“Queer content is made invisible”

Mr. Wen, according to academic estimates, there are more than 70 million LGBTQI+ people living in China today. That is more people than the entire population of France. Is this estimate realistic?

That already points to part of the problem. Although there are undoubtedly millions of queer people in China, there are no official figures. The LGBTQI+ community and anything related to it are meant to remain invisible. A recent example is queer dating platforms. The apps Blued and Finka have been removed from app stores. And those are not the only measures the authorities have taken to put pressure on these platforms.

How so?

For example, people can no longer identify themselves as openly gay or queer on dating apps in the way they once could. Instead, they often use cartoon avatars and fake names. Step by step, the community is being desexualized and rendered invisible—a process we call degayification. The goal is not necessarily to ban these platforms altogether, but rather to weaken their function as spaces for queer self-organization.

Back in 2015, portraying homosexuality on Chinese television was already heavily restricted before eventually being banned entirely...

Yes. Since then, numerous LGBTQI+ organizations have been forced to shut down under government pressure, while Pride events, queer social media accounts, and community initiatives have disappeared from online platforms. Then, in 2023, the Beijing LGBT Center was forced to close. It was one of the country's most important queer organizations, providing psychological counseling and support for LGBTQI+ people. When you take all of these developments together, a very clear trend emerges.

Why has the Chinese government become so much more restrictive in recent years? After all, there were also periods of progress—for example, homosexuality was decriminalized in 1997 and removed from the list of mental illnesses in 2001.

I have the impression that the government is, once again, trying to place greater emphasis on traditional family structures shaped by Confucian values. This does not only affect LGBTQI+ people, but also feminist movements and young people who consciously choose not to marry or start a family. The underlying idea is to create social stability. People are expected to define themselves primarily through their family roles: first as sons or daughters, then as mothers or fathers, and only after that as individuals. Once these roles become someone's central identity, there is much less room for other forms of self-definition.

Confucianism is a very old philosophical tradition. Why is the government emphasizing it so strongly now?

One possible explanation is that China is increasingly pursuing self-reliance and self-assertion. The government frequently speaks about becoming "more independent from Western influence": economically, technologically, but also ideologically. Liberal ideas about individualism, sexual freedom, or human rights are often portrayed as distinctly Western concepts.

But wasn't it also Western influence, colonialism, and later communist ideology, that contributed to anti-queer attitudes in China? If we think of the communist movement, for example, homosexuality was often regarded as "bourgeois" or "decadent". Isn't it simply wrong to claim today that queerness is something foreign or un-Chinese?

Yes, that is a very important point. China actually has a long history of depicting same-sex relationships. One famous example is the story of the "cut sleeve". It tells of an emperor and his male lover. When the lover fell asleep on the emperor's sleeve, the emperor preferred to cut off the fabric rather than wake him. To this day, this story remains widely known. The "cut sleeve" became a traditional metaphor for love between men. So it is simply not true to claim that homosexuality is something foreign or merely imported from outside China. There are countless historical examples that prove otherwise.

Communist ideology was influential in another respect as well: sexuality was viewed primarily as a means of reproduction. Anything beyond that was framed as decadent. We still see traces of this thinking today. For example, did you know that having a threesome is still illegal in China?

No. But is that actually enforced?

Unfortunately, yes. A few years ago, for example, several people who had organized private swinger or BDSM events were prosecuted. Although these activities were entirely consensual and involved only adults, some participants received prison sentences. This shows that state control extends beyond LGBTQI+ people. Any form of sexual or personal freedom is viewed with suspicion.

A few years ago, the series The Untamed became a huge success both inside and outside China. It is based on a web novel in which the romantic relationship between two men is portrayed explicitly. For the television adaptation, however, that relationship was turned into a friendship. How did audiences in China react to that? After all, many fans were already familiar with the original novel online.

That is a very interesting example. In fact, classical Chinese literature has long featured certain archetypes used to portray a particularly close emotional bond between men. One example is the figure of the scholar—a sensitive, refined, often somewhat delicate young man. There is also an entire literary genre known as danmei, or "Boys' Love“. For many years, this genre was extraordinarily popular. However, it has increasingly come under government regulation. Many authors have been forced to remove sexual content or tone down their stories. As a result, there has been a growing shift toward so-called chún'ài content, which can be translated as "pure love". The emotional relationships remain, but their sexual dimension is softened or disappears altogether. The Untamed follows precisely this logic: the romantic relationship is still recognizable, but it is presented in a way that allows it to be officially interpreted as a friendship.

What about censorship on social media?

In the past, people were often able to circumvent state censorship by using alternative terms or coded language. One example comes from the lesbian community, where users labeled their posts with hashtags such as "baby food." The idea was that heterosexual men were unlikely to search for baby food. By using such terms, posts were therefore more likely to reach women. For a while, this strategy worked quite well. But eventually, homophobic groups discovered it and began using the same hashtags to spread hate speech.

What other secret codes are there?

Another example is the word "roommate". While it simply means someone you live with, within the community it can also refer to a romantic partner. Trans people, meanwhile, often use abbreviations such as "TS". Queer women long used the abbreviation "LES" as a way of identifying one another. Once that became widely recognized, many switched to simply using "LE". As a result, new words and coded expressions are constantly emerging. People creatively manipulate Chinese characters and pinyin, often relying on double meanings or phonetic similarities. The new challenge is that the algorithms determining the visibility of queer content are essentially a black box. Today, we are seeing more and more cases of so-called shadow banning.

What does that mean?

The post itself is not deleted. The person who published it can still see it. But nobody knows how many other people it actually reaches. Sometimes a post remains online and appears completely normal. Only after a few days does the creator realize that it has received only a few dozen views. Many users then suspect that it has been algorithmically suppressed through shadow banning. Today, the strategy is less about deleting queer content outright and more about reducing its visibility.

How do queer users try to get around these bans?

Some influencers have noticed that certain visual cues seem to help their content reach more queer users. One example is showing white socks for a few seconds in a video. In this way, people subtly signal to one another that they belong to the queer community.

How do the censorship authorities justify these algorithmic restrictions?

One common justification is the protection of minors. Of course, that is a legitimate goal in principle. At the same time, such regulations can be interpreted very broadly. Once authorities argue that certain content might negatively influence young people, they gain enormous room for interpretation. As a result, LGBTQI+ content often comes under pressure, even when it is completely harmless.

Are there any queer public figures who nevertheless manage to remain visible?

If you look at well-known queer influencers, you will notice that they are usually known for their humor or their personal style. They rarely speak openly about political demands or LGBTQI+ rights such as marriage equality or legal reform. Instead, they often present themselves primarily as comedians or entertainers. There is, for example, a well-known lesbian influencer who frequently plays with gender roles in humorous ways while talking about her everyday life. People like her can achieve a certain level of visibility precisely because they are not perceived as political actors.

So successful queer influencers are allowed to be visible—as long as they do not become political?

Exactly. And as long as they do not openly display their private relationships. It is very rare to see openly queer influencers showing their partners publicly—or even holding hands.

Does the community expect state restrictions to become even tighter in the future?

That is difficult to say. Despite all the restrictions, there have also been a few encouraging signs. Not long ago, a university student submitted a petition calling for legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In response, China's Supreme People's Court issued a statement saying that such discrimination deserves legal attention and that courts should take these cases seriously. It also emphasized that discriminatory acts may constitute violations of personal dignity and personality rights.

That sounds surprisingly sympathetic.

Yes, many people were surprised. I was too. At the same time, we should be cautious. This was not a new law or a court ruling. It was a response to a specific petition and therefore largely symbolic in nature. Nevertheless, it shows that the situation is not entirely clear-cut.

What about restrictions on queer nightlife?

There are still many clubs that remain relatively protected, as long as they do not cross certain political red lines and clearly position themselves as part of the entertainment industry—much like the influencers we discussed earlier. And the community is incredibly creative.

In fact, I am looking at the current event posters of the club Destination in Beijing right now. One drag show is titled something like The Adventures of Tintin. In Chinese, however, the characters used for "Tintin" (丁丁) resemble two phalluses. So even under difficult circumstances, the queer community continues to preserve its coded language and its remarkable sense of humor. It remains witty and brave.

Thank you very much for the interview.