What Is the Chinese School Context Regarding LGBTQ Issues? Bringing Together the Queer Concept of Heteronormativity and the Confucian Idea of “Li” (Poster 23)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 3:20 p.m.
  In Poster Session: Division G: Section 2 Poster Session

Abstract

Drawing on the Confucian idea of ‘li’, understood here as ‘norms’ in Chinese society, and the queer concept of heteronormativity, I propose a novel concept of ‘Confucian heteronormativity’ to better explain how gender and sexual norms are (re)produced and (re)negotiated within a Confucianism-rooted context. I argue Confucian heteronormativity functions by fostering societal ‘sameness’ and compelling individuals to conform to established norms through the educational influence of elders, as well as by encouraging ‘self-restraint’ to align with these norms in daily life. I elucidate this framework to explore the Chinese school context concerning LGBTQ issues. Through analysing interview data from 25 LGBTQ schoolteachers, I uncover the ways in which Chinese schools function as spaces influenced by both heteronormative and Confucian ideas.

Author

• Weiyuan Wu, University of Manchester