Chinese ‘gay wives’ stuck in marriage

An estimated 10 million Chinese women are married to gay men, according to retired Qingdao University professor Zhang Beichuan. The wives are often trapped in unhappy unions since they can’t easily leave due to Chinese law and the social stigma this would hold, Reuters reported.

Zhang, citing a survey of more than 1,500 Chinese gay men, estimates that 80 to 90 percent of gay men in China intend to marry or have already married.

China’s Confucian tradition, together with its one-child policy, has increased pressure on homosexual men to conform to heterosexual norms, Zhang said. But breaking free from such marriages is not easy in China. Divorce rates are rapidly rising but divorce is still considered shameful, especially for women.
Chinese law is quite vague on this issue and offers little help to women who might have difficulties proving their husbands are in homosexual relationships and thus the women can’t find a way out through divorce.

(China.org.cn March 9, 2012)

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