LGBTQ Rights: The Push and Pull for Progress in China
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Date
2021
Authors
Bordeaux, Leo
Trefny, Kyle
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The People’s Republic of China is home to one of the largest LGBTQ communities on the planet. However, according to the UN, an overwhelming majority of queer Chinese individuals hide their sexuality in their daily lives. Why? In this study, we bear the findings of personal interviews with some of China’s most prominent LGBTQ voices. We also inspect literature on history, law, and censorship, contextualizing the PRC with systems around the world. We encounter a national history free from the Abrahamic religious prejudice that drove homophobia in regions like the United States. Yet more recently, external powers have influenced the oppression and stigmatization of Chinese LGBTQ communities. Our research finds that the PRC’s barriers around LGBTQ rights are exacerbated by a centralized political structure that impedes social momentum. In today’s China, gay marriage is not legal, same-sex couples are unable to adopt, transgender individuals cannot change their gender marker at their personal discretion, and discrimination on the basis of sexuality is still allowed. Despite pervasive censorship, advocacy groups and internet communities are working to improve queer lives and the country as a whole. While marriage equality and additional equal rights are advancing under various Asian governments, the future of such change in China remains unclear. This ambiguity makes the work of LGBTQ advocates, like those we spoke to, vital in forging the path ahead.
Description
1 page.
Keywords
LGBTQ, China, Human Rights, Social Justice, Law