Media Representation of Tongxinglian in China: A Case Study of the People’s Daily

Over the past few decades, the worldwide lesbian and gay movements have diversified and increased their rights claims. The achievement of gay rights claims in society is the result of an interplay among various social factors and forces. Media is one of most influential players in building homosexual images and promoting mutual understanding. Chinese homosexuals were not treated as criminals or mental illness patients anymore in 1997 and 2001, respectively, after decriminalization and depathologization. Thus this article aims to explore how homosexuals were portrayed in the official media of China, particularly the People’s Daily, to illustrate the changing perception of homosexuals in China’s political and social spheres. It argues that representation of homosexuals in the People’s Daily changed gradually from a negative perception to a more positive one with less discrimination and prejudice as shown by the article’s quantitative and qualitative results.