One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Transgender Rights in China

Independent Taiwanese news outlet The Reporter published a series of articles this month about the lives of transgender youths and how their families and friends navigated their transition. Compared to Taiwan, however, media coverage of trans people in China is generally less open-minded, writes Dalia Parete at China Media Project. Her most recent addition to the CMP Dictionary“Tranny (人妖)”—highlights the bigotry that continues to saturate online Chinese discourse around trans people:

[I]n Chinese media, particularly across the Taiwan Strait in the mainland PRC, another, more offensive moniker lives on: renyao (人妖). Literally “human monster,” it is variously translated as “ladyboy” or “tranny.” The term is considered a slur according to modern sensibilities, directed at feminine-presenting people assigned male at birth. But it has a history that goes back to some of China’s earliest dynasties.

[…] Today, renyao is still widely used in Chinese media — and it hasn’t lost its sting. One of the latest examples can be found in a blog post to the web portal Sohu (搜狐网). It follows the story of a wealthy Chinese businessman named Bao Xi (鲍玺) and Nisha (妮莎), a trans woman from Thailand who won the transgender beauty pageant “Miss Tiffany’s Universe.” The post recounts the trajectory of their relationship from their first meeting to their marriage, highlighting the couple’s challenges and struggles. While it tries to tell a love story, however, the post still has judgemental undertones. Nisha is ultimately denied her womanhood, described as “looking like a woman but actually being a man.” The businessman Bao Xi is depicted as her savior, plucking her from the undignified existence normally the lot of renyao. [Source]

In one development covered by both Chinese and Western media last month, aspiring influencer Ling’er won the first lawsuit in China over conversion therapy involving a transgender person. Her mother had overruled her protests and had her involuntarily hospitalized for 97 days in order to try to change her gender identity. In the hospital, she was forced to undergo multiple rounds of electroshock therapy, given psychiatric medication, and told to cut her hair short and wear men’s clothing. (A 2019 survey of 385 trans teenagers in China found that almost one in five had been forced into conversion therapy.) Lavender Au wrote in Foreign Policy last week about the legal leverage Chinese parents hold over their trans children and the barriers it poses:

In China, the need to obtain parental consent for gender-affirming care forces families to resolve their differences about the procedure ahead of time, dealing with drama or disagreements inside the family. According to Cherry, an LGBTQ+ organization worker, who requested the use of a pseudonym to protect their safety, the requirement exists to avoid parents causing a stir at the hospital.

It is also the product of a Confucian and patriarchal way of organizing society, Cherry said. For instance, police who want to put pressure on young queer activists often visit their parents’ workplaces and out them—so that the target has to deal with the ensuing family drama. “The person is managed through the family so they don’t become a problem in the public domain,” Cherry said.

[…] “There is a saying: Your body, your hair, your skin is from your parents,” said a doctor working in fertility who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to media. Ties between generations are close: “Most parents will think you’re always their child and that they have authority over you,” she said. To her knowledge, gender-affirming surgery is the only surgery undertaken by adults in China that legally requires parental consent. Other major or high-risk surgeries, such as heart surgery, often require a family member’s consent, but it can come from another direct relative or a spouse.

[…] The barrier posed by parental consent has led to the growth of a gray industry of illegal surgeries and hormone replacement drugs in China. People exploring their sexuality and gender identity often turn to sources outside the public medical system for guidance. [Source]

In November, the Los Angeles Times reported that “China’s queer influencers thrive despite growing LGBTQ+ censorship.” But repressive measures by authorities have increasingly restricted the visibility of popular trans figures. This month, Chris Lau at CNN reported on what many fans fear is a growing crackdown on the iconic transgender dancer, choreographer, and TV celebrity Jin Xing:

But a recent series of sudden and unexplained cancelations by local authorities of appearances by her dance troupe has sparked fears Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s authoritarian drive is ensnaring the country’s most prominent openly transgender personality.

[…] Jin, however, has managed to carve out a decades-long career that defies the norm. She sells out concerts, hosts TV talk shows and boasts 13.6 million followers on her Weibo social media account. More remarkably, she has managed over the years to secure the endorsement of Communist Party officials.

[…] Late last year, authorities in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou canceled her Jin Xing Dance Theater’s show, citing insufficient documents. Subsequently, venues in other parts of the country also dropped her shows, without explanation.

[…] Some from the transgender community are now worried that Chinese authorities are trying to send a message. [Source]

Other parts of the LGBTQ+ community in China have also been recently targeted by authorities. In December, Chinese media reported that Anhui police had detained over 50 writers of gay erotica across the country since June and given them prison sentences of up to four and half years. Some said they had to pay heavy fines to reduce their sentences. Netizens criticized the punishments as being both overly severe (in some cases, a longer prison sentence than that for rapists) and based on legally dubious grounds (because Anhui police imposed large fines on targets in faraway provinces, arguably to help fill their coffers). Two essays on WeChat that presented these criticisms were later censored.

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