Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2012, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (6): 57-85.

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Exploring a New Relationship Model and Life Style: A Study of the Partnership and Family Practice among Gay Couples in Chengdu

  

  1. Author 1: WEI Wei, Department of Sociology, School of Social Development, East China Normal University； Author 2: CAI Siqing, Department of Sociology, School of Social Development, East China Normal University
  • Online:2012-11-20 Published:2012-11-20
  • Contact: WEI Wei, Department of Sociology, School of Social Development, East China Normal University. E-mail: weiw1974@hotmail.com.

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Abstract:

Abstract： Over the years Li Yinhe’s constant efforts to legalize samesex marriage have drawn public attention to the issues of partnership and family lives of lesbians and gay men, however, this topic is still rarely studied in the academia in China. Using indepth interviews and participant observation, the current field study of the tongzhi community in Chengdu carefully examined the partnership and family practice of gay couples in which they were pursuing an egalitarian partnership, reflecting on the current marriage institution and struggling for social recognition. The paper reviews the theoretical perspectives on “peer relationship” and “queer family”. The literature has indicated that the emergence and development of samesex partnership was a product of the vast social change in the past century which had profoundly transformed intimate relationship and family life. The paper also reviews the recent empirical studies that have corrected some deeprooted, rigid stereotypes of lesbians and gay men, thus having given them legitimacy to samesex relationship in society. Moving to the Chinese context, the authors first trace the transformed meaning of homosexual partnership from one type of extramarital affair outside the heterosexual marriage to a new kind of committed relationship for both partners. Behind this transformation, both historical tradition of homosexuality and contemporary sexual revolution in Chinese society are important factors. They also create new tensions that have deeply shaped the life choice of individual participants. Still far from being a common practice in Chengdu’s gay community, the longterm and exclusive homosexual partnership has nevertheless increasingly become the ideal relationship model sought after by most gay men. It is the increasing individual autonomy driven by free labor market and the privatization of housing that has laid out the structural foundation for this kind of new intimate relationship between men. Without any existing relationship model to follow, research participants in gay couple relationship have to constantly construct their own way of life in which they reflect on the heterosexual marriage institution on the one hand, and invent new discourses and norms to guide their relationship on the other hand. It is worth noting that the agency of these pioneers plays a significant role in constructing new life experiences in face of all kinds of structural constrains. Because gay partnership has yet legally recognized, it is crucial for gay couples to seek other forms of social support to work out a long and stable relationship. The paper also documents a variety of strategies employed by gay couples in their daily life to win the informal recognition from families, neighbors and workplaces. In conclusion, samesex relationship in today’s China is undergoing transformation driven by the rapid social change in Chinese society. Homosexual partnership has gradually separated from the dominant heterosexual kinship system and become an alternative but independent relationship model and family arrangement. Borrowing from the perspective of queer families and highlighting the agency embodied in our informants’ life practices, the authors discuss the implication of samesex partnership to the mainstream society and further advocate more institutional recognition of such grassroots practices.

Key words: family practice , Chengdu, gay partnership