基于昆明女同性恋的个案研究
2019 年 6 月The Causes and Effects of Marriage of Convenience for
Chinese Lesbians
——Based on a Case Study of Lesbians in Kunming
He Yi, 20171040048, 2017 K12
Abstract
Nowadays, faced with the problem of marriage and procreation, Chinese lesbians
choose into the marriage of convenience, which means that a family is formed by a
gay and a lesbian. This paper discusses the causes and effects of marriage of
convenience for Chinese lesbians, through case interview, participant observation and
the snowball sampling of 15 cases in Kunming. Analysis reveals that the pressures
from parents, the stereotype and the inner self are three major causes of lesbians in
China for making this decision. It concludes that such a marriage form may affect the
lesbians’ physiological and mental states, family relationships and social relations.
Keywords: marriage of convenience; lesbians; causes and effects
I. Introduction
Despite a subcultural and sensitive issue in China, homosexuality has become a
cultural and social phenomenon
that obtains more and more
concerns
and studies in
recent years. Comparing the
conditions of coming out
between
Chinese and
Westerners, Gloria and Miriam (2017) pointed out that the greatest obstacles faced by
Chinese
homosexuals lied not with regions or the workplace,
but
with the family. In
Chinese
culture, the capacity
to produce an
heir to carry on
the
paternal line had a
close relationship with filial
piety, which
eventually constituted
a major conflict
within a gay son's family (Frank & Herng-Dar & David, 2009). Due to the problem of
marriage and procreation, most Chinese homosexuals chose into
the marriage of
convenience, meaning that a gay and a lesbian form a family (Chen, 2009).
According to a survey conducted by Chi Foundation, more than 2,500 gay people
taking part in, 87.3% of
gay people had accepted
or
were willing to accept the
marriage of convenience
(Holning & Charles Q
&
Kelley, 2014). The survey
conducted by M ª (2014)
also indicated that only
15.0% of homosexuals did not
support such a marriage form, arousing a heated discussion in academics. Peng (2014)claimed that among those who chose the marriage of convenience, 92.6% were forced
by family pressure, 74.1 %
by social pressure, and
55.6% were chiefly for love of
children. In the meanwhile,
Chen (2009) concluded
that such a marriage form may
affect their physiological and mental states, family relationships and social relations.
However, the studies above had one thing in common, which was they mainly
aimed at gay men and relatively ignored the position of lesbians. Nowadays,
gay
marriages
have attracted major attention
in reports
and studies,
but there are
few
studies of
lesbian marriages. As lesbian
marriages
significantly
differ from those
among gay men, the two should not be put into the same category. Therefore, through
case interviews and participant observation research and
the snowballed
sampling
of
15 cases in Kunming, this paper focuses on the causes
and effects of
marriage
of
convenience for Chinese lesbians. At the end of the paper, some suggestions will also
be put forward, hoping to raise the public awareness in a gradual way, and trying to
make all the parties involved gain a more satisfying identity.
II. Methods
1. Research setting
To address the research questions, a qualitative case study based on lesbians in
Kunming, Yunnan Province was carried out. (See table 1)
Table1 The research questions
1.What’s marriage of convenience?
2.Why do Chinese lesbians choose marriage of convenience?
3.What are the negative effects for Chinese lesbians if they choose marriage of convenience?
2. Sample
In this paper, the snowball sampling method was used to select 15 respondents in
Kunming. During the time volunteering for the organization Sexual Minorities, the
author knew some lesbians in Kunming area, who had chosen or were ready to choose
the marriage of convenience, and finally took part in the case study. However, the data
sample was
small. Then through the introduction and recommendation of these
interviewees,
more lesbians were involved. At the same
time, some heterosexuals in
Sexual Minorities also recommended a number of their
friends to conduct in-depthinterviews about their perspectives on the marriage of convenience. (See table 2)
The following table indicates the personal information of respondents, which is
divided into four parts:
name, age,
status
and
job, among which status contains
two
stages of coming out
and three
stages
of
marriage of convenience:
ready
for,
undergoing and practiced.
Table2 Personal information of respondents
Name
Age
Status
Job
A1
34
come out of the closet,
undergoing
freelancer
A2
26
keep coming out of the closet secret,
ready for
teacher
A3
28
keep coming out of the closet secret,
undergoing
journalist
A4
35
come out of the closet,
practiced
accountant
A5
28
come out of the closet,
ready for
police officer
A6
28
keep coming out of the closet secret,
undergoing
institution staff
A7
36
keep coming out of the closet secret,
practiced
health officer
A8
25
come out of the closet,
undergoing
legislator
A9
30
keep coming out of the closet secret,
ready for
judge
A10
38
keep coming out of the closet secret,
practiced
executive
A11
29
come out of the closet,
undergoing
tour guide
A12
31
come out of the closet,
undergoing
doctor
A13
24
keep coming out of the closet secret
ready for
pro-executive
of foreign
company
A14
28
come out of the closet,
ready for
teacher
A15
38
keep coming out of the closet secret,
practiced
doctor
3. Case study framework
(1) Questions were developed from a limited number of prior studies on marriageof convenience for lesbians as well as an in-depth literature review across both
academics and industry literature.
(2) 15 interviewees were conducted which lasted from 40min to 2h.
Table3 The interview outline
1.Do you accept the marriage of convenience? Why?
2.What problems have you encountered, before or during the formal marriage?
3.If the same-sex marriage is now recognized by laws in China, will you choose it? Why?
4.What kind of life do you want?
5.What can I do for you?
4. Data analysis
All were audio-recorded and transcribed, and
then manually
coded using
computer-aided qualitative analysis software.
III. Findings and discussions
1. Causes
Through interviews with lesbians who
have
undergone the
marriage of
convenience and those who are preparing to
adopt
it, it is found that the most
significant reason for them to choose into the marriage of convenience is the pressure
from family.
(1) The pressure from family
① Come out of the closet
After choosing to come out of the closet, lesbians themselves and their family
members may
be greatly impacted psychologically. Some parents are
open-minded,
respecting and
understanding their children's choice, while most parents
cannot accept
such behavior.
Parents basically show diametrically-opposed attitudes
towards their
children’s decision. One is that parents react violently and run into strong opposition
because they are completely unable to understand their children’s gender orientation.
They are usually very aggressive in their
words, believing that homosexuality is
"abnormal" and "pathological”. They might
even make their children feel guilty and
accuse themselves, forcing them to choose the marriage of convenience. The other is
that parents show respect for their
children's choice and discuss with
them
dispassionately. This kind of parents
mainly worry about their children’s
socialrelations and further development, such as whether they will be discriminated against
in the society, and how to lead a good life when they get
older without a son or
daughter. Therefore, lesbians decide to adopt the marriage of
convenience to reassure
their parents.
② Keep coming out of the closet secret
There are also two types
of lesbians who keep coming
out
of the closet secret.
One is who are open to
the
public except their parents. They
have the following
characteristics, that
they
have
admitted their
sexual orientation
to
friends and
colleagues, have a
high
sense
of
self-identity
and
are active in
the
community.
However, they refuse to
tell their
parents
the truth.
Another kind
is completely a
closed type, which refers
to those who are
aware of
their sexual orientation clearly
while they totally hate the views universally accepted by society. They fear of being
discriminated, laughed or even satirized by others, so they choose to completely hide
their sexual orientation and get married with the opposite sex.
(2) The pressure from the stereotype
Whether to get married or not, is originally a
personal life choice. However,
living in China, a traditional society based on family and filial piety, singletons are in
the minority
and regarded
as some
kinds of the
alien. They hover outside
the
institution of
marriage, face
more or
less
psychological and physical obstacles,
and
are neglected or ridiculed in life.
(3) The pressure from the inner self
Some lesbians, especially those with
entrenched traditional ideas, cannot accept
that
they are homosexuals when aware of
their sexual orientation,
so they will resist
and
object to it. They
are also afraid that
others will get to know
about
their sexual
orientation, therefore,
they have tried every possibly effective method
to disguise
themselves and expect that they may have the chance of changing back to "normal".
Such kind of lesbians has problems with self-identification and not been "treated" in a
timely manner.
2. Effects
(1) Physiological and mental statesPeople choosing the marriage of convenience always live in the life of cheating
others, so it is difficult to obtain real happiness and a peaceful life. Moreover, Chinese
society and citizens do not really attach importance to the privacy, and personal
secrets are at risk of being
disclosed at
any time. Since the choice of form marriage,
homosexual should always
keep secret
and pay attention to the cooperation with the
legal spouse. In the long run, people are likely to be a huge psychological pressure by
the breakdown, and the accompanying depression will affect their daily life.
(2) Family relationships
Conflicts with legal
spouses are likely to occur when
it comes to children,
finances and housework.
Nowadays, Chinese society is still
greatly influenced by
patriarchal ideology. In terms of traditional marriages, it is believed that childbearing
has a close relationship with filial piety, which brings a lot of troubles to lesbians. For
women, it takes a long and tough period to have a child, and they have to prevent all
kinds of risks. In addition, the child's custody will also cause a lot of controversy.
Some ideas including “The Domestic Wife and Social Husband” and “A wife is
her husband’s
echo” are still deeply rooted
in the heart
of
the
majority
of people.
However, the
task of division of labor, the
distribution
of
the
economy
and other
various pressing family affairs are somewhat difficult for couples in formal marriages,
which often lead to marriage dispute.
(3) Social relations
Lesbians who
choose the marriage
of convenience will spend a lot of
time
playing the
role
as
a "good wife," while
insincere relationships often prevent
them
from fitting
into
a better circle of friends. Additionally, if they do not have a
good
relationship
with the legal spouse, it will be criticized by the outside world. To some
extent, the
choice of form marriage will also affect one's future development,
especially the opportunities at work.
IV. Conclusion
The individual behavior of lesbians in marriage of convenience appears in
publications is the collective behavior in essence, and the group that truly chooses theformal marriage is far more than the amount that we can know. On the surface, this
kind of marriage
form
has the element of traditional marriage, such as legitimacy,
wedding, fertility
and
so
on.
Nevertheless, it has completely broken through the
established interpretation
and
understanding of marriage. Homosexuals in formal
marriage usually have their own same-sex partners, while they also have heterosexual
partners legally speaking. It is easy to conclude that it is "marital infidelity" without
exploring the hidden factors.
Accordingly, the paper
uses case interview,
participant
observation and
the
snowball sampling method,
finding that family
pressure,
social pressure
and
individual pressure are the three major causes for Chinese lesbians' choosing the form
marriage, and the
choice will affect their physiological and mental states,
family
relationships
and
social relations. On account
of these disadvantages of
formal
marriage, the
legalization of same-sex marriage
will arouse wide discussions in the
society.
In China, there are few experts and
scholars discussing the formal marriage
within the lesbian community, and there is
neither academic investigation nor study
on this
phenomenon. The method of
qualitative research, however, is limited to
the
use of
standardized research norms,
conversation skills and data collection. At
the
same time, the investigation is restricted to the lengthy article, making it difficult to
make a universal inference.
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标签： 基于昆明女同性恋的个案研究
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