Social Tolerance of Homosexuality: A Quantitative Comparison of Mainland China, Singapore, and Taiwan

Abstract

This study compares three Asian societies that are heavily influenced by Chinese culture and Confucianism, mainland China, Singapore, and Taiwan, in their social correlates of public tolerance of homosexuality. Due to different sociopolitical environments and public policies regarding homosexuality, individual-level factors such as education, income, age, and religiosity operate in distinct ways in the three societies. The more progressive environment in Taiwan allows more room for the manifestation of individual-level influences, compared to mainland China and Singapore. With respect to homosexuality, the tolerance-promoting effects of education and income and the tolerance-depressing effects of age and religiosity are significantly more pronounced in Taiwan than in mainland China and Singapore. Broader sociopolitical environments not only affect the overall level of tolerance of homosexuality in a society but also shape what individuals in the society are more tolerant.

Notes

Acknowledgments

We thank Chinese Sociological Review editor Xiaogang Wu and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. The two authors contributed equally to this article.

Notes

1 It is worth noting that world polity (or world society) theory is popular in explaining the expansion of LGBTQ rights across the globe. The world polity or society, embodied in numerous international organizations, is argued to play an essential role in diffusing global norms and policy scripts (Boli and Thomas, 1997, 1999; Frank, Camp, and Boutcher 2010; Meyer et al., 1997). Empirical studies based on this theory often use the memberships in international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) as a measure of the involvement in the world society and a predictor of a society’s tolerance of LGBTQ issues (Fernández and Lutter 2013; Frank and McEneaney 1999; Velasco 2018). However, this theory may not be particularly applicable in this study. Many international organizations do not recognize or report Taiwan’s memberships. For instance, many human rights or LGBTQ-related INGOs do not list or report memberships from Taiwan.

2 See a ruling of the Supreme People’s Court in 1957. Accessed April 21, 2019. http://www.law-lib.com/Law/law_view.asp?id=1218

3 For a list of major LGBTQ-related NGOs in Mainland China. Accessed April 10, 2019. https://www.zhihu.com/question/20578932

4 For more LGBTQ-related NGOs in Singapore. Accessed April 10, 2019. http://sporelgbtpedia.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Singapore_LGBT_organizations

5 For details about the creation and contents of the act. Accessed April 11, 2019. https://lis.ly.gov.tw/lglawc/lawsingle?000159CE6BC6000000000000000000A000000002000000

6 Data are available at http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWV6.jsp.

7 Women are found to be less likely to be homophobic than men and are more tolerant of diverse sexual orientations (Brown and Henriquez 2008; Whitley 2001). Men are more concerned about and affected by prevalent social norms of patriarchy, heterosexuality, and masculinity, while women are often oppressed by such norms and embrace them to a much lesser degree.

8 Among the religions, Christians and Muslims are usually less tolerant compared to other religions due to their heterosexual and patriarchal doctrines (Adamczyk and Pitt 2009; Burdette, Ellison, and Hill 200580; Detenber et al. 2007). Both religions had or still have punishments for homosexual behaviors (Adamczyk and Pitt 2009). The heterosexual doctrines and potential punishments for homosexuality may lead to more homophobic sentiments and more connections with antihomosexuality communities (Adamczyk and Pitt 2009; Regnerus and Smith 1998). East Asian religions such as Buddhism and Taoism are relatively more tolerant of homosexuality compared to Christians and Muslims (Adamczyk and Cheng 2014; Adamczyk and Hayes 2012; Andersen and Fetner 2008; Cheng, Wu, and Adamczyk 2016; Detenber et al. 2007). East Asian religions tend to have less stringent doctrines and looser religious organizations, which result in more space for diverse opinions and lifestyles.

9 Studies have shown that single individuals, in general, are more tolerant of homosexuality than married ones (Herek and Gonzalez-Rivera 2006; Moskowitz et al. 2010). Opposite-sex marriage reinforces the perceived legitimacy of heterosexuality and strengthens heterosexual identity among married people.

10 Frequent Internet use is found to make people more tolerant of homosexuality. The Internet provides more exposure to and information on diverse lifestyles and sexual orientations, which leads to more open attitudes toward homosexuality (Hu and Li 2019; Lo and Wei 2005).

11 It is worth noting that the positive effect of religiosity in mainland China does not reach significance in the WVS Wave 5 data, though (see Table 4 below).

12 Data are available at http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWV5.jsp.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Min Zhou

Min Zhou ([email protected] or [email protected]) is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Victoria. He received his PhD from Harvard University. His research interests are centered on the processes and consequences of various forms of global social change. He has published articles on global economic networks, international organizations, global public opinions, and transnational social movements. ​

Tianyang Hu

Tianyang Hu ([email protected]) is currently an MA student in Sociology at the University of Victoria. He received his bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology from Lanzhou University, China. His research interests include social inequality, Chinese society and politics, LGBTQ issues and feminism in China, and quantitative methods.