China’s only big LGBT celebration, Shanghai Pride, has not occurred since 2020, when police interrogated several of its organisers
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskIt was never easy to be gay in China, where the government cares little about the rights of sexual minorities.activists were allowed some space in the early years of President Xi Jinping’s reign, even as he crushed other parts of civil society. Last year, though,societies at several universities saw their social-media accounts closed for unspecified violations.
These policies reflect a belief among China’s leaders that sexual orientation can be socially engineered, says Darius Longarino of Yale University. “The party is afraid that forces outside its control had been changing the cultural landscape so much that it was going to change the sexual orientation or gender of China’s youth.” Now it wants to make young people “normal” and “healthy” according to its own vision, says Mr Longarino.
Another potential avenue is conversion therapy, which is still legal, despite the efforts of Peng Yanzi, an activist. Mr Peng voluntarily underwent hypnotism and electric shocks intended to “cure” his homosexuality. In 2014 he sued the clinic and won, receiving an apology. The ruling, which stated that same-sex attraction is not an illness, received sympathetic media coverage. For a time it seemed as if things might improve for gay people in China.
But the case did not change the law, which discounts the rights of sexual minorities. Mr Peng’s group,Rights Advocacy China, closed last year amid pressure from the authorities. Today there is much less discussion ofHis voice, though, broke through. “Will You Look at Me” was not released in China, but it has been pirated and shared online. On Douban, a Chinese film site, it has received thousands of positive reviews.