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User:Nancylii/LGBT rights in China

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the People's Republic of China face legal and social challenges that are not experienced by non-LGBT residents. According to the Constitution of China, monogamy is the only form of legal marriage. Same-sex couples are unable to marry or adopt, and households headed by such couples are ineligible for the same legal protections available to heterosexual couples.

Homosexuality and homoeroticism in China have been documented since ancient times. According to certain studies by the University of London,[1] homosexuality was regarded as a normal facet of life in China, prior to Western influence from 1840 onwards.[2] Several early Chinese emperors are speculated to have had homosexual relationships accompanied by heterosexual ones.[3] Opposition to homosexuality, according to these same studies, did not become firmly established in China until the 19th and 20th centuries, through the Westernization efforts of the late Qing dynasty and the early Chinese Republic.[4]

Homosexuality was largely invisible during the Mao era.[5] In the 1980s, the subject of homosexuality reemerged in the public domain and gay identities and communities have expanded in the public eye since then. However, the studies note that public discourse in China appears uninterested and, at best, ambivalent about homosexuality, and traditional sentiments on family obligations and discrimination remains a significant factor deterring same-sex attracted people from coming out.[5]

With the rapid legalization of same-sex marriage in numerous countries around the world, discussion on the issue has emerged in China. Its approach to LGBT rights and same-sex marriage has been described as "fickle" and as being "no approval; no disapproval; no promotion."[6][7] Public opinion towards LGBT people is becoming more tolerant. However, there is still much resistance from the authorities, as various LGBT events have been banned in recent years.[7] Børge Bakken, a criminologist at the Australian National University, said in 2018: "Xi Jinping's regime is very nervous about everything. So they are cracking down on LGBT events, not particularly because these people are gay, but because they see their organising as a potential threat."[8]

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All mentions to homosexuality in criminal law were removed in 1997. In 2001, the Chinese Society of Psychiatry declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder but still claims that a person could be conflicted or suffering from mental problems due to their sexuality.[9] However, such change is yet to be reflected by the regulations of National Health and Family Planning Commission, a government branch that controls all regulations of health care services in China, which has resulted in psychiatric facilities and psychiatry education textbooks across the country still de facto considering homosexuality as a mental disorder and continuing to offer conversion therapy treatments. Transgender identity is still classified as a disorder despite laws allowing legal gender changes. In 2021, a court in Jiangsu upheld a ruling that a description of homosexuality as a mental disorder in a 2013 edition of a university textbook was a result of "perceptual differences", rather than factual error. According to the South China Morning Post, the textbook is used by a number of Chinese universities.

Public opinion and demographics

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See also: Recognition of same-sex unions in China § Public opinion

According to certain estimates from 2010, about 80% to 90% of Chinese gay men were married to women.[10] Such women are known as tongqi in Chinese (Chinese: 同妻, pinyin: tóngqī).

A 2016 survey from the Beijing LGBT Center found only 5% of those who identified as LGBT had come out to everyone in their lives.[11]

Opinion polls have showed growing levels of support for LGBT rights and same-sex marriage in China. A 2009 poll found that 30% of Beijing's population supported same-sex marriage, while a 2014 poll found that 74% of Hong Kong residents favoured granting certain rights and benefits to same-sex couples.

A 2017 University of Hong Kong poll found that 50.4% of Hong Kong residents supported same-sex marriage.[12] Additionally, nearly 70% supported an LGBT anti-discrimination law.


References

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  1. ^ Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China by Bret Hinsch; Review by: Frank Dikötter. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 55, No. 1(1992), Cambridge University Press, p. 170
  2. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 56
  3. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. pp. 35–36.
  4. ^ Kang, Wenqing. Obsession: male same-sex relations in China, 1900-1950, Hong Kong University Press. Page 3
  5. ^ a b Jeffreys, Elaine; Yu, Haiqing (2015). Sex in China. Polity. ISBN 978-0-7456-5613-7.
  6. ^ Chinese attitudes towards gay rights The Economist
  7. ^ a b China's Complicated LGBT Movement, The Diplomat, 1 June 2018
  8. ^ China's LGBT community finds trouble, hope at end of rainbow, AFP, 2 June 2018, Archived June 17, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Talha, Burki (2017-04-01). "Health and rights challenges for China's LGBT community". World Report. 389: 1286.
  10. ^ China rights: Gay people pledge not to enter into sham marriages BBC News
  11. ^ Kuo, Lily (5 July 2019). "Taiwan's marriage law brings frustration and hope for LGBT China". The Guardian.
  12. ^ "Study shows growing support for same-sex marriage in Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. July 3, 2018.
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