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Family and Homosexuality in Chinese Culture: Rights Claims by Non-heterosexuals in Hong Kong

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Abstract

Family of origin is one of the less-studied areas to have been investigated during the rights-claiming process by non-heterosexuals. This paper discusses how family of origin plays a significant role in the claiming of rights (such as the authority to make health care or medical treatment, funeral arrangement and inheritance) by non-heterosexuals in Hong Kong. Because of the functional specificities of Chinese families and their perceptions of homosexuality, Chinese non-heterosexuals are eager to introduce their sexuality to their family of origin rather than participate in a more separated approach to coming out. This process constitutes a “coming home” approach to coming out as a member of a gender or sexual minority group. The negative effects of exclusion and ignorance not only affect the mental health of non-heterosexuals in Hong Kong but also shape and create social barriers to the claiming of rights. Findings from this study reveal that family of origin is a significant factor deterring non-heterosexuals from considering, planning or taking action to claim sexual citizenship rights.

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Notes

  1. This incident was about the arrest of a fellow police inspector named John MacLennan for indecency, and later the police found the suspect dead in his residence.

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Funding

This study was funded by Hong Kong Baptist University. I hereby declare that the advice and information in the manuscript are believed to be true and accurate on the date of its release to the press.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

    Ka Ki Chan

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  1. Ka Ki Chan
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Correspondence to Ka Ki Chan.

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The author has no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of Hong Kong Baptist University.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Chan, K.K. Family and Homosexuality in Chinese Culture: Rights Claims by Non-heterosexuals in Hong Kong. Sexuality & Culture 21, 845–859 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-017-9425-y

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