Family pressure for heterosexual marriage: The experience of Chinese queer people

Abstract

In China, millions of queer people engage in heterosexual marriage, as evidenced by the increasing popularity of formality marriages (i.e., a marriage between a queer man and a queer woman) among queer people and by the millions of queer individuals who engage in a lesbian’s husband marriage or gay’s wife marriage (i.e., the marriage between a queer person and a heterosexual person). Yet heterosexual marriage has caused considerable difficulties for Chinese queer individuals, affecting both their emotional and general well-being. A primary reason cited by Chinese queer individuals for entering into heterosexual marriages is family pressure, especially the pressure from parents. Crucially, while prior research suggested some potential antecedents and consequences of family pressure, these findings are scattered across different studies and mainly based on qualitative insights. There is significantly less research that systematically investigates family pressure and statistically tests the relationships between family pressure and its antecedents and consequences. To develop a comprehensive understanding of family pressure, this dissertation aims to systematically examine the family pressure experienced by Chinese queer individuals to engage in heterosexual marriage, as well as statistically test the relationships between family pressure and its antecedents and consequences. To fill the gaps, I conducted a systematic review to understand the existing knowledge of family pressure (Chapter 2), two empirical quantitative studies to statistically test the relationships between family pressure and its antecedents and consequences (Chapters 3 and 5), and one empirical qualitative study to deepen our knowledge related to the antecedents in Chinese society (Chapter 4). This dissertation found that family pressure to engage in heterosexual marriage was shaped by the joint influences of heteronormativity in marriage and authoritarian filial piety. Experiencing family pressure exacerbated mental distress and reduced general life satisfaction of Chinese queer individuals. This dissertation serves as an initial exploration into the experiences of Chinese queer individuals facing family pressure to engage in heterosexual marriages. To protect wellbeing of queer people facing family pressure to engage in heterosexual marriage, this dissertation asks for persistent questioning of how social norms influence queer people and their marital practices, as well as the presentation of individual experiences under the overwhelming social construction.