Comradeship // Freechat

I've only visited China, and my chinese freinds haven't talked about this issue before, so all my experience is from the chinese internet. I would be interested in a more in depth analysis if it exists.

I've only seen one person on Rednote talking about trans issues openly, and they were careful to make their content primarily in English. They claimed that making the content in chinese would get them more online harrassment which they didn't want to deal with. It's not that everyone is a problem, but there are enough of them to make it very unpleasant. While transition can be legally done, requiring surgery as others have pointed out, it is still difficult socially.

This same creator had one video where they pointed out that younger people are generally more accepting, but not universally so, and older generations are rarely understanding or accepting. That being said, they do make it clear that the culture is shifting, it's just going to take time.

Regarding same sex couples, it's a mixed bag as well. The media has to skirt around explicit relationships much of the time, but will include very heavily coded characters. There was the legal case a year or so back regarding the rights of same sexual couples as it relates to their children. There was a post here on lemmygrad about this a while back. The relationship was not considered legally relevant in that case, but they did rule in favour of the children being of both parents because one acted as a surrogate. There's some hope there, but it's a long, long way to go.

I'm hopeful that we'll see things change in the next few decades as in Vietnam and Cuba, but that's just vibes. It could be better, but it's certainly not the worst in the world.

I've heard a lot of similar things in my time browsing Chinese social media. I didn't see much of any LGBT presence when I visited there years ago, so everything I'm saying is white boy western speculation, but -

Identity-based cultural changes move much faster in liberalized countries with a strong focus on the individual. That's the only reason why transgender rights have progressed as fast as they have in the past two decades. I'm not making a value statement here on either liberalization or the rapid onset of transgender acceptance in the west. I just think the TQ+ side of the equation found easier footing in the west because they worship the individual (Not that I would describe the cultural change as 'easy' in general).

My general read of the situation based off what memes are deemed acceptable on Chinese social media is that LGB rights aren't as hotly contested as TQ+ rights, and the Chinese cultural climate is still in a period of change regarding this. There's no specific anti-discrimination laws based on sexuality, for example, but the rates of homosexuality in the population is observed as roughly the same in the west. This suggests people aren't repressing their sexuality any more than they already are in the west.

You also see almost no anti homosexual sentiment on social media, but anti transgender sentiment is very common (again, based on personal experience with their social media feeds. YMMV)

I think it's inevitable that China catches up in this regard, it will just take longer. The thing about minority groups is they'll usually end up organizing and advocating for themselves in political ways. For the time being, I wouldn't celebrate China as a cultural bastion for sexual minorities or anything.

i mean, china has lots of people, and inside the internet, the most crazy and outrageous make the most noise everywhere...pobody's nerfect but:

china has shooting sprees on lgbt clubs like america?

they are legally declared as "mentally ill" like they do in some parts of latam?

they're killed like they do in some parts of arabic world?

maybe it's just "internet stuff" in china, but maybe i'm wrong

During my time on Rednote I've only really found people to be very kind and supportive but I have little real life experience because I've unfortunately never been to China.

I can't speak too much about the other experiences lived by LGB people because I just don't know enough to accurately say, I've heard mixed things, but for trans people I've heard interesting things. Generally there seems to be a larger concentration of trans people in Beijing and Guangdong. General acceptance can vary but living a happy life is certainly possible from what I have seen. I once had a conversation with a person on the topic who had been to China for the purpose of learning about and helping trans people in China. I think the most interesting thing they said about the subject is they had never in their entire time encountered a single trans person who was homeless.

Transitioning is legal but requires surgery (That is to say, you have to have surgery before your ID legal documents can be updated to reflect your accurate credentials) and gender affirming care is restricted. I am not sure how restricted but I do know that recieving care is possible as there are gender clinics in the country. As far as I was aware I did not think there were any other protections in place for LGBTQ+ people in the country but your friend says the opposite so for that I don't know what to think but I'd probably take their word on that over mine. I really can't speak to how the general populace views the average trans person but it largely seems to be mixed and depends on which region you are in and who you speak to.

Generally I think for a trans person it isn't the worst place to live, I'd certainly rather live there than terf island but there is room for improvement. I do hope China will take inspiration from Vietnam and Cuba's example in the future and I'm optimistic about that.

I wish I could paint a more accurate picture for you but that's all I know from my brief investigation and limited information. I hope it helps you.

Hmm, interesting. What I know related to LGBTQ+ in China come from these two documentaries and interviews:

• What's it like being LGBTQ+ in China? from Youtuber Aiden Qiu邱大 -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmlC8QLfe74

• LGBT in China from CGTN -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doAh4ZhGhsY

Some of the videos above take places in big cities like Chongqing and Chengdu. Hope this helps you in your investigation to learn more about this topic in China.

There isn't systemic repression against gay people in China. Homosexuality was not historically a cultural taboo in China. There have never been limits on serving in the Chinese military based on sexuality. Maybe some reactionary cultures exist in certain places in China but they are imported.