Tongzhi visibility and representation in China: New media and online spaces as allies to change

Abstract

One of the LGBTQ people’s greatest hurdles in China can be traced back to their lack of visibility in Chinese media, alongside negatively biased portrayals. This brief article explores these concepts in a succinct manner, through the analysis of extant literature, as to explain what this lack of visibility and bias actually entail. It is also unavoidable to delve into how revolutionary the widespread use of the internet has been on the reconfiguration of these matters, as it allowed for unprecedented agency in content creation. LGBTQ people have been experiencing a period of empowerment thanks to social media, and this is yet another tool through which visibility and representation are being built. Keywords: Queer Studies; Chinese LGBTQ; tongzhi; media; Queer Studies in Asia; Visibility; Representation