Mapping the Antecedents, Conditions, and Consequences of Family Pressure that Drives Chinese Queer People into Heterosexual Marriage: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Family pressure pushes a considerable proportion of Chinese queer individuals into heterosexual marriage. Few investigations have been solely devoted to examining family pressure. For a comprehensive picture of the issue, this study presents the results of a systematic review that identified 32 relevant papers to answer three research questions: (1) What are the antecedents (i.e., the drivers and sources) of family pressure to enter into heterosexual marriage? (2) What conditions shape the different manifestations of this pressure? (3) What are the consequences of being exposed to family pressure? Analysis revealed 10 drivers (reproduction, performing heteronormativity, maintaining face, experiencing stigmatized homosexuality, fulfilling familism, later-life care expectations, financial leverage, satisfying parental expectations of marriage, protecting parental emotions, and inquiries about marriage) and four sources (queer people themselves, parents, important others, and society); four conditions (gender, age, living arrangements, and family structure); and five consequences (resignation to heterosexual relationships, negativity toward queer identity, familial distancing, adjusted negotiation strategies for sexual autonomy, and emotional distress). Findings were used to formulate an extended definition of family pressure and to tentatively propose a conceptual model of family pressure for antecedents. The strengths and limitations of the study are also presented.