How have China’s historical leaders affected the way homosexuality is viewed in modern-day China?
Homosexuality is not a new occurrence in society, however, how it has been perceived has gone through many twists and turns. The world never seemed to keep its head straight- no pun intended. Although it seems that the public view is shifting like a gradient through generations, the reality is that public opinion has not been linear throughout the world. There are some instances of homosexuality in other parts of the world that were widely accepted for a time and that knowledge has spread well on social media platforms. Perhaps noticing that I lingered a bit longer on these posts, the algorithm kept feeding me more and more of such information. I held a particular interest in the instances in Greece since I’ve always wanted to travel there. However, absorbing all this knowledge on how greek homosexuality was frowned upon by Roman culture made me wonder about my own culture. My parents would make snide remarks whenever the news covered an LGBTQ event and I wouldn’t question it for fear of exposing myself. I was always curious about what led them to these ideas that seemed nonsensical to me. I hope to be able to understand my father’s irrational hatred for these people when even a Chinese emperor was a well-known homosexual. I want to learn how each of these rulers affected the public’s impression of homosexuality. Through this research, I will delve into the historical context of homosexuality in China and show how leaders today continue to shape public opinion.
This is huge. I think you could either look to understand the history of the perception of homosexuality in a particular historical period in China. Or you can look at a particular issue related to homosexuality in China at the moment. Which do you find more interesting? And then, once you decide, start to narrow down. We can talk about this more on Wednesday. Start to narrow down and find a focus and we can talk about questions.