FENGQIANG WANG: LGB+ Coming Out to Their Parents in Mainland China [PGR]

Coming out to parents is a pivotal life event for many non-heterosexual individuals. Drawing on my PhD research, this paper explores the experiences of Chinese gay and lala young adults’ coming out to their parents, specifically how parents react to their child’s sexual orientation disclosure. Employing a qualitative methodology, this study adopt semi-structured interviews with 13 young adults and 14 parents, comprising 13 dyadic interviews with parents and adult children together first, and 13 individual follow-up interviews with the young adults afterwards. The findings reveal a spectrum of reactions from parents, ranging from shock and disbelief, distress, resolution, dismissal, and consoling. Notably, parents’ reaction are often gendered, with mothers showing more emotional expressions and fathers being more reserved. Furthermore, this study indicates how historical misconceptions shapes how they perceive and react to their child’s coming out as they interpret their child’s sexual orientation as an illness. Additionally, child’s sexual orientation was considered as a consequence of inadequate paternal involvement in child’s formative years. These findings highlight the complexity of parental responses and their profound implications on Chinese family dynamics.

Fengqiang Wang (pronouns: he/ta), is currently a PhD candidate in Social Policy at the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol. Fengqiang’s PhD explores intergenerational relationships within Chinese families, particularly focusing on the experiences of LGB+ young adults navigating the process of disclosing their non-heterosexual identities to their parents. Fengqiang holds an MSc in Education from the University of Edinburgh. The research areas he is interested in includes Chinese family, parent-child relationships, sexuality and gender, coming out, childhood education, youth mental health.

MCI’s PGR workshops are lunchtime seminars held in person at the Manchester China Institute. They seek to bring together students, faculty, and staff who can best provide feedback as postgraduate researchers develop their ideas. Free lunch will be provided.

The MCI is a listed building and therefore does not have any lifts. Please note that you must use the stairs in order to access the venue and the toilets.

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Host or Publisher The Manchester China Institute