title: Assessing the Tongzhi Label: Self-Identification and Public Opinion.
abstract: Tongzhi is one of several Chinese terms that refer to individuals who are attracted to the same sex. Using data from two different surveys in Hong Kong, this research note examines how the term tongzhi coexists with other terms. We investigate the prevalence of self-identification as tongzhi, and we explore the extent to which using the term tongzhi influences public attitudes toward gay people and gay rights. Activists began popularizing the term tongzhi in the late 1980s, but less than one third of the participants in our 2008 survey of sexual orientation minorities (n = 728) described themselves as tongzhi. Using a split-ballot experiment in a 2013 public opinion poll (n = 831), we found that attitudes toward gay people and gay rights were not significantly impacted by whether questions were phrased in terms of tongzhi or the main alternative term tongxinglianzhe. We discuss how our findings can enrich understandings of earlier research and illuminate avenues for future study.
authors.affiliation: a School of Law, University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill , North Carolina , USA.
authors.forename: Holning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: b Faculty of Law, Oxford University , Oxford , UK.
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.affiliation: c Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work , University of Hawai'i , Honolulu , Hawai'i , USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Stotzer
authors.affiliation: d Survey Research Division , RTI International , Research Triangle Park , North Carolina , USA.
authors.forename: Charles Q
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: e Faculty of Law , University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong , China.
authors.forename: Kelley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Loper
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality; D006723:Hong Kong; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011639:Public Opinion; D012649:Self Concept; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; Hong Kong; gay; identity; lesbian; public opinion; tongzhi