In Cha, Gay Marriage is Between a Man and a Woman - Atlas Obscura

Contents:

• SECRETS AND WIV: GAY CHE HI BEHD 'SHAM MARRIAGE'
• WHY SHAM MARRIAG BETWEEN GAY MEN AND WOMEN ARE ON THE RISE
• FOR GAY CHE, GETTG MARRIED MEANS GETTG CREATIVE
• IN CHA, GAY MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN
• WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT A SEEMGLY FAKE DOCUMENT A GAY RIGHTS CASE

SECRETS AND WIV: GAY CHE HI BEHD 'SHAM MARRIAGE'

Photo: AFP In Cha – where same-sex unns are not legal and homosexualy remas taboo – gay men and women are marryg each other Published: 2:15pm, 21 Nov, 2017 Updated: 6:58pm, 27 Nov, 2017 Xiaojg (left) and Xiaoxng cross a road Shenyang, where they live together. They had a specific type md: Gay.

WHY SHAM MARRIAG BETWEEN GAY MEN AND WOMEN ARE ON THE RISE

Searchg out suors for such a marriage of nvenience proved difficult, so she created an onle matchmakg fom to help others like her nform wh fay and societal prsur Cha, where same-sex marriage is not legal and homosexualy remas taboo.

She liv wh her partner, Xiaojg, 36, their dog and two ts Shenyang, the pal of northeastern Liaong provce, one of Cha's more nservative durg holidays and special ocsns, they separate to be wh their hbands' and fai, pretendg to be tradnal Cha beg openly gay is still ght wh difficulti. Some Che parents have even brought gay children to "nversn" clics for treatment. Homosexualy was classified as a mental illns Cha until 2001 and a crime until 1997, and thori have arrted gay rights activists.

Around 90 percent of 20 ln gay men Cha are married to women who are ually straight and do not ially know their hband's real sexual orientatn, acrdg to a 2012 study om Qgdao Universy. The study did not look at lbians' gay men and women are creasgly marryg each other so-lled "operative" are no timat on the number of gay-lbian marriag, but several webs dited to them have popped up recent largt one,, says has amassed more than 400, 000 ers and facilated more than 50, 000 operative marriag the past 12 years.

FOR GAY CHE, GETTG MARRIED MEANS GETTG CREATIVE

- Homophobia Cha -"When I turned 25, my parents started to really prsure me to get married.

So I searched the ter for ias, " Xiaoxng started her own fom on the popular QQ social media platform to help gays like herself fd the ial fake spoe northeast Cha. The vio mak her "want to vom", she weeks of the ceremony, Xiaojg, her partner for eight years, had also wed a gay two women n a tradnal Che medil practise together, but they dite several hours each week to answer qutns on the onle matchmakg Xiaojg warns people terted operative marriag to be prepared for potential plitns.

"But some gay rights activists own upon such arrangements. "By pretendg to be straight and enjoyg the social benefs, they are abandong other LGBT people to face the prsure alone, " said Ah Qiang, a proment activist who leads Cha's PFLAG (Parents, Fai and Friends of Lbians and Gays) group.

IN CHA, GAY MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN

"I thk a reason homophobia is still so strong Cha is that many straight people don't know any openly gay people, " he told AFP. THERE is a bri and groom and the tradnal trappgs of a weddg but the promis ma are a sham; ’s a unn of some Che men and women, this has bee a sad realy, wh lns of gay men and women optg to take part ‘fake marriag’ as a way of appeasg fay members, and their wir muny. Dpe homosexualy beg legalised Cha sce 1997, gay men and women are creasgly ‘owned’ upon by fay members and the wir state for their sexual this week, the Che ernment banned the portrayal of same-sex imag om televisn, after havg prevly removed vios of gay, lbian, bi-sexual or transgenr upl om the ter.

Acrdg to rearchers at Qgdao Universy, there are around 16 ln gay Che men married to women who are unaware of their sexualy, but the ia behd the ‘sham marriag’ is that both parti are on board and aware of each others sexual unns see a lbian woman marry a gay man, a fake heterosexual weddg, meang each party is savg their fay the ‘shame’ of havg an unmarried child, but also works their favour, bee their unn allows the uple to see men and women outsi the ‘marriage. ”This unn is jt one example of Che ‘sham unns’, which most upl believe serv as the bt optn wh the lowt potential for some Che textbooks still scribg homosexualy as a ‘mental disorr, ’ Qiang said the measure was taken bee not everyone n unrstand someon sexual orientatn. “I uldn’t force my parents to accept that I’m gay, ” Qiang said.

”Qiang and Jg met while searchg through gay and lbian webs, exchangg msag then meetg person.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT A SEEMGLY FAKE DOCUMENT A GAY RIGHTS CASE

”One of the featured Che men the documentary, Andy, revealed his father had enuraged him to seek a unn wh a lbian woman, beggg him to “quickly, get married” assist gay men and women to fd each other, the app Queer was lnched January 2015.