An increasing number of Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families are longing to have children, reports a popular local daily in China.
Li Yinhe, widow of the late novelist Wang Xiaopo, recently made public she has been with a female partner for 17 years and that they have adopted a child.
Li is probably the most well-known case in China, but she is in no way alone. There is now a burgeoning trend in the Chinese LGBT community towards raising families, with more and more seeking ways to establish a family with children, Guangzhou's Southern Metropolis Daily quoted Aqiang, executive director of Guangzhou-based Parent, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays as saying.
Aqiang said many LGBT attendees at a recent eagerly sought advice and assistance regarding having children of their own.
China does not have statistical data to back that claim but Aqiang believes, based on his long-term observation, the number of LGBTfamilies is increasing in China, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
Some Chinese LGBThave, like Li Yinhe, resorted to adoption. A gay man living in Shenzhen, adopted a boy several years ago and enjoys the responsibility that comes with being his parent.
China legalized adult gay sex in 1997 and removed same-sex relations from an official list of psychiatric diseases in 2001 but marriage among same-sex is not legal and largely stigmatized because of the deeply held Chinese belief that children are required to marry and bear offspring to continue the family line.
An increasing number of Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families are longing to have children, reports a popular local daily in China.
Li Yinhe, widow of the late novelist Wang Xiaopo, recently made public she has been with a female partner for 17 years and that they have adopted a child.
Li is probably the most well-known case in China, but she is in no way alone. There is now a burgeoning trend in the Chinese LGBT community towards raising families, with more and more seeking ways to establish a family with children, Guangzhou's Southern Metropolis Daily quoted Aqiang, executive director of Guangzhou-based Parent, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays as saying.
Aqiang said many LGBT attendees at a recent eagerly sought advice and assistance regarding having children of their own.
China does not have statistical data to back that claim but Aqiang believes, based on his long-term observation, the number of LGBTfamilies is increasing in China, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
Some Chinese LGBThave, like Li Yinhe, resorted to adoption. A gay man living in Shenzhen, adopted a boy several years ago and enjoys the responsibility that comes with being his parent.
China legalized adult gay sex in 1997 and removed same-sex relations from an official list of psychiatric diseases in 2001 but marriage among same-sex is not legal and largely stigmatized because of the deeply held Chinese belief that children are required to marry and bear offspring to continue the family line.
