by Aibai in 2012 found that 1.4 percent described themselves as transgender. 77 percent
of the 421 interviewees had been bullied in school because of their sexual orientation51 or
gender identity, among whom 59 percent felt that bullying had a negative effect on their
studies.52
Sex education in China is still weak and is often not part of the mainstream Chinese
educational curriculum. Where it exists, sex education places an emphasis on abstinence and
premarital chastity and rarely on sexual diversity or even sexual health. 53 This results in a very
limited understanding of different kinds of sexual or gender orientation and does nothing to
reduce stigma and bias toward these groups.
A 2011 survey of attitudes and influence factors toward the LGBT community among 1,762
university students in five universities in the Chongqing and Chengdu regions found that
16.8% of those surveyed felt that being transgender was acceptable, and 12.6% felt they
could accept a date with a transgender person. Among those surveyed, 4.2% felt that their
own gender identity was at variance with their biological gender. The survey concluded that
a LGBT community existed among university students, but that university students generally
had negative and conservative attitudes towards LGBT people.54
In recent years, as Chinese society has gradually
Public Attitudes
become more open and the internet and
television have flourished, transgender people
have increasingly entered the public’s field of
vision. China’s most famous transgender woman
is the modern dancer Jin Xing who very publicly
underwent gender reaffirming surgeries in 1995.
Among 1,762 university students
in five Chinese universities in
2011, only 16.8% felt that being
transgender was acceptable.53
missing from the finals contest of one program,
Among 500 randomly selected
students at China’s Southwest
University, students only tolerated
“ladyboys” if the phenomenon
didn’t affect themselves or
people close to them; once it
crossed this boundary, it became
reportedly because the State Administration of
unacceptable.63
Since 2010, Jin Xing has served on the evaluation
panels of some television talent shows, and her
incisive and candid style has attracted widespread
attention. However, in 2011, Jin Xing was
Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television
(SARFT) had forced her out because she was
51 A person’s sexual and emotional attraction to members of the same gender, the opposite gender, or both genders.
52 Aibai Culture and Educational Center. “ Report of the Online survey on Homophobia and Trans-phobia Bully at Educational Institutions campus bullying.” May
2012. http://www.aibai.com/ebook/library/ebook_aibai/download/2012/11/8/Report%20of%20the%20Online%20Survey%20on%20Homophobia%20and%20
Trans-phobia%20Bully(1).pdf (accessed September 19, 2014).
53 UNDP, USAID, “Being LGBT in Asia: China Country Report,” Bangkok, 2014. http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1861/Being%20LGBT%20in%20
Asia%20China%20Country%20Report-Eng.pdf (accessed September 20, 2014).
54 Zhang Peichao, Chi Xinli et al. “Cognitive survey of homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals in universities.” [性性性性性性性性性性性性性性性性性性性]China Public Health, Vol.
28, No. 7(2012): 921-923.
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