Parental Influence on Adult Homosexual’s Nominal Marriage in China

• In Event: 423 - Regular Session. Family and Kinship in Diverse Settings

Abstract

Based on data collected about how parents influence their homosexual adult children’s nominal marriage (xing shi hun yin) decisions and processes, this paper explores the relationship between family, sexuality and marriage in Post-socialist China. Nominal marriage refers to a marriage legally conducted between a gay and a lesbian to create the appearance of heterosexuality and to meet the marriage expectation by their families. The paper identifies five mechanisms, namely community pressure, relatives’ intervention, parental investment and expectations of reciprocity, norms of filial piety, and grandchildren and family continuity, through which parents influence their homosexual adult children’s decision to practice nominal marriage. It also examines five strategies, including avoiding family gatherings, minimizing involvement in family matters, making concessions, maintaining baselines, and delaying decisions, that couples in nominal marriages use to negotiate boundaries between filial piety and individual autonomy. By so doing, the paper illuminates the continued influence of Chinese families on their members’ lives, but concomitantly shed lights on the growing desire for individuals to retain some autonomy and the strategies used to achieve it among the younger generation of Chinese.

Authors

• Susanne Yukping Choi, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Ming Luo, The Chinese University of Hong Kong