Homosexuality In China Research Articles

"I don’t discriminate but……": Legitimation Strategies of Covert Online Hate Speech against Homosexuality in China

"I don’t discriminate but……": Legitimation Strategies of Covert Online Hate Speech against Homosexuality in China

Gender Differences in Attitudes towards Homosexuality in China

The sexual liberation movement across many regions globally has resulted in a shift in individuals' perspectives and dispositions towards homosexuality. This research investigates the gender disparities in Chinese attitudes toward homosexuality and some of the causes behind these disparities based on a review of the literature. The research topic centers on the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights and the pursuit of gender equality. The study's findings indicate that there exist gender disparities in attitudes towards homosexuality in China, with women exhibiting more favorable attitudes compared to men. Moreover, it was observed that men tend to demonstrate greater consistency between their explicit and implicit attitudes towards homosexuality, whereas certain women exhibit incongruence between their explicit and implicit attitudes. Some women display positive explicit attitudes towards homosexuality, yet their implicit attitudes are negative. Both men and women tended to hold more negative attitudes towards gay individuals compared to lesbian individuals. Notably, men's attitudes towards gay individuals were significantly more negative than those of women, whereas there was minimal disparity between men's and women's attitudes towards lesbian individuals.

Legal Protection and Recognition of Homosexuality in China

As the homosexual population in China is increasing constantly, more people are becoming more open-minded. Attitudes of ordinary people towards homosexuality have slowly changed from exclusion to acceptance. Chinese legal system needs several modifications to better protect the legal rights of homosexuals, including restrictions on violence and same-sex rape and same-sex marriage laws. Due in part to this predicament and traditional social rejection, gays live in an environment rife with violence, prejudice, pressure, psychiatric issues, and even suicide attempts. This research suggests three solutions to obtain their legal rights and social acceptance: homosexual education, a homosexual organization, and legal reforms. This study aims to further the cause of binary-sex individuals while assisting the homosexual communityand, in an ideal world, all sexual minority groupsin obtaining their legal rights and protection. It also aids in identifying the areas of the Chinese legal system that require alteration as contemporary society moves toward a more liberal ideal.

Super Gender in Game Design: Applied Research on Destigmatizing Homosexuality in China

As of 2021, Chinas homosexual population has exceeded 70 million. This paper studies the current stigma phenomenon of homosexuality in China, analyzes the plight of LGBT( Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender) people in China under the stigma phenomenon and the reasons why destigmatization measures are ineffective, and puts forward the difficulty of solving the problem and the urgency of the current problem. At the same time, it studies the current situation of the combination of games and Super Gender. Starting from the perspective of psychology, it researches, develops, and designs how to better integrate Super Gender into games. Using the projection of Chinas social stigma to become the players shadow friend, using a humorous and interesting plot design to guide the player to escape the shackles of stigma on the characters victory, make players accept Super Gender independently. Let players re-recognize themselves, re-recognize and accept LGBT groups, de-label them, and achieve the purpose of destigmatization.

Homo(sexual) socialist: Psychiatry and homosexuality in China in the Mao and early Deng eras

AbstractThis article focuses on the relationship between psychiatry and homosexuality in the People's Republic of China from the Mao era to early Deng era (1949–c.90). I argue that, entangled with the multi‐centred global psychopathological regime of homosexuality, the psychiatric discourse in China perpetuated a medicalised concept of homosexuality from the Mao period through the early Deng years. This article further situates homosexuality in Mao's China in the socialist camp to call for a decentring historiography of modern homosexuality. It also contributes to the understanding of the continuity between the Mao era and the Deng era.

Discursive delegitimisation of homosexuality on Chinese social media.

This article contributes to the understanding of public representations of homosexuality in China by focusing on the case of a homophobic textbook. College student Xixi sued Jinan University Press (JUP) in 2017 for classifying homosexuality as a psychosexual disorder. Three years later, a Chinese court dismissed Xixi's lawsuit against the allegedly homophobic textbook published by JUP. The ruling elicited responses on Chinese social media that demonstrated the polarisation of public opinion regarding homosexuality. This article investigates discursive representations of homosexuality in online space by analysing the public discourse surrounding this problem. Using van Leeuwen's discursive delegitimation strategies (i.e., authorisation, moral evaluation, rationalisation, and mythopoesis), 496 comments posted on Sina Weibo were employed and subjected to discourse analysis. According to our findings, these strategies contribute to public opposition to homosexuality, portrayed as unhealthy, infertile, disruptive, and corrosive. The article concludes by discussing the emerging sociocultural factors on Sina Weibo that influence the anti-homosexuality attitudes of Weibo users.

An Investigation of The Attitudes of Chinese High School and College Students Toward Homosexuality

Sexual minorities in China are receiving increasing attention from the general public as a result of increased awareness. The opinions regarding sexual minorities appear to change as people become older and more educated. This study evaluates the differences in high school and college student opinions regarding homosexuality in China to confirm or refute this notion. The Chinese adaptation of Herek's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men scale (ATLG) was used in this study to administer a questionnaire to 114 high school students and 143 university students. The results of a two-way ANOVA conducted using SPSS revealed that there was no significant difference in views about homosexuality between Chinese high school and college students, while there was a significant difference between males and females. There was no significant interaction between the level of education and gender. According to the findings, gender differences rather than level of education influence Chinese students' sentiments about the homosexual population.

Psychological problems caused by China's overly conservative attitudes towards homosexuality

With the increase in research on homosexuality, more and more countries and regions are beginning to recognise and accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) minorities and to care about their legal rights and physical and mental health. As there is less research on homosexuality in China, this paper sets the scope of the study to China, targeting the heart and health problems caused by the overly conservative attitude towards homosexuality in China. To a certain extent, it enriches the research on homosexual mental health in China, and also gives some suggestions to solve homosexual mental illness. Using case studies, literature research and data analysis, the paper concludes that understanding the risks of the disease and reducing social oppression are important factors in improving the mental health of homosexuals and that university education can help to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against homosexuals, thereby protecting the mental health of homosexuals.

Translating queer elements in Bohemian Rhapsody in China

ABSTRACT This article investigates how Bohemian Rhapsody’s queer elements were translated in the official subtitled version for theatrical release in mainland China. In the official Chinese subtitled version, homoerotic desires were transformed to homosocial relationships. Approximately four minutes of relevant plot was excised, and the translator chose to deemphasize the taboo, erase the queer, and downplay the presence of AIDS, even at the expense of continuity. The authors apply Marc Démont’s three modes of translating queer elements to Bohemian Rhapsody and analyze its translation. Though homosexuality is neither recognized nor excluded by Chinese culture and law, few queer-related films have ever been released on the mainland. The release of Bohemian Rhapsody shows a new and complex attitude towards homosexuality in China. The translator’s ambiguity about the homoerotic elements in the film is reflected, therefore, in the way that the three translation methods – which are usually clearly divided – overlap. In China’s complex cultural context, a hybrid translation method has emerged.

“Pattern Matters”: a Latent Class Analysis of Internet Use and Users’ Attitudes Toward Homosexuality in China

“Pattern Matters”: a Latent Class Analysis of Internet Use and Users’ Attitudes Toward Homosexuality in China

Rainbow over the Internet: How Internet use curtails homophobia in China

China, despite its rapid economic modernization and the lack of powerful conservative institutions, is not known for embracing diverse sexual orientation. The present study investigates whether and how Internet use, a increasingly important part of contemporary people's daily life, leads to changes in people's attitudes toward homosexuality in China, and relevant policy implications. Analyzing the Chinese General Social Survey data from 2010 to 2015, this paper develops an ordered probit model to quantify the influence of Internet use on homosexuality tolerance, adopts a substitution variable method to conduct the robustness check, and utilizes instrument variables to address the potential endogeneity in the regressions. The results show that Internet use has a significant positive impact on Chinese people's homosexuality tolerance. Further studies have found that the influence of Internet use on homosexuality tolerance is also heterogeneous to different populations. Besides, compared with traditional media, the Internet has a more significant impact on homosexuality tolerance. This paper provides some explanations for the rise in China's homosexuality tolerance from 2010 to 2015, and additional impetus for the international community to push for a liberal Internet policy in China.

Behind the Rainbow, "Tongqi" Wives of Men Who Have Sex With Men in China: A Systematic Review.

BackgroundDue to the restrictions and stigmatization of homosexuality in China, there has emerged the “Tongqi,” or the wives of men who have sex with men (MSM). There are around 14 million Tongqi wives whose needs for support are often overshadowed. This phenomenon has been largely under researched, this review is the first to address the current data on the Tongqi. The aim of this systematic review is to begin to provide insight into the pre-existing data and the further support that is needed for the wives of MSM.MethodsThe researchers searched PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CNKI, Sinomed and WangFang databases from their inception date until June 7, 2019. Handsearching was also completed to provide a rich data set.ResultsThe articles were summarized and analyzed for thematic clusters. From the selected article, five themes emerged, including Sexual Health Issues, Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health Status, Marriage Dissatisfaction, and Coping Strategies. These themes often intersected to provide a complex understanding of the current gaps in support provided to Tongqi.ConclusionTongqi wives remain a hidden population in Chinese mainstream society, who deserves a sensitive approach to support. The study revealed that the MSM wives suffer severe mental, physical, health, and life related harms. However, instead of situating them into the victim roles, many women take on an identity of empowerment and are working together, aiming to make social changes. In order to address the Tongqi phenomenon, it is also essential to reduce the discrimination toward homosexuality. Tongqi are a special group of Chinese women, they require further intensive research attention.

De-pathologizing perversion: Proust’s sexual discourses and their Chinese translations

ABSTRACTThe sexological aspects of Proust’s work have largely been neglected in its Chinese reception. This article focuses on Chinese (re)translations of Proust’s sexual discourses in À la recherche du temps perdu and expounds the epistemic challenges of and the evolving strategies for translating sadomasochism and homosexuality into Chinese. It further explores how these observations refract the changing and largely de-pathologizing discourses on, and social attitudes to, sadomasochism and homosexuality in China from the late 1980s until now. A close examination of exemplary passages (from Du côté de chez Swann, Sodome et Gomorrhe, La Prisonnière, and Le Temps retrouvé) in different Chinese translations reveals a lexical and conceptual appropriation and recontextualization of modern Western as well as traditional Chinese discourses on/of sexology.

The Effects of Media Use and Traditional Gender Role Beliefs on Tolerance of Homosexuality in China

Using the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) data collected in 2015, this study investigates the effects of traditional media use and Internet use on tolerance of homosexuality, and the extent to which traditional gender role beliefs can moderate these effects. The results show that, while Internet use had a positive effect on tolerance of homosexuality, exposure to traditional media was likely to inhibit such tolerance. Moreover, traditional gender role beliefs are found to be able to undermine the liberalizing effect of Internet use on tolerance of homosexuality. The implications of the findings for understanding attitudes toward homosexuality in China are discussed.

Attitudes Toward Homosexuality in China: Exploring the Effects of Religion, Modernizing Factors, and Traditional Culture

ABSTRACTUsing the zero-inflated model and nationally representative sample data from the Chinese General Social Surveys 2013, this study systematically explored the effects of religion, modernizing factors, and traditional culture on attitudes toward homosexuality in China. The findings indicate that most Chinese people generally hold conservative attitudes toward homosexuality, as approximately 78.53% of the respondents believed that “same-sex sexual behavior is always wrong.” Modernizing factors (i.e., education, exposure to Internet information, and liberal inclinations) predicted greater tolerance for homosexuality, whereas Islamic beliefs negatively influenced respondents’ attitudes toward homosexuality. In contrast to the findings of the existing literature, Christian beliefs and traditional culture did not have significant effects on attitudes toward homosexuality. These findings may contribute to the literature by not only quantitatively testing the applicability of several factors identified in most Western studies of this topic but also providing new knowledge of attitudes toward homosexuality in the social context of China.

Keep Silent, Keep Sinful: Mainstream Newspapers’ Representation of Gay Men and Lesbians in Contemporary China

From a critical discourse analysis of all gay-related news reports in five mainstream Beijing newspapers between 2010 and 2015, this article distils four dominant categories of images of gays and lesbians represented by the news media: gays as crime victims because of their presumed inherent weakness, as violent subjects, as enemies of traditional values and as a source of social instability. This means that despite legal and official recognition of homosexuality in China, it is still tainted with sin and perversion in the mainstream public discourse. The way in which the Chinese news media and journalists construct the image of the homosexual person notably differs from that in the West. Newspapers treat gay men and lesbians separately, with the former deemed socially destabilising elements of violence and promiscuity and the latter seen as closer to ‘normal’ heterosexuals in the way they think and act. In addition, Chinese news reports almost completely silence gay people who are rarely interviewed, and the few who are see only their expressions of shame or regret published. This article discusses and interprets such discursive strategies within the specific sociocultural context of Chinese society.

'Hidden identities': perceptions of sexual identity in Beijing.

This article draws upon responses given by volunteers who work in the Beijing LGBT Centre regarding perceptions of sexual identity, and how Chinese culture affects hidden or open sexual identities of Chinese lesbian and gay people in this region. The insights gained from those working carefully to create social change offers an important and original contribution to the field of gay and lesbian studies in China. The findings indicate the volunteers at the Beijing LGBT Centre are frustrated by the lack of acceptance of non-heterosexual relationships among Chinese culture and society, and by the disregard of lesbian gay and bisexual (LGB) people by the Chinese government. The findings also illustrate stigmatization of homosexuality in China is enacted in structural terms (such as in the lack of policy, legislation and positive endorsement by governmental and socio-political organizations), public expression (such as negative attitudes, beliefs or reactions towards LGB people) and internalized repression (through fear of stigmatization, and subsequent abuse due to negative societal attitudes and discrimination). Influenced by the Chinese tradition of conforming to group values, the findings from this study show that volunteers at the Beijing LGBT Centre believe LGB people in China are generally hesitant to disclose their sexual identities, and reject the idea that there had been a collective shift in Chinese culture regarding increased acceptance of LGB people. It also finds volunteers at the LGBT Centre in Beijing blame Chinese culture for its lack of acceptance of non-heterosexual relationships, and state stigmatization of homosexuality in China is due to deep-rooted cultural homophobia.

Exploring the de-stigmatizing effect of social media on homosexuality in China: an interpersonal-mediated contact versus parasocial-mediated contact perspective

ABSTRACTThe subject of homosexuality remains taboo in contemporary China, given that the public maintains a considerably negative attitude toward the subject. Recent Pew Research indicates that, on average, 21% of Chinese respondents believe that homosexuality should be accepted. However, parallel surveys of Internet users paint a different picture, as online surveys found a more liberal atmosphere toward homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The online and offline discrepancy in attitudes toward homosexuality begs the question of whether the Internet carries a stigma-reducing function in terms of views on sexual minority groups. Guided by the contact hypothesis and parasocial contact theory, the current study investigates the de-stigmatizing effect of the social media on homosexuality in China. A web-based survey with 980 social media users with a heterosexual orientation confirmed the positive role of interpersonal-mediated contact with lesbian and gay celebrities via social media venues in stigma reduction; but findings did not lend support to the parasocial-mediated contact hypothesis.

Internalized homophobia, mental health, sexual behaviors, and outness of gay/bisexual men from Southwest China

BackgroundSocial attitudes toward male homosexuality in China so far are still not optimistic. Sexual minorities in China have reported high levels of internalized homophobia.MethodsThis Internet-based study examined the associations among internalized homophobia, mental health, sexual behaviors, and outness among 435 gay/bisexual men in Southwest China from 2014 to 2015. Latent profile analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, univariate logistic regression, and separate multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted.ResultsThis descriptive study found the Internalized Homophobia Scale to be suitable for use in China. The sample demonstrated a high prevalence of internalized homophobia. Latent profile analysis suggested a 2-class solution as optimal, and a high level of internalized homophobia was significantly associated with greater psychological distress (Wald = 6.49, AOR = 1.66), transactional sex during the previous 6 months (Wald = 5.23, AOR = 2.77), more sexual compulsions (Wald = 14.05, AOR = 2.12), and the concealment of sexual identity from others (Wald = 30.70, AOR = 0.30) and parents (Wald = 6.72, AOR = 0.49).ConclusionsThese findings contribute to our understanding of internalized homophobia in China, and highlight the need to decrease gay-related psychological stress/distress and improve public health services.

From Beijing Story to their story: Adaptation, politics and gay romance in Stanley Kwan’s Lan Yu

Abstract Through a film adaptation of the anonymous Internet novel, Beijing Story, Stanley Kwan normalizes a male gay relationship against the backdrop of political unrest in 1980s and 1990s China. Choosing to de-emphasize the political and cultural context in Lan Yu (2001) reduces the visible complexity of the politics of homosexuality in China and between the two main characters, Chen Handong and Lan Yu. Nevertheless, Kwan’s decision to normalize the gay relationship creates gaps between the source text and adaptation that viewers, in the absence of an overt message, may choose to interpret politically. This article focuses on three areas in which these gaps are most obvious and open to political interpretation: money and politics, family structure and traditional values, and science and religion.