Zirui He

1. Introduction

After more than a century of human rights campaigns and social change, the legal, political, and civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+) have improved significantly in the UK since the second half of the 20th century, creating the possibility of a more equal and diverse society flourishing (McDermott et al., 2008). This pattern is also seen in other parts of the globe, particularly economically advanced countries (Fetner, 2019). 

At the same time, in the context of globalisation and internationalisation in recent years, more and more international students, travelling to study in developed Western countries, have become a significant part of Western society that has to be accounted for in academic research. The latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) put the total number of international students in the UK at 679,970 by 2022. Asia is the continent that sends the largest number of international students to the UK, accounting for around half of the total (HESA, 2023). Asia is the continent that sends the largest number of international students to the UK, accounting for around half of the total (HESA, 2023). Some of them identify as international students while also being members of ethnic and sexual minorities. Such intersecting identities make them face more distinct challenges in the West.  However, current research on LGBTQ+ people based on their racial or ethnic backgrounds remains rare, and whiteness is still commonly perceived as the norm for LGBTQ+ experiences in contemporary society (Logie and Rwigema, 2014). Supportive portrayals of LGBTQ+ people of colour in the media are rare (McInroy and Craig, 2016). In addition, most research on ideological attitudes towards homosexuality focuses on Christians and Muslims, while few studies have focused on Confucian traditions in East Asian societies. Considering that the process of migrating and adapting to a new culture can be particularly difficult for sexual minorities who experience discrimination due to their race or sexual orientation (Gray et al., 2015), the LGBTQ+ community among East Asians needs more attention and research.

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This paper aims to analyse the impact of LGBTQ+ communities of East Asian heritage in Western Society. It considers international students as well as East Asians born into immigrant families to shine light upon the unique challenges, conflicts, and opportunities they may experience when studying in Western host countries such as the US or the UK. This has the purpose of exploring the lived experiences of  LGBTQ+ groups of East Asian ethnicity neglected in academic research, to investigate the intersecting parts of LGBTQ+ and minority rights, to understand the connections between culture, belonging, and identity, and to increasing the visibility of these intersecting groups in order to promote a friendly, equal, and diverse society.

In order to learn more about the lived experiences of East Asian LGBTQ+ communities that have been neglected by academic research, to explore the intersections of LGBTQ+ and minority rights, and to call for increased attention to these communities in order to contribute to the creation of an amicable, egalitarian, and pluralistic society, this paper aims to analyse the unique challenges, conflicts, and opportunities that Asian LGBTQ+ communities may experience as they study and live in Western host countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States. This paper will introduce East Asia and what it means to be East Asian and then analyse the multiple challenges faced by the East Asian LGBTQ+ community from an Eastern and Western perspective, respectively. This paper will attempt to answer the following two research questions:

•  What factors influence the LGBTQ+ community to leave their countries of origin in East Asian countries?

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• What are the challenges that the LGBTQ+ community of contemporary East Asian international students may face in their Western host countries?

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2. Background: East Asia and East Asians

In UK census data, the extensive and culturally diverse Asian group area is categorised only in general terms into five sections: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, and 'any other Asian group' (Kin and Ng, 2019). Such a crude and inaccurate categorisation  ignores the ethnocultural diversity and heterogeneity of Asia as the world's largest and most populous continent and undermines the accuracy of the data (ibid.). To enable the analysis following in the main body of this article, it is essential to explain in advance the scope and definition of the main subjects of this study, East Asians. East Asia is a vague, fluid, conceptual category (Sun, 2013). The connotation of "East Asian" changes in different contexts. Geographically, East Asia, or Northeast Asia to be precise, refers to the region in eastern Asia, west of the Pacific Ocean, consisting of mainland China, the Japanese archipelago, the island of Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and the Mongolian Plateau (ibid.). Historically and culturally, "East Asia" refers mainly to the geo-cultural circle constructed by Confucianism (Liu and Komine, 2021). It has encompassed parts of Northeast Asia, such as mainland China, Japan, and South Korea, and parts of Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam (Ge, 2013). What East Asia means is not agreed upon in every Asian society, and it has continued to metamorphose and flow with history. Some regions and societies that once promoted the use of the concept have abandoned or marginalised it, while others have started to use it (ibid.). China, for example, at one point downplayed this concept during the Cold War in favour of a consensus with the Soviet Union and the socialist camp (Garver, 2016). Therefore, a clear context is important for East Asian studies. Since this paper explores the influence of Confucianism, the East Asians mentioned in this paper include not only those who were born in the major East Asian regions (Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan) in the modern sense, but also those from Chinese communities in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, and some Asians of other nationalities who were born in other countries but are still influenced by the Confucian culture in East Asia.

3. Unwelcoming homelands and fractured identities: the LGBTQ+  community in East Asia

To explore the root causes of the plight of the LGBTQ+ community in East Asia, it is essential to understand the impact of their original societies and historical cultures on them. Legislation in East Asia, although it has progressed in recent years, remains generally less inclusive and protective of the LGBTQ+ community than in the West.

Confucianism may be one of the hindrances to the slow process of affirmative action for the LGBTQ+ community in East Asia. Confucianism is East Asia's most influential ideology on government, society, and family patterns (Richey, 2013). It is a broad system of ethics and social behaviour - Tong (1994: 417) describes it as "a sense of community and nationhood, disciplined and hard-working people, strong moral values, and family bonds." The content of Confucianism has evolved over history in many East Asian countries (Dalton and Ong, 2005). However, respect for hierarchy and concern for collective well-being have always been key features of the Confucian value system compared to Western societies, which are seen as placing more emphasis on individual rights and individualism (Dalton and Shin，2006). Similar to Islam, Confucianism emphasises the importance of virtue, bonding, and order in the family system and values the dominance of patriarchal authority in the family and society (Shukri and Abdullah, 2019). For example, a family that conforms to Confucian ethical standards usually features heterosexual, monogamous marriage with a focus on procreation, and those that do not may be questioned and marginalised (Adamczyk and Cheng, 2014).

Very little research exists linking the influence of Confucianism to homophobia (Adamczyk and Cheng, 2014). However, the notions of Confucianism, as expressed in its emphasis on traditional gender roles, conservatism about sexual morality, and emphasis on keeping the family intact and the family lineage passed on, are ones that several studies have shown to be detrimental to the acceptance of sexual orientations other than non-binary genders and heterosexuality (ibid.). The exclusion of Confucianism may explain why the East Asian LGBTQ+ community is disconnected from their countries of origin, traditions, norms, and culture.

4. Remnants of Western Colonisation: The Impact of Western Ideology on LGBTQ+ Attitudes in Asia

Some studies today suggest that homophobic exclusion in East Asia may also be a by-product of Western cultural expansion. It is well documented that in ancient East Asia, prior to Western influence, most Asian countries and regions had, and often still have, a tradition of tolerance of traditional same-sex sentiments and practices and little overt anti-gay hostility (Laurent, 2005). It was no secret that bisexual or exclusively homosexual emperors ruled China for 150 years during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE) in ancient China (Hans, 1974). The emperor's favoured male companions were mentioned and discussed in official records (ibid.) The first Jesuit missionaries who arrived in Japan in the mid-16th century were appalled by the monks’ freedom to engage in homosexual acts in temples and military circles (Nakao, 2000). It was not until the Meiji era (1868-1911), when Japan attempted to learn from 'Western civilised society' that tolerance of same-sex relationships changed radically. The government outlawed consensual same-sex relationships in 1873, although the law was repealed a decade later (Roberson and Suzuki, 2005). Another example of Western colonial influence is in Hong Kong. After being colonised by the British, Hong Kong adopted many British laws, including the criminalisation of sodomy in 1873 (Chan, 1996). The same thing happened in Singapore. To this day, Singapore retains punitive laws against homosexuals left over from British colonialism, with sentences of up to two years in prison for "gross indecency by a male with another male in public or private" (Goh, 2008). Today, except for Taiwan which legalised same-sex marriage in 2019, most countries in East Asia currently lack adequate legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community (Laurent, 2005).

Some research suggests that being ostracised by the community of origin is one of the reasons why non-heterosexuals relocate elsewhere (Gorman-Murray, 2009). Compared to East Asian societies, some societies in the West have benefited from nearly a hundred years of human rights development, have better anti-discrimination laws, and are perceived to offer better protection for sexual and gender minorities (Dhoest, 2018). It is understandable why Western countries are attractive to some Asian LGBTQ+ people.

5. It does not mean coming to a haven: anxieties of the East Asian LGBTQ+ community in the West

Education provides opportunities for gay and lesbian Asians to move away from the family and social communities in which they feel significant pressures. Some East Asian international students have travelled far from their homelands to universities in Western countries. The universities provide them with a new social environment and allows them to escape the pressures of parental supervision, not having to hide their true sexual orientation, and can develop genuine romantic relationships (Ocampo and Soodjinda, 2015). Ocampo and Soodjinda's (2015: 494) study interviewed an Asian student who had left his hometown, and that student stated that the freedom to not have to hide was the reason he chose a distant university, and he felt that he was "finally able to be himself" when he entered university.

Although some developed countries in the West have provided a more inclusive and friendly social environment for the LGBTQ+ community, there are still many obstacles that stand in the way of the lives and development of the East Asian LGBTQ+ community. On the one hand, members of the East Asian LGBTQ+ community living in Western countries have not entirely lost their ties with East Asian communities and East Asian families. They still face conflicts between Asian cultural values and family concepts on the one hand and personal sexual orientation and gender identity on the other (Castillo et al., 2007). On the other hand, East Asians may also face some racism-related stress and anxiety in Western societies, such as racial violence and stereotyping from others (Alamilla et al., 2010).

Influences from East Asian communities and families of origin are particularly evident in East Asian international students. Unlike immigrants who start families overseas, they have not been away from their East Asian families for very long and tend to have deeper economic and emotional ties to their parents (Levitt, 2017; Ruiz, Shao and Shah, 2022; Alinejad, 2019 ). However, this family relationship may not always provide them with natural support. The Asian LGBTQ+ community is relatively more lacking in parental understanding. A global study conducted on seven continents reported that 77 per cent of Asian parents said they would be "very" or "somewhat" upset if their child fell in love with someone of the same sex (Carroll and Itaborahy, 2015). This is much higher than the world average of 68 per cent and 61 per cent in Europe (ibid.). Lack of parental support exacerbates adverse mental health outcomes, increasing the likelihood of suicide attempts by 8.4 times, depression by 5.9 times, and substance abuse or risky sexual behaviour by 3.4 times (Snapp et al., 2015). Many gay and lesbian Asian students hide their sexual orientation from their parents because families often disapprove of non-heterosexual sexual orientations (Akerlund and Cheung, 2002).

Since East Asian LGBTQ+ are more likely to come from societies and families hostile to sexual and gender minorities, discrimination and victimisation in their early years have left some queer Asians facing trauma that needs to be healed, even after they have left their families and their countries of origin. A study of the young LGBTQ+ community in China by Wei and Liu (2019) showed that approximately 85 per cent of Chinese LGBTQ+ students experienced depression in the past year, and about 40 per cent had suicidal thoughts. Despite these mental health challenges and the stress of having multiple marginalised identities, many Asian LGBTQ+ people are unable to access psychotherapy due to fear, embarrassment, language barriers, cultural differences, and lack of access (Bell and Hansen, 2009; Shidlo and Ahola, 2013). A study of ethnic minorities in American universities showed that Asians receive counselling or therapy at a much lower rate than other ethnicities (Cheng et al., 2013). Traditional Asian cultural values, such as caution, modesty, and conservatism in interpersonal expression, may lead Asian students to conceal mental health problems to avoid standing out (Chauv et al., 2022). Another reason is the lack of psychological practitioners with Asian cultural backgrounds. According to the demographics of mental health professionals in the United States, 74.2 per cent of mental health professionals are White. Language barriers and cultural differences often become a hindrance for Asians to seek mental health help, with some fearing that they will not be understood (Dong et al., 2020). An example of such can be found in Bellamy-Walker’s interview (2022), whereby a transgender person of Korean descent stated that many Asians would not seek mental health services because ‘they feel it is for White people’.

Racial discrimination and racial violence also put the safety and well-being of Asians in Western countries at serious risk. White supremacy, xenophobia, and anti-Asian violence have risen dramatically in many countries since reports of the Coronavirus  pandemic outbreak began to be reported at the beginning of 2019 (Centre for the Study of Hate and Extremism, 2021).The Stop Hate Asian Pacific Islander Coalition documented 3,795 incidents of anti-Asian racism in the United States between 2020 and 2021 (Jeung et al., 2021: 23). Of these, one Asian reported being subjected to a racist's simultaneous vilification of their Asian and LGBTQ+ identities while wearing an LGBTQ+ symbol (ibid).

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6. Conclusion

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In conclusion, this article has reviewed the dual dilemmas faced by the young LGBTQ+ community in East Asia, both in the country of origin and in the host country. In East Asia, the LGBTQ+ community still struggles with social and family acceptance and lacks sound legal guarantees of rights. This has prompted some of these young students to leave their countries of origin to study abroad in what are considered to be relatively LGBTQ+-friendly Western developed countries. However, they are still not completely free from the pressures of their East Asian families and may still have traumas from their past that need to be addressed. On top of this, Western society might also not be able to provide a guaranteed LGBTQ+ friendly environment.

This article hopes to contribute to the understanding of the East Asian LGBTQ+ community, as well as other intersectional identities, and hopes that in the future, more research will help to identify the difficulties of this community and the solutions to these dilemmas. Today, there are many people in both Eastern and Western societies who continue to fight for LGBTQ+ and racial equality. To summarise in the words of Jeffrey Weeks; ‘we live in a world of transition, in the midst of a long, unfinished but profound revolution that has changed the possibilities of living out our sexual diversity’ (Weeks, 2007: 3).