LGBT cyber-activism in China: between censorship and freedom

4/07/2023

Taïmé Pacalon

Translated by Manon Picot

As early as 1911, the first works of Chinese sexology ignored sexual relations between people of the same sex^[1]Monteil, L. (2014, novembre 27). Usages et articulations de la perspective des scripts dans l’étude de la construction de l’homosexualité en Chine post-maoïste. Quarante ans après que … Continue reading. While sexual classification of homosexuality is included in Western sexology, Chinese sexology does not consider sexual desire outside heterosexuality. Influenced by the nationalist political agenda, sexuality was centered on reproduction^[2]Monteil, L. (2014, novembre 27). Usages et articulations de la perspective des scripts dans l’étude de la construction de l’homosexualité en Chine post-maoïste. Quarante ans après que … Continue reading: on the 1rst of May 1950, the new law on marriage was in line with the mores of the Communist Party, which restricted sexual relations to the marital context^[3]Monteil, L. (2014, novembre 27). Usages et articulations de la perspective des scripts dans l’étude de la construction de l’homosexualité en Chine post-maoïste. Quarante ans après que … Continue reading. At the time, same-sex marriage was prohibited. This law confirms the Chinese government’s conservatism in matters of sexuality, resulting in the rejection and absence of social rights for the LGBT population^[4]Here “LGBT” will be used to refer to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Intersex, asexual and other sexual minorities have not been studied in some cases. And “LGBTQIA+” … Continue reading.

EIt demonstrates the mores of China’s political current, which was Maoism until 1976. In this model, the government exercised strict control and supervision over sexuality: homosexuality was punishable, but indirectly, without being named^[5]Monteil, L. (2014, novembre 27). Usages et articulations de la perspective des scripts dans l’étude de la construction de l’homosexualité en Chine post-maoïste. Quarante ans après que … Continue reading. From 1979, it is under the category of “hooliganism” (liumangzui)^[6]“The crime of hooliganism (liumangzui), which was not specifically defined during the Maoist period due to the absence of a penal code, referred to all forms of behavior deemed to represent … Continue reading that homosexual relations were outlawed^[7]“The crime of hooliganism (liumangzui), which was not specifically defined during the Maoist period due to the absence of a penal code, referred to all forms of behavior deemed to represent … Continue reading. It was through the association of sodomy with hooliganism that men were punished under the guise of involvement in homosexual relationships or homosexual meeting places^[8]“The crime of hooliganism (liumangzui), which was not specifically defined during the Maoist period due to the absence of a penal code, referred to all forms of behavior deemed to represent … Continue reading.

For all that, the mention of homosexuality in the country’s law has always been absent. The absence of a specifically expressed offence of homosexuality as such is a consequence of its invisibility, a particularity of China’s relationship with these issues. And this invisibility continues to this day.

Apart from the “hidden criminalisation“ of homosexual encounters, banning representations of homosexuality is an historical practice in China. The lack of representations fuels misunderstanding and ignorance about non-heterosexual sexual orientations: “The lack of homosexuality’s cultural scenarios makes it impossible to understand any situation, any act involving two people of the same sex as potentially sexual or erotic” [loose translation].^[9]Monteil, L. (2014, novembre 27). Usages et articulations de la perspective des scripts dans l’étude de la construction de l’homosexualité en Chine post-maoïste. Quarante ans après que … Continue reading.

This ban on representations of homosexuality persists today. And thus, despite the fact that the category of hooliganism was decriminalised in 1990, when the Chinese LGBT movement began^[10]Monteil, T. H. & L. (2017). LGBT, chinois.e.s et connecté.e.s. La Vie des idées. https://laviedesidees.fr/LGBT-chinois-e-s-et-connecte-e-s.html. Today, cinema, literature and other media are banned from depicting homosexuals. For the internet also, a prohibition remains, but LGBT activists manage to bypass it. Within a context of censorship and propaganda on the internet, how are they using the web to campaign?

Censorship: a parent of invisibility

Censorship is a form of invisibilisation used in the Chinese context. It is organized through the internet, where the government defends a position of cyber-sovereignty. Unlike other countries, like the US, which have an open internet model, China gives more value to the control of the information, censoring the exchanges and taking care of its image on social media. And it does so in order to have a political power over its population. It uses a “Great Firewall”, filtrating and blocking data before they get uploaded.
To exert its censorship, China also relies on legal regulation, and among other things, the 2017 law on cyber-security implementing a pressure on online service suppliers. China was a pioneer with this kind of legislation because from 1994, suppliers are considered responsible for their user’s content, forcing them to control fraudulent activities. What is fraudulent or not is left under the evaluation of these platforms, even though the authorities often give directives. It includes all kinds of criticism against the government (for example criticism about the government’s “anti-LGBT” measures), sensitive information on human rights (including LGBT people) and religion, pornographic and violent content or hate speeches^[11]For more detail, see the 2017 law on cybersecurity and the 2015 law on national security.. Platforms therefore use filter and surveillance systems. However, they are never fully immune from losing their licence or being sanctioned. Thus, in 2018 the Chinese streaming platform iOivi was fined 100 000 yuans (around $14,000) for broadcasting a movie about LBGT community entitled “Looking for Rohmer”^[12]China’s iQiyi fined for showing ‘LGBT’ content in sign of tightening controls. (2018, 13 avril). Reuters. … Continue reading.

n China, 800 million internet users, representing 57% of the Chinese population, navigate and create content on the internet^[13]Gaudiaut, T. (2018, août 31). Infographie : 98 % des utilisateurs Internet chinois surfent via mobile. Statista Infographies. … Continue reading.Given these high numbers, it is difficult to control everything. The extent of the Internet use led to the emergence of online sub-cultures and countercultures, such as the LGBT one. Alongside this, a reinforcement of censorship under Xi Jinping, associated with a rise of conservatism, gave priority to censoring LGBT and feminist content. An example of that would be the Spring 2018 clean-up campaign on the Weibo network, a campaign aimed at removing “pornographic, violent or homosexuality related” content^[14]Arsène, S. (2019). La Chine et le contrôle d’Internet. Une cybersouveraineté ambivalente..  The reason the government has so much censorship strategies on the internet is because of its potential for LGBT activists. Despite these controls, the latter manage to impose their existence online.

Online visibility strategies of LGBT activists

News media, sociability websites, blogs, social media… Internet is a support platform for LGBTQIA+ people. The web is the tool to find information about minorities identities: and finding information is the first step to learn about sexual orientation and gender identities that are different from the established norm in a context that lacks representations. In China, it is especially due to this lack of cultural representation of sexuality’s diversity that the internet took such an important dimension in the LGBT movement^[15]Monteil, T. H. & L. (2017). LGBT, chinois.e.s et connecté.e.s. La Vie des idées. since its commercialization in 1997. Platforms dedicated to homosexuality were about ten in 1998, and grew up from 300 to 500 in 2004-2005^[16]Cui, Z. (Réalisateur). (2008). Queer China, « Comrade » China. [Chine Queer, “Camarade” Chine. … Continue reading. They occur in several forms, news, experience sharing, debates, and constitute the main safe places to express these marginalized identities.

However, the visibility of Chinese homosexuality on the web mainly appears with the self-writing. The online “unveiling” plays with the sensitization of the public, publishing stories and pictures about homosexuality: where homosexual couples or families accepting their LGBT child are depicted. It allows Internet’s users to see themselves in other’s people experiences, and to create positive imaginary of repressed sexual orientations. Gay and lesbian organizations Aibai Culture, Education Center or Danlan were partially built on the internet through these “self-writing” practices.

« Mama Wu » hold the blog Viola Tricolor, where she is the first mother to openly support her homosexual son in 2005^[17]Hong, T. (2022). De zhiqing à « mères d’enfants tongzhi » : Liens entre passé socialiste, présent réflexif et futur des personnes LGBTI+ en Chine (P.-L. Brunet, Trad.). Perspectives … Continue reading. She reinvents norms of parenthood by exposing her relation to hers, talking about acceptance ideal and love toward her son. As the visits to her blog increased, she became a pioneer in the movement of tongshi^[18]“Tongshi » (同志) ”Litteraly “comrade” tongzhi is a politically connotate term used by the Chinese world’s homosexual communities since the end of the 1980 to express their queer … Continue reading children’s parents in the construction of the 2000’s homosexual community. It is through this method that online Chinese activism distinguished itself. After 2005, Mothers of tongshi children use the blogosphere to destigmatize homosexuality, campaigning for the social inclusion of tongshi and their families. This Chinese specificity can be explained by the important place the family, as an institution, has in the Chinese society. Indeed, condemnation of homosexuality is extended to the family members, and especially to the parents, explaining their implications in the LGBT movement^[19]“Tongshi » (同志) ”Litteraly “comrade” tongzhi is a politically connotate term used by the Chinese world’s homosexual communities since the end of the 1980 to express their queer … Continue reading. Self-narrative through websites and social networks is one of the most widespread forms of activism in China. In the same way, movies, videos and protean art are circulating on the web. Indeed, popular media are the ideal tool for LGBT activism^[20]Zheng, T. (2017). Elisabeth L. Engebretsen et William F. Schroeder, avec Hongwei Bao (éds.), Queer/Tongzhi China : New Perspectives on Research, Activism and Media Cultures,[ Queer/Tongzhi China : … Continue reading, as it is easily accessible and has a large audience. The discovery of LGBT identity sometimes even happens thanks to hacked movies that are not broadcasted in cinemas^[21]Hong, T. (2022). De zhiqing à « mères d’enfants tongzhi » : Liens entre passé socialiste, présent réflexif et futur des LGBT en Chine (P.-L. Brunet, Trad.). Perspectives chinoises, … Continue reading. An example can be the bilingual web-serie Queer Comrades, censored when it was created. Through this cultural publicization, LGBT activists filled up the lack of representation of their community in the Chinese society. Thus, they are actors·esses of their own representation and can blossom in a positive and destigmatizing incarnation.

Giving visibility to queer identities^[22]At the beginning, the term “queer”, meaning “weird” was an insult against the LGBT community. However, the activists began to reclaim the term, reversing the stigma and giving the term a … Continue reading is crucial, but the LGBT movement also aims at gaining social rights. Thus, the idea of lobbying the decision-making bodies to obtain progress in the law is also at stake. Advertising some trials against the government is a practice that transgress Chinese censorship. Activists engaged themselves in judicial proceedings against institutions, public or private agents. And sometimes, through this mean, activists succeed in changing the law in their favour. Internet plays a major role in this kind of judicial affair. Thanks to the discussions taking place in the web, mobilization are organised, fueled by the visibility of these trials. The first example released at a large scale happened in May 2014, when the people’s court of the Haidan district in Beijing attacked the “conversion therapy” offered by a private clinic^[23]Docteurs, L. rédaction d’Allo. (2014, juillet 31). Chine : Première plainte contre une clinique « “traitant” » l’homosexualité. AlloDocteurs. … Continue reading. t originated from a victim, talking about a violent therapy, based on electroshock, they received in a Chongqing clinic^[24]Docteurs, L. rédaction d’Allo. (2014, juillet 31). Chine : Première plainte contre une clinique « “traitant” » l’homosexualité. AlloDocteurs. … Continue reading.

In this case, Baidu, a Chinese search engine, was also attacked because of the discriminatory referencing it adopts. Indeed, the first results appearing with the clinic realizing the conversion therapies were linked with the word “homosexuality”^[25]Monteil, T. H. & L. (2017). LGBT, chinois.e.s et connecté.e.s. La Vie des idées. https://laviedesidees.fr/LGBT-chinois-e-s-et-connecte-e-s.html. Important progress were made: the court recognized the advertising fallacy, based on the recognition made by the Chinese government in 2001 that homosexuality was not a medical pathology. This first decision follow 7 “LGBT trials” admissible through the courts and giving visibility to LGBT rights within the absence of anti-discrimination laws.

Strategies for action and militant organisation on the internet

Online mobilization gives power to pro-LGBT judicial proceedings. Indeed, activists use the organizational and social aspect of the internet to overcome classic activist practices. PFLAG China, an important non-governmental association that supports LGBT people in China, used the internet to expand its activities(PFLAG China. (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PFLAG_China&oldid=983388311)).As a pioneer with the first Chinese helpline for LGBT people, and organizing conferences, working groups and sharing events, this association gathers a network of 2 000 volunteers, including 500 parents, and is located in almost twenty cities and provinces^[26]Monteil, T. H. & L. (2017). LGBT, chinois.e.s et connecté.e.s. La Vie des idées. https://laviedesidees.fr/LGBT-chinois-e-s-et-connecte-e-s.html. It insures an uninterrupted service thanks to chat groups and accounts in QQ, WeChat and Weibo^[27]Monteil, T. H. & L. (2017). LGBT, chinois.e.s et connecté.e.s. La Vie des idées. https://laviedesidees.fr/LGBT-chinois-e-s-et-connecte-e-s.html. Live shows are also organized in dating applications such as Blued or Rela. While LGBT young people are twice as likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual peers^[28]Goldbach, J. T., Rhoades, H., Green, D., Fulginiti, A., & Marshal, M. P. (2019). Is There a Need for LGBT-Specific Suicide Crisis Services? [Existe-t-il un besoin de services d’aide au … Continue reading, it is important to have such counseling services. These discussion networks are aimed at compensating the isolation of LGBT people, and participate in the coordination, visibility and mutual aid for people, for example when a coming out is not accepted by the family.

LGBT activists made the Internet their favorite media because of the numerous interconnections it offers. Thanks to these interconnections, activist’s organizations and actions are growing in scale nationally and internationally, as the internet accentuates their development and coordination. It provides financial and intellectual resources: annual shared experienced camps between lesbian activists from China, Hong-Kong, Taiwan and North America, organized by the network Chinese Laka Alliance, created in 2007, illustrates it well^[29]Monteil, T. H. & L. (2017). LGBT, chinois.e.s et connecté.e.s. La Vie des idées. https://laviedesidees.fr/LGBT-chinois-e-s-et-connecte-e-s.html.

Professionalization and marketization of Chinese activism

Digital data offered by the web are also a major resource for economic stakeholders. Indeed, they give more information about the queer audience, its measures and study, easing the personalization of services and products. Even if it remains a mean of control, it also gives the community more visibility and adapted offers to the need of the LGBT population, leading to a better consideration of queer identities’ specificities. The queer community feeling thus more understood and considered.
LGBTQIA+ were often approached through economy. As a weak and marginalized group, it requires even more safe places and specific products. Thus, Chinese LGBT community is a real “pink market”, representing one third of the American pink market^[30]Huang, S., & Wong, T. S.-T. (2019). ’More coming out, bigger market’ : Queer visibility and queer subjectivity in the Chinese pink market. [“Plus coming out, plus gros marché” : … Continue reading.

However, the specificity of the Chinese case lies in the opportunity to break away from State control by campaigning in the private sector. Indeed, private structures are less supervised by the State than public structures, as they are financially independent from the government. Thus, the professionalization of activism helps to strengthen the movement by establishing activism as an income. Some LGBT activities and organizations are sponsored by the private sector, that takes advantage of the opportunity for advertisement. There is a real porosity between activism and professionalism. For example, many activists work for the creation of LGBT dating applications or other products in the commercial sector. The professionalization of activism can be explained by China’s positive view on entrepreneurship, emphasizing economic activities.
Professionalization of activism illustrated by the pink market represents another strategy to escape from the anti-LGBT online censorship of the government.

Conclusion

Tik Tok, a social network that gained popularity within the last years, developed its marketing on the visibilization of LGBTQIA+ people. On the other side, Douvin, the Chinese version, censors LGBT content. It illustrates well Chinese activist’s issues on the internet. The government developed censoring and controlling strategies, without hesitating to fuel people’s fear. However, activists use the Internet which offers so many possibilities that it allows them to bypass censorship. Giving visibility is a method used by activists who managed to maintain an LGBT presence on the web. All of this would have never existed without the activists organizing and coordinating interconnections or developing their organizations on the web. Activism culminates when professionalized by the private sector. It is the “pink market” that legitimized the LGBT community by its economic power that provides the independence from the government. The pressure and bypassing of LGBT activists on the government allow them to have a real presence and impact. This practice of cyber-activism can be observed at a wider level in the world. Indeed, new media changed the perception of homosexuality and its representations^[31]Zeineb Touati, « Surexposition numérique et stratégies de médiatisation des LGBT en Tunisie », ILCEA [En ligne], 46 | 2022, mis en ligne le 02 mars 2022, consulté le 15 juin 2023. URL : … Continue reading. LGBT activists use technical progress to spread their activism. Thus, the progression of communication tools will be used in the fight for LGBT rights.

To quote this production : Taïmé Pacalon (2023). LGBT cyber-activism in China: between censorship and freedom. Gender in Geopoitics Institute. https://igg-geo.org/?p=14884&lang=en

The statements in this article are the sole responsibility of the author.

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