Gender Conservatism and Anti-LGBT Ideology in China: A Discourse Analysis of Public Perceptions on Paris Olympics

• In Event: 41021 - Student Forum Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Roundtable 3: The Political Economy of China

Abstract

Gender conservatism and anti-LGBT ideology have gained increasing influence in China, paralleling the rise of global right-wing “gender-critical” movements. The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, which featured LGBT actors and depictions of non-monogamous relationships, sparked substantial discussion on Chinese social media, where gender-conservative and anti-LGBT discourses overwhelmingly dominated. This paper examines the factors shaping negative public perceptions of LGBT and non-normative representations in China. By reviewing historical and contemporary gender politics, it highlights the paradoxes and nuances embedded in the tensions between traditional values and various forms of liberalism in contemporary Chinese society. Through a discourse analysis of blog posts on popular Chinese news platforms ("Tencent," "NetEase," "Sohu," and "Toutiao") discussing gender and LGBT themes in the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, this study identifies four key patterns of gender conservatism and anti-LGBT ideology in China: the perceived speculative privileges of LGBT individuals, pronatalist imperatives in population planning, nationalist rhetoric of salvation, and the decentering of “genderism.” This paper argues that a transnational approach—one that considers both China’s socio-political contexts and global right-wing mobilizations against “gender” and LGBT identities—is essential to understanding the rise of gender conservatism and anti-LGBT ideology in China.

Authors

• Xinxin Xu, Peking University

• Heng Simone Wang, The University of British Columbia