Torture and Love: Wives of Chinese Gay Men and Their Cyber Communities

Men in Mixed-Orientation Marriages in Contemporary China: Unpacking the Role of Heteronormativity and Patriarchy

“…(Respondent F, 49 years, Gay) Two other participants followed a similar pattern of entering into MOMs while expecting to keep their same-sex relationship intact. These findings are in line with the work of Fu & Zhang (2013) and Liu (2020), who concluded that some Chinese tongzhi enter into MOMs with women while maintaining short-or long-term relationships with a same-sex partner. Here, although these tongzhi deviate from heteronormative expectations and could be considered as an example of "subordinate masculinity" (Connell, 2005), at the same time, it is patriarchal norms and gender hierarchies which gives space for these men to exercise gender privilege within their marriage (i.e., as men they may have expected to be able to continue their "outside" relationship), in turn reinforcing heteropatriarchy.…”

“…Most of these findings highlight social and family pressures as reasons that push tongzhi into entering MOMs. Typical reasons cited include Chinese traditional cultural customs and beliefs, especially related to familial duty and importance of male progeny (Chou, 2000; Kong, 2011; Li, 2009; Steward et al, 2013; Tang & Liu, 2014), family pressure (Wang, 2011; Zheng, 2015), lack of self-acceptance and hiding their sexual orientation (Li, 2009; Liu, 2020; Tang & Liu, 2014), the need to acquire a divorced identity to live a single life (Li, 2009), and polices including the one-child policy and illegality of same-sex marriage (Hildebrandt, 2018; Tang & Liu, 2014). Only a few researchers have found positive reasons, such as emotional needs (Tang & Liu, 2014).…”

“…By some estimates, there are around 14–16 million tongqi in China (Tang, 2018; Tsang, 2021; Wang et al, 2020) and it is estimated that approximately 80% of Chinese tongzhi marry a heterosexual woman in their lifetime (Tang, 2018). Previous research on MOMs in China have focused more on the experiences of wives of gay men ( tongqi ) and highlighted the adverse risks of physical, emotional, and mental well-being in these non-normative marriages (Liu, 2020; Tang, 2018; Tsang, 2021; Wang et al, 2020; Xing, 2012). In contrast, there has been relatively little analysis of MOMs from the point of view of the experiences of men ( tongzhi) .…”

Chinese Lesbian and Gay Adults’ Self-Reported Experiences of Negative Treatment and Violence From Family of Origin: Evidence From a Larger-Scale Study in China

“…Wang et al, 2020;Zhu, 2018). They are a hidden population in China that faces a high risk of intimate partner violence, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases infection, sex coercion, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and depressive symptoms (Liu, 2020;Pandya et al, 2012;Tang et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020;Yan et al, 2022). The second option for lesbian and gay Chinese people is to arrange a cooperative marriage between a gay man and a lesbian, maintaining a facade of being in a heterosexual couple relationship (Engebretsen, 2015;Kam, 2013;Wang, 2019).…”

Entrepreneurial Solidarities: Social Media Collectives and Filipino Digital Platform Workers

“…Our aim is to broaden the discussion on labor solidarities beyond the current emphasis on the possibilities of new models for formal unionizing in digital workplaces (Graham & Anwar, 2019; Jaffe, 2019; Wood, 2015). We also consider other forms of worker association that have crystallized in social media, which so often become sites that collapse the boundaries of everyday socialities and political organization (Miller et al, 2016; for examples, see Belair-Gagnon Agur & Frisch, 2016; Liu, 2020).…”