LGBT Discrimination in China

China boasts of having the largest population. It is also a country with the most lesbian, gay, and transgender (LGBT) population. Until recently, the LGBT population was a secret and a hidden phenomenon among the Chinese. However, although a legal prosecution was repealed in 1997, the LGBT community are still discriminated against and ridiculed. The LGBT community in China undergoes myriad legal and social challenges that do not affect non-LGBT individuals.

Homosexuality has been banned in China since 1949 and was considered a crime under the ‘hooliganism’ law. However, in the 1980s, China reenacted its policies that started social and cultural changes that decriminalized homosexuality in 1997. Furthermore, these 1980s reforms saw the removal of homosexuality from the list of mental disorders in 2001. Moreover, people who underwent surgery to change their gender were allowed to change their gender in identification documents like passports.

China has made milestones towards eradicating discrimination concerning sexual orientation, a move that could see the end of years of discrimination. However, in August 2021, a National People’s Congress representative dismissed same-sex marriage because it contradicts Chinese culture stressing that China’s marriage system only recognizes marriage between “man and woman” (Kelleher). A survey found that discrimination towards LGBT people is common in the workplace and their daily lives (Wang et al.). Among thousands of survey respondents reported that they have been victims of different forms of discrimination in their workplace resulting from their sexual orientation. The discrimination of this population is due to a lack of enough protection by the law.

Many people in China are still going through mental, physical, and social problems due to their sexual orientation. Same-sex marriages have not been made legal yet and are still considered an act against Chinese culture. This has created more suspicion and discrimination towards the LGBT community in China. There is a need to understand the major reasons behind the increased discrimination of LGBT individuals to aid in coming up with a lasting solution that will end the discrimination of this population in China.

Works Cited

Kelleher, Patrick. “China Insists That Marriage Will Be ‘between a Man and a Woman’ As LGBT+ Activists Demand Equality.” PinkNews | Latest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans News | LGBT+ News, 22 May 2020, www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/05/22/same-sex-marriage-china-lgbt-sun-wenlin-national-peoples-congress/.

Wang, Yuanyuan, et al. “Mapping out a Spectrum of the Chinese Public’s Discrimination Toward the LGBT Community: Results from a National Survey.” BioMed Central, 12 May 2020, bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-08834-y.

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