This week in Shanghaiist
The Shanghai Fag Hag is back! After an extended and highly enjoyable break from China, we have returned, just in time for the release of Li Yinhe's (our personal, sexologist hero!) Homosexuality Survey. Peijin Chen, has done an awesome translation of the survey on his blog, but we'll give you a few highlights. Not to give it all away, but this fairy queen found the answers surprisingly enlightened:
- When asked if they thought heterosexuals and homosexuals are equal individuals, just over 80% said yes. (I know it's not 100%, but we are getting there.)
- 91% said that they ought to have equal employment rights.
- Almost 30% said they would support gay marriages. (Go California!)
- Only 7.5% of the people interviewed said they knew someone that was homosexual. (Could it be because some gay people we know in China are in heterosexual marriages and have a child? More on that later....)
Let us know what you hear on the gay grapevine at shanghaifaghag [at] gmail.com!
P.S. We love Pete's LGBT column in City Weekend. It's about time something was put in print regularly about gay people in Shanghai!
Previously on Shanghaiist
Li Yinhe on the recent porn crackdowns
Li Yinhe fires back
'Respected professor upsetting the sexual apple cart'
Porno kings, stiff bananas and cyber sex ed
Photo by eyewareprincess
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I see hope in those numbers, hope that things can only get better for gay people everywhere. In some ways, I would wager that the average Chinese person is more tolerant than many here in the USA, especially in the religious-zealot southern states.
I wonder if other gay expats (or not gay) have noticed that the incidence of homosexuality among Chinese men is really low compared to other ethnicities? Before I moved here I would have scoffed if someone said the same thing to me. But it's undeniable. And the argument that Chinese men get married to cover it up isn't the answer. So do Westerners, but you can still tell they're gay regardless, or I certainly can. You just do not see anything like the same number of gay Chinese men. I can't be the first person to have noticed this. I wonder if there is there any literature about it?
The incidence of homosexuality isn't "low". The queens just haven't come out of their closets.
^exactly. The vast majority of homosexuals are not "noticeable", meaning you'd never know just by looking at them that they are gay. Perhaps you encounter many gay people daily but unless they tell you, you'd not know it.
Now, as to those not "coming out", I do think that currently not as many Chinese "come out" due to the still-strong traditional requirement that a son produce an heir, and the feeling that you're not a complete person if you do not have a child. That is nowhere near as prevalent in western societies. I would wager that there are many times more gay Chinese in heterosexual marriages of convenience than there are in western countries.
"I would wager that there are many times more gay Chinese in heterosexual marriages of convenience than there are in western countries."
That is because it is more acceptable to be gay in the US and EU, companies extend benefits to "domestic partners".
fuzi
"I would wager that the average Chinese person is more tolerant than many here in the USA, especially in the religious-zealot southern states."
Really? Towards people with dark skin? Especially blacks who date Chinese girls? Towards not towing the CCP line? Towards questioning the "one china owns everything policy"?
So when will the authorities allow gay pride parades?
Bad China.
I was not commenting upon race relations or ideology, simply tolerance for gay people. At least in China there isn't the religion-fueled hatred and intentional spread of lies and bigotry by those hiding behind their "faith".