New | ‘This is not my coming-out’: leading Chinese sexologist sets record straight with surprise revelation
One of China’s most prominent sexologists and crusader for LGBT rights has dropped a bomb on social media by admitting that she has had a long relationship with a transsexual man.
One of China’s most prominent sexologists and crusader for LGBT rights has dropped a bomb on social media by hitting back at her critics and admitting that she has had a long relationship with a transsexual man.
“I am not homosexual”, Li, 62, announced on her microblog Thursday night in response to recent accusations that she had deliberately concealed her own sexual orientation from the LGBT community, for whose rights she has been a vehement defender for years.
In her blog post, Li revealed a 17-year relationship she has had with a transsexual man, after losing her husband Wang Xiaobo, a renowned novelist who died of a heart attack in 1997.
“I don’t think this is a statement of ‘coming out of the closet’," she told the newspaper The Beijing News.
"I am not homosexual, but a heterosexual woman who has fallen in love with a transsexual person,” she said, “I treat him as a man.” She added that her partner had worked as a taxi driver and became her agent later.
Li’s revelation came as a big surprise to her fans and foes alike.
An outspoken sociologist with more than one million followers on her Weibo social media account, Li has won as many critics as fans over the years with her impassioned defence of sexual minorities in China and her fierce criticism against conventional gender stereotypes and prejudices.
However, she had remained silent about her private life, apart from the publication of love letters with her late husband and occasionally writing essays commemorating him.
Li’s latest revelation has been reposted over 40,000 times on Weibo as of midday Friday, with many praising her courage for speaking up and for raising more awareness over the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups.
“She is honest and brave. I admire her,” said Yan Feng, a Fundan University Professor.
“Most people labelled Li Yinhe as the widow of Wang Xiaobo, but I think she is who she is. Wang Xiaobo is someone she once fell in love with. She is entitled to love someone else. And as a sexologist, she knows [what she is talking about]. She deserves respect for her love and her academic achievements,” said one internet user.
While some questioned if Li’s insistence on being heterosexual hinted at discrimination against the homosexual community, Li responded that she was merely stating a fact. She did not feel any “more normal” or morally superior than homosexual people, she said.
Li, who holds a doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh, has been calling for more tolerance towards non-conventional sexual behaviour, including homosexuality, since she began research on sexuality in the late 1980s.
Li has also campaigned tirelessly for the legalisation of same-sex marriages in China, and submitted multiple proposals over the issue to the National People's Congress and Chinese's People's Political Consultative Conference, China's legislature and top political advisory body, in the last decade. But neither the Chinese government or the NPC has said they would consider the legislation.
