Discursive Representations of Sexual Minorities in China's English-Language News Media: A Corpus-Based Study

The 2021 ban on WeChat public accounts related to homosexuality in mainland China highlights the marginalization and stigma faced by sexual minorities (SMs) in China. Existing research has documented escalating homophobic sentiments, mirroring trends in other regions. While studies have analyzed SM representations in Chinese-language media, research on English-language news media in China is scarce. This study addresses this gap by examining how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals are portrayed in English-language newspapers in mainland China. The study aims to identify keywords associated with prevalent themes, analyze discursive representations of SMs, and explore the factors shaping these representations.

Previous research reveals predominantly negative portrayals of SMs in Chinese-language media. Kang (2010) examined portrayals of same-sex relationships in tabloids, highlighting their association with political instability. Zhang (2014) analyzed the People's Daily, noting evolving attitudes toward transgender individuals—from suppression during the Maoist era to pathologization and eventual legal recognition. Chang and Ren (2017) found diverse representations of gay individuals in Beijing's daily newspapers, categorizing them as victims, violent subjects, enemies of cultural values, and threats to social stability. Huang (2018) identified seven stereotypes of homosexuals in the People's Daily, including criminal, morally objectionable, and HIV/AIDS-related. Zhang et al. (2022) examined the portrayal of gay men in two English-language newspapers, finding predominantly negative representations. However, this study lacked representation of lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender individuals. This current study aims to broaden the scope to include all LGBT individuals, utilizing a corpus linguistic approach to mitigate biases inherent in solely qualitative methods.

This study employed a corpus-assisted discourse analysis approach, drawing upon Wodak's (2001) discourse-historical approach and van Leeuwen's (2008) social actor-network framework. The research followed four steps: Step 1: Research Contextualization: The study started with the 2021 WeChat ban and a review of existing literature to identify research gaps. Step 2: Corpus Compilation: A corpus of 354 news articles (305,733 words) was compiled from four English-language newspapers (Beijing Review, China Daily, Global Times, and Shanghai Daily) published between January 2001 and December 2021. Purposive sampling was used, focusing on articles containing keywords related to SMs. Step 3: Keyword Analysis: AntConc 3.5.8 software was used to perform keyword analysis, comparing the news corpus against the British National Corpus (BNC). The top 100 keywords were selected for further analysis. Step 4: Qualitative Analysis: The researchers examined text chunks containing the keywords, analyzing them based on discursive strategies (nomination, predication, argumentation, perspectivation, intensification/mitigation) to understand how SMs were represented.

Keyword analysis revealed that SMs are predominantly represented in three semantic categories: (1) unhealthy individuals (associated with HIV/AIDS, mental illness); (2) victims (facing discrimination, marriage inequality, workplace issues); and (3) progressionists (actively involved in LGBT advocacy and community building). A fourth less prevalent category emerged portraying SMs with promiscuous tendencies. Qualitative analysis of news excerpts supported these findings. The analysis of news articles revealed that the framing of SMs often employed strategies such as intensification, aggregation, expert legitimation, and passivation. The news articles that presented SMs negatively employed metaphors linking homosexuality to disease and illness. The study also noted that the English-language news articles showed a degree of both negative and positive depictions, in contrast to research on the Chinese-language press, which was predominantly negative. The study also highlighted the use of numerical data (percentages) to intensify negative aspects of SMs, as well as the frequent use of passive voice to describe the experiences of SMs as victims.

The findings show that while negative representations of SMs as unhealthy or deviant persist in China's English-language news media, there is also evidence of more liberal and positive portrayals. The coexistence of conservative and liberal perspectives is noteworthy. The study suggests four potential contributing factors to the more positive portrayals: the rising influence of the “Chinese Dream” promoting inclusivity, the growing freedom in English-language media to address sensitive topics, the emergence of the “pink economy,” and the increased activism of LGBT organizations. The findings highlight a complex interplay of factors shaping public perception of SMs in China, revealing a shift towards greater inclusivity, albeit with persistent challenges.

This study contributes to understanding the evolving discursive representations of SMs in China's English-language news media. While negative stereotypes persist, the emergence of more positive portrayals reflects a complex interplay of political, economic, and social factors. Future research should explore the visual aspects of SM representation, compare portrayals of gay men and lesbian women, and investigate specific LGBT-related topics in greater depth.

This study focuses solely on English-language news media in China. Future research should include Chinese-language media for a more comprehensive understanding. The corpus may not fully capture the diversity of opinions across different regions and communities within China. Additionally, while the study used quantitative methods to support qualitative findings, relying solely on keywords might miss the complexities of nuanced language in news reporting.