicated that higher reciprocal filial piety was directly associated with higher internalized heteronormativity. Higher authoritarian filial piety had a direct link with higher family-oriented identity. In addition, authoritarian filial piety was positively associated with internalized heteronormativity through internalized pressure to get married; authoritarian filial piety had a positive link with socially oriented identity through perceived social pressure to get married; authoritarian filial piety was positively related to family-oriented identity through perceived parental pressure to get married. Conclusions: Authoritarian filial piety is a risk factor for internalized homonegativity, and perceived pressure to get married in a heterosexual marriage might be the underlying mechanism for the relationship between authoritarian filial piety and internalized homonegativity.

Sources of Social Support, Self-Esteem and Psychological Distress among Chinese Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People

Objective Minority stressors are associated with increased psychological distress, and social support is considered as a significant protective factor to mitigate the psychological distress in LGB individuals. In China, LGB individuals suffer additional pressure from society and family, but only a few studies have explored the effect of social support on the psychological distress of Chinese LGB individuals and the mechanism underlying the association. The current study aimed to examine the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between three sources of social support (from family, friends, and others) and psychological distress in Chinese LGB individuals. Methods 227 LGB individuals (M age = 25.9 years; SD = 5.6) who were voluntarily recruited by a combination of snowballing and targeted sampling strategies. Path analysis was used to test the associations between variables. Results Results indicated that 31.3% of LGB individuals had a high level of psychological distress. The results showed that social support from family, friends, and others was associated with higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of psychological distress. Only the mediating effect of self-esteem was found between friend support and psychological distress. Conclusions This study demonstrated that friend support might be a protective factor against psychological distress in Chinese LGB individuals, and more friend support could potentially relieve psychological distress by building higher self-esteem. These results highlight the importance of fostering friend support in the group of Chinese LGB individuals.

Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Maladaptive Perfectionism, Negative Body Image, Anxiety, and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Chinese Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations

Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Maladaptive Perfectionism, Negative Body Image, Anxiety, and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Chinese Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations

Family and Work Lives of Lesbians in China: Implications for the Adult Worker Model.

This article examines the ways in which lesbians explore opportunities and navigate constraints in their family and work lives in urban China. It not only reveals Chinese lesbians’ difficulties in gaining equal access to the labour market and developing their desired family lives, but also discusses possible ways of enhancing the applicability of the adult worker model for sexual minority women. Previous research has indicated a shift from the male breadwinner model to the adult worker model, suggesting that both men and women are expected to join the labour market, and that women should not carry all the care responsibilities within the family. However, the model largely overlooks the interplay of gender and sexuality factors in shaping work and family lives. This article adopts a qualitative mixed-methods approach, including interviews with 20 Chinese lesbians and social media analysis, to examine lesbians’ experiences of taking part in the family as adults and in the wider economy as workers. It shows how gender norms, heteronormativity, and policy intersect in generating obstacles for Chinese lesbians to thrive as respectable adult workers. This has important implications for attempts to improve the adult worker model to fit better with people’s diverse work/family needs.

Loving strangers, avoiding risks: Online dating practices and scams among Chinese lesbian (lala) women

The proliferating online social networking sites have created opportunities for Chinese queer women to meet new friends and lovers; yet, research on lesbian online dating in mainland China is scarce compared to heterosexual and gay online dating. This article investigates lesbian/ lala women’s online dating experiences in the context of economic reforms and the trust crisis in urban China. It is based on 16 in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork in Guangdong from June 2018 to July 2019. It focuses on two digital platforms: Douban Group and WeChat. This article explores how online anonymity and stranger sociality shaped queer women’s moral practices regarding turning virtual strangers into real-life partners. Queer women in this research expressed concerns about being cheated by low quality( suzhi) lovers, swindlers, and married women. This article suggests that the emerging online stranger sociality has both enabled and constrained lesbian/ lala women’s practice of seeking loving relationships, while they must internalize the potential risks by themselves.

Chinese Lesbian and Gay Adults’ Self-Reported Experiences of Negative Treatment and Violence From Family of Origin: Evidence From a Larger-Scale Study in China

Lesbian and gay adults’ self-reported experiences of violence from family of origin in adulthood have been less examined in previous research on interpersonal violence from intimate others. In China, while it has been understood that lesbians and gay men face mounting pressure to marry and have children, there is little empirical evidence on their experiences of violence from family of origin. This paper analyzes self-reported experiences of negative treatment and violence from a larger-scale study in China of 11,048 Chinese lesbian and gay cisgender adults. The majority of Chinese lesbians and gay men felt pressure to get married and have children (70.4%), and experienced different forms of negative treatment and violence from their family members based on sexual orientation (54.2%). A significant gender difference was observed. This paper provides novel empirical evidence for the lived experiences of lesbians and gay men in China and bears implications for China’s Anti-domestic Violence Law.

(Dis)Engagement with queer counterpublics: Exploring intimate and family lives in online and offline spaces in China.

There have been ongoing discussions about the ways in which the Internet has created new spaces for sexual minority individuals to meet, communicate, and build their communities in recent decades. Nevertheless, previous studies have paid disproportionate attention to identity politics, civil society, and rights‐based movements. They have largely overlooked other possible forms of, and orientations toward, engagement with cyberspace, particularly those that have emerged and been restricted in non‐Western contexts. This article examines Chinese lesbians' experiences of using cyberspace and the extent to which these experiences help them develop their intimate and family lives. Drawing on interview data and developing a framework that combines queer counterpublics scholarship with insights drawn from the notion of relational selfhood, this study reveals a wide range of personal, familial, and socio‐political motivations for (not) engaging in cyberspace and the mixed feelings of connection and distance experienced by participants. By identifying three forms of (dis)engagement with cyberspace: those demonstrated by ‘pioneers’, ‘skeptics’, and ‘conflicted pragmatists’, this study expands the notion of queer counterpublics beyond its focus on civic and political participation and illustrates the contested and contingent nature of Chinese queer counterpublics. It shows that Chinese lesbians' interactions in cyberspace enable them to explore non‐traditional paths to family formation and motherhood. Meanwhile, these interactions expose them to tensions between the new possibilities revealed by online spaces and established socio‐political and familial norms. I argue that prevailing heterosexual norms, coupled with material concerns and the regulatory power of the family and the state, continue to restrict the transformative potential of cyberspace and push some lesbians to withdraw from cyberspace into themselves and refrain from taking part in collective action. The article concludes with some reflections on queer counterpublics and the complex interplay between online and offline lives in the digital age.

The work ‘ethics’: negotiating a neoliberalized and respectable lesbian citizenship in a group of ‘post-90s’ Chinese lesbians’ discourses

ABSTRACT This article offers a discursive analysis of two sets of interview data, out of a corpus of ten in-depth interviews, where young Chinese lesbians (born in the 1990 s) performatively negotiate an acceptable lesbian citizenship. Findings suggest that this lesbian citizenship, made in strong comparison with heteronormative citizenship, is constructed discursively as a triad between the individual, the corporate and the society in the participants’ discourses. The subjects’ capacity to work is framed as essential to this citizenship. More specifically, the participants’ citizenship claims are achieved by their making duties claims and mixing discourses of social involvement and career. These discursive acts, at times with a collectivist undertone, index a work-ethic ideology related to China’s contemporary neoliberal campaigns, and thus construct a lesbian citizen identity that is highly participatory in work and economically productive. In this way, the participants create and claim a particular lesbian citizenship acceptable and as respectable as, if not more respectable than, heteronormative citizenship. At the same time, the claims of a normative ‘worker citizenship’ suggests a more sociocultural reading of the concept of ‘homonormativity’ (whose default usually centres upon consumption) rather than one all-encompassing notion of homonormativity especially at sites outside the global north.

Reciprocal/Authoritarian Filial Piety and Mental Well-Being in the Chinese LGB Population: The Roles of LGB-Specific and General Interpersonal Factors.

Although filial piety is considered as a salient value in the Chinese culture, studies on the mental well-being of Chinese lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals rarely take filial piety into account or examine it in relation to other variables to clarify the mechanism between filial piety and mental well-being. A total of 1453 LGB participants from 30 provinces and regions in Mainland China completed the online survey. They provided demographic information and completed measures of filial piety, a general interpersonal factor (i.e., perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness), an LGB-specific interpersonal factor (i.e., perceived parental support for sexual orientation), and mental well-being. Structural equation modelling results indicated that higher reciprocal filial piety was directly, and indirectly through lower thwarted belongingness, associated with better mental well-being. Lower authoritarian filial piety was indirectly associated with better mental well-being through higher perceived parental support for sexual orientation and lower thwarted belongingness. In addition, reciprocal filial piety had a stronger effect on perceived parental support for sexual orientation and perceived burdensomeness among lesbians and bisexual women than gay and bisexual men. These findings suggest that reciprocal filial piety is a protective factor, whereas authoritarian filial piety is a risk factor, for the mental well-being of Chinese LGB persons. Moreover, perceived parental support for sexual orientation and thwarted belongingness might be the mechanisms underlying the effect of reciprocal/authoritarian filial piety on mental well-being. Implications of findings for practice and research are discussed.

Culture-Specific Form of Stress Based on Sexual Orientation Among Childless Lesbian and Gay Individuals in China: Perceived Difficulties of Future Parenthood.

China's long historical and cultural traditions that overemphasize the continuity of the family bloodline have a profound impact on the desire to become parents. Indeed, many Chinese lesbian and gay (LG) individuals want to become parents, despite same-sex parenting being illegal in mainland China. Faced with a conflict between their sexual orientation and desire for parenthood, childless LG individuals in China experience additional stress. However, no empirical study has examined such stress, which has been termed perceived difficulties of future parenthood. The present study aimed to explore the influence of perceived difficulties of future parenthood on mental health and the moderating effect of parenting desire on the relationship between them among 737 childless Chinese LG individuals (216 lesbian women and 521 gay men). A new measure was developed consisting of four dimensions: restricted pathways, social discrimination, uncertain affective ties, and parental opposition. As predicted, perceived difficulties of future parenthood were associated with poorer mental health in the sample. However, the interaction effects between parenting desire and perceived difficulties of future parenthood on mental health were not significant. These findings highlight common existing perceived difficulties about future parenthood in childless LG individuals in China and their negative effects on mental health.