KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE, LINGUISTICS, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

QUEER DESIRES: AN EXPLORATION OF LESBIANISM IN SELECTED SHORT

STORIES FROM CONTEMPORARY CHINA

NAME: MACHARIA WAMAITHA DORCAS

REG NO: C50/37465/2017

A THESIS RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS OF

KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
 Abstract

A non-normative gender and sexuality made themselves known in an unprecedented way in

contemporary Chinese society. This research focuses to investigate how Lesbian people have
developed throughout as portrayed in ancient china. The study will focus on four stories by
China’s women writers from an anthology edited by Patricia Sieber, Red is not the only colour:
Contemporary Chinese fiction on love and sex between women. The stories include, ‘She’s a
Young Woman and so am I’ (Wong), ‘Lips’ (Liang), ‘In Search of the Lost Wings’ (Chen), and
Breaking Open’ (Ran). This research focuses to investigate how Lesbian people have developed
throughout as portrayed in ancient china revealing the lesbian desires in contemporary China, at
a time which it was considered unacceptable by their laws. The study also gives an oversight of
the reaction and how Chinese people reacted to the new culture of lesbianism among them.
Chinese people hold both accepting attitudes and limitations toward lesbian desires. Different
factors influence the attitude towards lesbian desire like Chinese women texts and stories. Both
traditional and modernizing factors shape contemporary attitudes toward homosexuality in
Chinese society. The objectives of this study is to evaluate the modes of expression of queer
desires in contemporary China as portrayed by lesbian short stories, explore how lesbian
characters have been portrayed in the selected short stories and their experiences of same-sex
relationships and to explore the context of queer desires, reception, and perception in
contemporary Chinese society. Scholarship of Chinese literature in Africa is not as widespread as
western literature owing to the lack of strong historical links between Africa and the Orient. The
texts under investigation are recent and will therefore offer a basis for comparison of lesbian
desires and expressions in China and the rest of the world. This study will thus contribute to
giving visibility to not only to the marginalized sexualities but also to Oriental literature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………3

Declaration……………………………………………………………………………………...…2

1.0 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................5

1.1 Background to the Study......................................................................................................5

1.2 Statement of the Problem.......................................................................................................8

1.3 Objectives of the Study..........................................................................................................8

1.4. Research Questions..........................................................Error: Reference source not found

1.5 Research Assumptions...........................................................................................................9

1.6 Justification for the Study....................................................................................................10

1.7 Scope and Limitation of Study.............................................................................................11

2.0 Literature Review...............................................................................................................12

2.2 Theoretical Framework....................................................................................................20

3.0 Research Methodology......................................................................................................25

3.1 Research Design..................................................................................................................25

3.2 Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................26

3.4 Population Sampling..........................................................................................................26

3.5 Contribution of Study.......................................................................................................26

Work Cited.....................................................................................................................................28

Appendices....................................................................................................................................31
1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the study

In ancient times, Lesbianism and homosexuality, in general, were widely accepted and
open among the people of China. This claim is evidence by the research by various authors such
as Ruan (1991); Chuo (1997); and Samshasha (1997) whose studies show that in ancient China,
homosexuality which includes lesbianism was widely spread, practiced, and fairly tolerated, but
was not completely accepted among the Chinese people. The report by Ruan (1991) indicates
that lesbianism was partly accepted in ancient China because people believed that there was an
unlimited supply of "Yin" which is an energy or substance vital for the body provided by
women. The earliest publications on female sexual desires, intimacy, and love in China are
believed to be "Shi" and "Dui shi" as reported by (Samshasha, 1997). These publications
represented the relationship among maids who worked in the imperial courts. The author
Samshasha indicates that in the lesbian relationship, one couple would dress as a woman while
the other as a man symbolizing and calling one another husband and wife. The couples lived,
slept, and ate together. In the dynasties of Quing and Ming, there were sexual drawings that
portrayed traders selling erotic toys to maids used for sexual enjoyment among themselves in the
imperial court. In some unofficial and official historical events records and publications,
emperors punished queens after finding them to have sexual relationships with maids. From the
period 617AD to 907AD, after the Tang Dynasty, there was the various account of the sexual
relationships between Taoist and Buddhist nuns. In some polygamous marriages, Lesbians
relationships were tolerated, considered inevitable and other times encouraged to keep the
marriage going (Ruan, 1991).

According to Sang, (2003), homosexuality was ignored and never given great attention
until the 1920s when females' same-sex desires were perceived as a sociological discourse that
affected the people of China thus shifting public perception of sexuality and gender. The public
attention to lesbianism resulted in a great analysis of the matter by academic scholars who
provided a historical point of reference to lesbianism and lesbian desirers in China. From 1949
to 1976, the Mao era leads to the disruption and eradication of the public discourse concerning
same-sex intimacy. The social economic and cultural changes in China during the post-Mao era
lead to the rebirth of the works of literature touching on females' same-sex desires, love, and
intimacy. From the 1860s the post-Mao period, which is referred to as the Republican era of
China was marked by national changes of sexual morality, women's literature on sexuality and
gender, and less emphasis on ideological control. The republican era gave women social powers
to express their feelings and desires openly, thus resulting in great academic writers such as Lu
Yin and Ding Lin (Mangan, 2014). These are a few of the factors that assisted in the
development of lesbian sexual desire in contemporary ancient Chinese society. According to
United Nations Development Programme of USAID (2014), in the current century, the
government of China has put regulations on sexuality that has made the matter to be more of a
political condition as opposed to social-cultural conditions. This political regulation era was
started by the Xi regime for sexuality research and the sexual lives of individuals. The regime is
characterized by authoritarian and neoclassical governance styles. According to the research by
Kwok et al (2018), the political condition has forced people to go out of China in order to access
the freedom of undertaking sexuality research and sexuality lives. This has resulted in the
availability of various Chinese society research and texts that help in exposing the sexuality
condition of contemporary China in order to show the characteristic of sexuality and lesbianism
to be specific in order to solve the problem associated with sexuality in China. This has led to the
rise of Chinese foreign scholars in Hong Kong and the United States but not inside PRC. This
has created a concern if the scholars who went to the US to learn about sexuality will be safe
when they go back home. The US has provided protected scholar programs for their foreign
scholars that end up facing persecution when at home thus helping them by providing a claim of
asylum. This especially happens to scholars who are ready to campaign in China (Kwok et al.,
2018). This implies that the political regulation of sexuality has hindered much research on
homosexuality and queer desires. This has led to the literature on the current Chinese research
on sexuality and specifically lesbian desires. The outcome is that there is less information
available showing the characteristics of queer desires in contemporary China.

This study is aimed at investigating queer desires through an exploration of lesbianism in

selected short stories from contemporary china. In order to achieve this aim, this paper will focus
on the modes of expression of queer desires, how lesbian characters have been portrayed,
reception and perception of queer desires, and how it has changed and influenced the culture of
love and sex within the Chinese society to women's consciousness. In order to achieve the above
aim of this dissertation, we will start by defining the research problem of this study.
1.2 Statement of the problem

Homosexual desires are frowned upon in many societies and often are met with open
hostility. Though there is evidence of the existence of lesbianism from ancient times in China,
there have been shifts in the perception and reception of this variant sexual desire and expression
in contemporary times. New discourses have emerged and there is need to explore topics that had
previously been denied visibility because of social and moral limits. Harsh rules and different
perspectives have made Chinese society remain unexplored for a long time because members of
the society are shy to raise discussions on such matters. This study thus intends to explore how
writers of queer texts in contemporary China have portrayed the modes of expression of lesbian
desire, characterization, and the place of the lesbian in Chinese society

1.3 Objectives

I. To evaluate the modes of expression of queer desires in contemporary Chinese as

portrayed by lesbian short stories.
II. To explore how lesbian characters have been portrayed in the selected short stories and
their experiences of same-sex relationships.
III. To explore the context of queer desires, reception, and perception in contemporary
Chinese society.

1.4 Research Questions

I. What are the modes of expression of queer desires in contemporary Chinese as portrayed
by lesbian short stories?
II. How are lesbian characters portrayed in the selected short stories and their experiences of
same-sex relationships?
III. What is the context of queer desires, reception, and perception in contemporary Chinese
society?

1.5 Assumptions of the study

The study will work in line with the following assumptions.

I. That the selected short stories explore the issue of queer desires.
II. The lesbian characters displayed in the selected texts show their experience in society.
III. That the authors of the selected texts have used the short stories as an avenue of painting
the queer desires
1.6 Justification of the Study

Homosexuality, in general, is taboo in many societies and lesbian texts particularly have
not received much critical attention due to homophobia. Scholarship of Chinese literature in
Africa is not as widespread as western literature owing to the lack of strong historical links
between Africa and the Orient. The texts under investigation are recent and will therefore offer a
basis for comparison of lesbian desires and expressions in China and the rest of the world. This
study will thus contribute to giving visibility to not only to the marginalized sexualities but also
to Oriental literature

1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study

There are different views and recommendations concerning lesbianism in Chinese

society. This study is aimed at investigating queer desires through an exploration of lesbianism
in selected short stories from contemporary china. In order to achieve this aim, this paper will
focus on the modes of expression of queer desires, how lesbian characters have been portrayed,
reception and perception of queer desires, and how it has changed and influenced the culture of
love and sex within the Chinese society to women's consciousness. Though there are many
literary texts ranging from novels, novellas, dramas, and short stories that could be used, the
study will limit itself to the four selected short stories; Wong Bikwan’s ‘She’s a Young Woman
and so Am I,’ Chen Ran’s ‘Breaking Open,’ Liang Hanyi’s ‘Hips,’ and Chen Xue’s ‘In Search of
Lost Angels.’ The research will rely on portrayal of female characters in the texts and how the
character traits build the theme of relationship. The selected texts will be relevant in the study
because they share a common link on queer desires in the Chinese society.

1.8 Theoretical Framework

The study will widely employ the concept of queer theory and feminist literary theories
of criticism, and also borrow few concepts of the masculine theory of criticism. Radical
feminism will be pivotal in analyzing the various aspects of changes which Chinese women have
undergone throughout the historical periods, shaping their consciousness towards social issues
such as love and sex.
The research will mainly focus on radical feminism, a strand of feminism theory of criticism that
regards oppression of women as the most widespread social vice, cutting across culture, race,
ethnicity, economic class among other forms of social classifications. Chetambe defines radical
feminism as a social movement consisting of both men and women, opposing patriarchy and
sexism, and whose aim is to achieve a major social change for the benefit of females (23). For
radical feminists, society is fundamentally a patriarchal avenue where males find an avenue of
fulfilling their personal interests at the expense of oppressing women. Radicalisms believe that
such status characterizes social "madness" and therefore need to be curbed. They strive to
eliminate the patriarchal and hierarchical status quo which elevates men while females continue
to suffer. Their long-term goal is advocating for a society where justice is a priority by
challenging the existing social norms and institutions which elevate one gender over the other.
Some of the activities that radical feminists indulge in include, campaigning against the sexual
objectification of women, sensitizing the society to speak against social vices such as rape and
forceful marriage, and challenging the existing social rules defining gender roles. Historical
records have revealed that most societies across the globe nurtured cultures that looked down
upon women by putting them in a subordinate position whereas the male counterparts occupied a
superior position.

For a long time, men enjoyed the absolute privileges of dominating over women until an
awakening call for equal treatment of women was ignited. The feminist movement was born to
push for the equality of women. Shulamith Firestone wrote in the Dialectic of Sex: The Case of
Feminist Revolution (1970) that, "Feminist Revolution should have a good course, focusing on
equity of women without interfering with the respect and space of men. The author added that
women's rights should not include stripping men of their privileges as it was in the case of the
first feminist movement, whose main goal was to limit men. Biological composition which
categorizes one as either male or female should not play a role in shaping a society's culture and
how it regards male or female.

In her paper, Ann Dobie writes that the history of the feminist movement stretches back
into the 19th century although modern society started looking at literature from the feminist lens
from the onset of the 1960s. Modern Feminism is largely attributed to Virginia Woolf especially
in her essay, "A Room of One's Own," where she notes that for a woman to thrive in the literary
world, she needs space and money. Eagleton recognizes Virginia as the pioneer of the modern
feminism debate among other vocal feminists including Mary Wollstonecraft, Simeone de
Beauviour among others. Among the most recent feminist is the Nigerian author and speaker
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose talks and books have ignited controversial debates with
some critics openly telling her to desist from abandoning her culture. Men have also joined the
Feminist Revolution to advocate for the equity of women, for example, the late U.S based
Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina was a feminist.

Towards the end of the 20th century, particularly from the 1980s, gender and sexuality
theories started emerging and redefining society's cultural norms and beliefs. These theories have
since raised questions about the construction of the gendered and sexualized subject and put
forward radical new ideas about performance and performativity as the means by which the body
becomes a signifying system within social formations (Mambrol 1). The term queer theory
emerged during the period and it is defined as a body of criticism on issues of gender, sexuality,
and subjectivity that came out of gay and lesbian scholarship in such fields as literary criticism,
politics, sociology, and history. Queer theory dismisses the theory of essentialism and
acknowledges the tenets of social construction by breaking down binary oppositions such as
"gay" or "straight." On the other hand, queer echoes the sentiments of the postmodernists who
declared the death of the self. The theory also simultaneously attempts to rehabilitate a
subjectivity that allows for sexual and political agency. Some of the prominent proponents of the
queer theory include Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Judith Butler, Michael Warner, and Wayne
Koestenbaum." The queer theory opened new avenues to the queer interpretation of classical and
modern texts. The critics of the theory consider the gays' writings would have different language
signs that would create queerness (Aboudaif 78).

The queer theory will be crucial in the study by making it possible to explore how the
authors of the selected texts have attempted to create characters that have multi relationships
which dig deep into the human self-representing either heterosexual, lesbianism, or gay relations
(Aboudaif 78). It will explore the aspects that other scholars have investigated in different queer
readings such as E M Forster's Howards 1910 published novel End where the author presents his
protagonist Helen in Forster presents as an ideal queer environment she doesn't want a man
(Aboudaif 79). The language Forster uses to express the relationship between the two sisters
indicates this level of queerness "I mean to love you more than ever ... You and I have built up
something real because it is purely spiritual… Unreality and mystery begin as soon as one
touches the body." The theory will be crucial in the investigation of how China's culture and the
emergency of gender and sexuality have impacted women's consciousness towards relationships
in Chinese society.

With reference to Freud's psychoanalysis theory, the study will view the text as some sort
of a dream repressing its real content behind the manifest content. The study will rely on dream
work to reverse the real content to the manifest content in an effort to understand the writer's
underlying thoughts. The process will involve analyzing various aspects of the selected texts
including characters and their character traits, the language style and symbolism that the texts
employ, and how underlying thematic concerns, whose main goal is to deliver the authors'
articulations on the given social aspects. The analysis will incorporate the following; What
unconscious motives are propelling the actions of the character (s) revealed in the given text?
What key issues has the author illustrated? In what ways have the raised issues contributed to the
structure and information of the text? In tackling these issues, the study will acknowledge that
the unconscious is made up of women’s repressed wounds, termed as oppression, their fears on
acting against the society’s expectations, their unresolved conflicts with their male counterparts,
and their guilty desires which do not comply with the society’s norms and threaten to cut them
off it.

The study will also investigate how the selected works act as analogous dreams. It will
focus on how the author(s) of the texts and the character (s) in the stories project the unconscious
desires, fears, and unresolved conflicts Chinese women are facing. The symbols of sexuality,
love, and romance will be useful in the understanding of the underlying issues in the text.
Women in Chinese society have a lot of limitations not only in the literary world but also in other
social spheres. Exploring their writing styles will be crucial in finding out the issues which they
are unconsciously articulating but, they cannot talk openly about them even when it is their
desire to do so, because of their ultimate fear of being harshly judged by society.
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

The cultures of different societies across the globe shape the perspective of their people
towards various social issues such as marriage, gender roles, love, and sex. One issue that has
remained constant among diverse societies for centuries is the issue of sexual relationships which
according to those cultures should only be between members of the opposite sex. The ancient
societies abhorred same-sex relationships and enacted harsh laws and punishment for the
perpetrators. However, things have been changing in the modern world especially with the birth
of LGBTQ whose proponents believe that every person should be free to indulge in sexual
relationships with anybody including members of the same sex without fear of judgment or
stigmatization. Societies are struggling to come into terms with the impact of permitting same-
sex relationships and several debates have risen with people taking sides on whether to support
same-sex relationships or not. Scholars like Chinese women literacy texts have done research in
lesbianism and presented their findings and stands on the topic. The area is still a large topic of
study especially studies that narrow their research to an individual society or culture such as the
Chinese society in our study. The changes have brought different attitudes and responses from
different members of society. These responses have led to different people making decisions
concerning their take and understanding from scholarly texts and records

2.1 lesbianism desires defined

According to HE Jing (2012), lesbianism which is termed as sisterhood became popular

due to the need for women to take refuge from the unbearable condition of life, since sisterhood
provided mutual support to each other in times of straining, women also shared secrets and
dreams with a huge growth in self-identity and were assured of an understanding that was
affirmative. This claim is backed up by Chen (2004) who emphasizes that sisterhood is a channel
to reconstruct the dichotomy of gender. Also Tan (991) emphasizes that sisterhood is the catalyst
to women self-determination and awareness of their independence. In the book "A Private Life",
Chen Ran shows that the transition of Niuniu from an innocent and ignorant girl to a gender-
conscious woman is influenced by her close and 3 years older classmate Yi Qiu. This shows the
influence that close female friends had on other women who were not conscious sexually.
Another similar instance is with the short story "Breaking open" by Chen Ran where Miss Dai Er
is homo-phonically enlightened by Yunnan, who is a close female friend. She was made to see
the gender difference that existed. Yunnan described Dai Er timidity by initially comparing her
as follows; "a domesticated she wolf who is howling her song of distress everywhere”; “a she-
goat doomed to be slaughtered for a feast”; and “a doe in a forest riddled with traps” (“Breaking
Open”, 2001, pp. 49-50). Yunnan then goes ahead to demonstrate her oppositions of the
connotation that are based on the term "female". The connotation of the term female as being
powerless, weak and stupid. Yunnan corrects her point of view as transporting an air of “kid-
sister-like little brother” or “little-brother-like kid sister” (“Breaking Open”, 2001). HE jing
(2012) argues that Yunnan point of view is similar to that of Judith Butler who in her novel
“Gender Trouble” describes the gender notion as an ideological and cultural construct. Butler
argued that desires heterosexualization needs and entails the production of asymmetrical and
discrete opposition between males and females. Thus particular forms of identity cannot be
present.

There were fewer accounts of lesbianism in ancient China. Western sinologists believe
the attitude toward lesbianism in ancient China was more stable than that of male homosexuality,
the status of which changed from dynasty to dynasty depending on the preferences of emperors
and social atmospheres (Samsasha, 1997).lesbianism in ancient involved women facing each
other which was termed as "dui shi". It involved relationships between maids in the imperial
court, one dressed as a man and the other dressed as a lady and they call each other husband and
wife. Historical records show queens punished by the emperors after they were found sleeping
with maids.

Lesbianism was considered inevitable and tolerated in some polygamous families, and
sometimes even encouraged (Ruan, 1991). An ancient sex handbook allowed women to have
pleasurable genital contact among them to quench their desires. Ruan (1991) reported that some
formal associations of lesbians were found in the early period of modern China like the "Ten
sister" which was founded by Buddhist nuns (p.136).

The book by Tze-Ian Sang revealed the origin of the term "tongxing lian" and "nü
tongxing lian" in Chinese society. "Tongxing lian" which referred to male homosexuals lead to
the development of the term "nü tongxing lian" which is defined as female homosexuals. The
term lesbian is hardly a world translated among the contemporary Chinese people. Critiques of
Sang Chuo in his article argued that the term "tongxing lian" is not widely identified by the
Chinese people.

Among the traditional terms used in ancient china to describe lesbianism is “mojingzi”
which means mirror grinding or rubbing mirror. In the 19th century, “Mojing Dang” a term that
was commonly used in Shanghais was used to describe the rubbing mirror party and thus
indication that there were some formal lesbian associations present in China (Ruan, 1991). The
founders of the party are believed to be the “Ten Sisters” which was started by Buddhist nuns in
the province of Guangdong, Chaozhou about 100 years ago. Other similar names to the “Ten
Sisters” and shows the same association in China includes handkerchief relationship (“Shou pa
jiao”), golden orchid contact (“Jin lan qi”), and golden orchid association (“Jin lan hui”) among
others. Most of these groups such as “jin lan hui” has been analyzed by Samshasha (1997), who
found that it was started by and is between unwedded Chinese women who supported themselves
by raising silkworms. Most of the women in this sexual orientation turned their unmarried maids
(plait) into lesbian marriage (bun) and went ahead to perform some rituals in places of worship
as a formal announcement of their choice not to wed. Upon performing the rituals, the women
who had fiancées were not to be forced to marriage and upon demand by the fiancée to marry
then, the woman was to return the dowry to the fiancée. The two lesbians would then return the
dowry on equal basis of the cost (Jing Wu MA, 2003).

In our modern society scholars believe that homosexuality existed in the traditional
Chinese belief that a person’s sex or gender is not fixed, rather relatively fluid, as is believed in
many other non-Christian cultures (Samshasha, 1997; Chou, 1997)

Lesbianism desires in the Modern Chinese Society

In this 21stcentury era lesbianism involves feelings, women's internal values and is done
by a broad encompassed sense of moral well-being and acknowledgment. The ancient Chinese
society had women growing with a belief and held a status quo that their actions and decisions
must have respect in front of their men.

Scholars like Duke Michael Zhao learned later in modern society that lesbianism has
been portrayed in short stories in modern china society. The literary texts are used to express
individual perspectives on various social issues ranging from politics, religion, and friendship.
The same researches established that women in modern Chinese society heavily draw from their
society's history to shape their contemporary life. Some writers used texts to reflect morals,
values, and their various perspectives concerning social issues. (Mao, 1942) Lesbianism is well
defined by using literary texts and when women embrace their texts as an avenue of speaking
their minds through the characters and situations which they create in their texts.

New laws have been passed in modern Chinese society that enhances how vocal women
can be on issues relating to love and relationship. The laws have made them have power over
choices they make concerning lesbianism unlike in the past where men made all decisions
(Margery). Women's writings incorporate some irrelevant aspects such as getting married and
rediscovery of pleasure in food, among others. As a prolific writer of short stories, Zhang's
writing style was deeply centered on the materiality of life. She wrote most of her stories based
on her real-life experiences, putting significance on the role of experience in shaping women's
consciousness in Chinese society.

According to research done, the majority of women rely on social norms to make
decisions in Chinese society. A woman grows up according to respect to her father and elder
brothers before proceeding to obey her husband in her matrimonial home, (Liji Zhushu, vol. 26).

Lesbianism in Chinese Developing History

Lesbianism has grown gradually throughout the history of Chinese society. A Liberation
of 1949, led to the formation of the PRC, women were obliged to totally detach themselves from
openly expressing romantic love (Chung 29). This period was considered a starting point for the
analysis of lesbian desires in China. The post Mao era which is dated between the period 1949 to
1976 and was characterized by the disruption of the public discourse concerning lesbian desires.
Following this period, there was a wide opening up and wide development of the cultural
scenes resulting to the discussions and writings concerning females same sex desires, intimacy,
sex and marriage such as the national change in sexual morality, various women writings, and
the state relaxation of ideological regulations as from 1980s (Mangan, 2014).

Several stories discuss the evolution of lesbianism in Chinese society. For example
"Lips" by Liang Hanyi is a tale of a young woman, Shuiping, and her reflection on the past
actions of her close and deceased friend Qingwu. The narrator, Shuiping, feels betrayed,
wronged, and intimidated by the kiss that she received from her best friend before her death. The
story centers on the negative reception and judgment of the kiss which Shuiping had received
from her most trusted friend, with whom they had a deep almost romantic relationship during
their high school days.

Even though the description of the story does not clearly establish it because neither of
the girls has accepted, it seems the two friends could have possibly shared a romantic
relationship. Such a relationship was not allowed in Chinese society and women in the past
generations could not indulge in a romantic relationship with their fellow women.

From the pre-modern China until after the formation of PRC, emotional sentiments and
love were expressed exclusively through parties of opposite sex. However, women were not
allowed to make a move and openly express their sentiments to any man they developed
romantic feelings for. Following the Liberation of 1949, which led to formation of PRC, women
were obliged to totally detach themselves from openly expressing romantic love (Chung 29). For
instance, Zong Pu, a Chinese woman writer found herself in the midst of criticisms when her
story ‘Red Peas’ attracted public attention through its content which aroused nostalgic feeling
towards romance. Her critics insisted that her story was unhealthy because it extended beyond
the boundaries which women writers were supposed to reach when presenting their literary texts.
3.0. RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY

This will be a library based research. The methodology that the study has chosen will
acquire relevant information concerning lesbian desires among Chinese society. The main
objective of the methodology is to use appropriate research methods and theoretical concerns
which will enhance the drawing of exhaustive conclusions.

3.1. Research Design

This research study is focused to understand lesbianism desires in Chinese society. The
study is an extension and addition of past studies involving lesbianism on various social aspects.
The research will adopt a qualitative research approach which will be broadly explanatory in
nature after intensively reading the selected primary texts. The qualitative approach will involve
selection, organization, and interpretation of the textual information in relation to the context.

3.2 Data Collection

Primary and secondary sources of data will be used to gather information to achieve the
study’s objectives. Primary sources of data will comprise literacy texts and stories by the
Chinese women while secondary sources will help towards the development of the study
background information that will dictate the outcome of the research. Critical reading and
analysis of the texts will provide the required information to explore lesbian desires in Chinese
society.

3.3 Population Sampling

Ideally, a researcher will wish to study an entire population when carrying out research.
However, it is difficult; time-consuming, expensive, and impossible to achieve such a feat and
therefore, a researcher has to settle for a sample of the population to make the study a success.
Black and Champion (1976) defined a sample as a section of elements taken from a population
and treated as a representative of the entire population. This study will use purposive sampling.
A purposive sample is a non-probability sample that is selected based on characteristics of a
population and the objective of the study, in this case, stories with lesbian desire themes in
Chinese society.

3.4 Data Analysis

 The analysis of data both from primary and secondary sources will be done focusing on
the initial objectives of the study. The relevant data will be objectively interpreted in gathering
information and concluding about the topic of the study. The analysis of the data will stick to the
theoretical framework and will use the qualitative analysis to establish lesbian desires in Chinese
society.

3.4 Contribution of the Study

The study will also help to reveal the freedom being enjoyed by lesbian women in
Chinese society courtesy of the legal modernization of lesbianism. In addition, the study will also
play a key role in illuminating the guilty desires and pleasures which women are hiding because
of the fear of being judged by society, which has trained them to abide by the existing laws and
status quo. The findings from the research will be useful in establishing the progress that Chinese
society has made in promoting gender through a section of lesbianism.

Conclusion

The research will show how ancient and modern information and texts are used to give
information on lesbianism desire in Chinese society and how it all started. The selected stories
that the study will tap from will reveal that art is society's fabric because its concerns explore
different elements that constitute such a society and the beliefs of its people.
 Works cited

Beijing: AIZHI Action Project, and Taohong Man Tianxia Web Site <www.csssm.org>.Liu, H.,
Zhang, P., Zou, Y., Liu, J., Li, X., Guo, F., Yao, F., Zhang, X. & Xu, H.
(1999),Tongxinglianzhe de xinli zhuangkuang jiqi xingcheng de yingxiang yinsu (The
psychological states of homosexuals and factors that influenced their formation). Chinese
Journal of Psychiatry, 32.
Chou W. S. (1996), Beijing Tongzhi Gushi [Stories of Tongzhis in Beijing]. Hong
Kong: Hong Kong Tongzhi Study Press.
Chou, W. S. (1997), Post-Colonial Tongzhi. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Tongzhi Press
Gao, J., Pan, S., Yan, G. & Yang, X. (1985), Zhongguo xinlixue shi [The History of
Psychology in China]. Beijing: The People’s Educational Press.
Kwok, C., Stevi J., Siyang C & Petula S, Y. (2018): Sex With Chinese Characteristics: Sexuality
Research in/on 21st-Century China, The Journal of Sex Research, DOI:
10.1080/00224499.2018.1437593
Li, Y. & Wang, X. (1992), Tamen de shijie–Zhongguo nan tongxinglian qunluo tongzhi [Their
World: The Gay Male Population in China in Perspective]. Taiyuan, China: Shanxi
People’s Press.
Lin, E. (2001), Zhongguo tongxinglian feibinglihua yiweizhe shenmo [What
doesdepathologization of homosexuality in China mean?]. Becoming Your Own
Expert.Beijing: AIZHI Action Project, and Taohong Man Tianxia Web Site
<www.csssm.org>.
Liu, H., Zhang, P., Zou, Y., Liu, J., Li, X., Guo, F., Yao, F., Zhang, X. & Xu, H. (1999),
Tongxinglianzhe de xinli zhuangkuang jiqi xingcheng de yingxiang yinsu (The psychological
states of homosexuals and factors that influenced their formation). Chinese Journal of
Psychiatry, 32.
Mangan, Ashley, "Imagining Female Tongzhi: The Social Significance of Female Same-sex
Desire in Contemporary Chinese Literature" (2014). Asian Languages and Cultures
Honors Projects. Paper 2. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/asian_honors/2
Ruan, F. F. (1988), Male homosexuality in contemporary Mainland China. Arch. Sexual
Behavior, 17:189-199.
Ruan, F. F. (1991), Sex in China. New York: Plenum Press.
Samshasha (1997), Zhongguo tongxinglian shilu, zengding ben [A History of Homosexuality in
China, Expan Li, Y. & Wang, X. (1992), Tamen de shijie–zhongguo nan tongxinglian
qunluo tongzhi
[Their World: The Gay Male Population in China in Perspective]. Taiyuan, China: Shanxi
People’s Press Edition]. Hong Kong: Rosa Winkel Press
UNDP, USAID (2014). Being LGBT in Asia: China Country Report. Bangkok.
https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1861/Being%20LGBT%20in%20Asi
a%20China%20Country%20Report-Eng.pdf
Jing Wu MA (2003) From “LongYang” and “DuiShi” to Tongzhi: Homosexuality in China,
Journal of Gay &amp; Lesbian Psychotherapy, 7:1-2, 117-143, DOI:
10.1300/J236v07n01_08
Zhang, B. (1994), Tong Xing Ai [Homosexuality]. Jinan, China: Shandong Province Science
and Technology Press.
Zhang, H. (1988), Psychological measurement in China. Int. J. Psychol., 23:101-117.
Zhong, Y. (1991), Zhongguo guonei xinli zhiliao yu zixun gaikuang [A survey of psychotherapy
and counseling in China]. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 5:38-40
Zhang, Jingyuan. 2000. Breaking open: Chinese women's writing in the late 1980s and 1990s. In
Chinese literature in the second half of a modern century: A critical survey. eds.
Bangyuan Qi, Dewei Wang, 161-179. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Mangan, A. (2014). Imagining Female Tongzhi: The Social Significance of Female Same-sex
Desire in Contemporary Chinese Literature. Asian Languages and Cultures Honors
Projects. Paper 2. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/asian_honors/2
Ferry, M. (2005). Woman and Her Affinity to Literature: Defining Women Writers’ Roles in
China’s Cultural Modernity in Contested Modernity in Chinese Literature, edited by
Charles A. Laughlin. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Martin, F. (2010). Backward glances: Contemporary Chinese cultures and the female
homoerotic imaginary. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Sang, T. D. (1999). Feminism's double: Lesbian activism in the mediated public sphere of
taiwan. In Spaces of their own: Women's public sphere in transnational china, ed.
Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, 132-61. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Chou, W. & Zhou, H. (2000). Hou zhimin tongzhi 后殖民同志 [Postcolonial tongzhi]. Hong
Kong: Xianggang Haworth. See Sang 2003, 37-65 for further analysis of pre-modern
Chinese attitudes toward female-female relations, including views held and explanations
given by twentieth century commentators.
Ellis, H. (1900). Studies in the psychology of sex. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
Yang, M., M. (1999). From gender erasure to gender difference: State feminism, consumer
sexuality, and women’s public sphere in china. In Spaces of their own: women's public
sphere in transnational China. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Lu, T. (1995). Misogyny, cultural nihilism & oppositional politics: contemporary Chinese
experimental fiction. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.
APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Temporary Outline of the Research Paper

Chapter 1: Introduction and Background into the study

Chapter 2: ‘Women Consciousness’ and How It Relates To Chinese Women and Their
Perceptions on Love and Sex

Chapter 3: Portrayal of Women Characters In the Selected Short Stories and Their Perspectives
towards Same-Sex Relationships

Chapter 4: Chinese Women Using Literary Texts as Platforms of Expressing Their

Consciousness on Same-Sex Sexual Relationships in the Chinese Society

Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations.

APPENDIX 2: Calendar of Activities

DATE TASK/ACTIVITIES

August Proposal Development

2020
December Proposal presentation and Defense to the Department of
2020 Literature
January Proposal corrections
2020
February Submission of the corrected proposal at the school of
2020 Humanities and social sciences
March Draft and Submission of Chapter 2 to the supervisors
2020
April Draft and Submission of Chapter 3 to the supervisors
2020
May 2020 Draft and Submission of Chapter 4 to the supervisors

June 2021 Draft and Submission of Chapter 5 to the supervisors

July 2021 The final defense of the thesis at the graduate school

August Submission of Error-free document for signing and Binding

2021
 December Graduation
2021

Appendix 3: Budget projection

ITEMS KSHS.
A: GENERAL STATIONERY.
1)10 Photocopy papers and files 4000
2)Pens, pencils, and files 10000
3)stapler, a paper punch, pins 2000
4) Foolscaps (5 reams) 5000
B: INTERNET.
5)online journals, articles, theses, books, and 18000
other soft publications
Researches
6)Hard Copy texts and other reference materials 28000
C: THESIS PREPARATION
7) Typesetting of the proposal and thesis 6000
8)Printing and graphics 10000
9)Binding 6000
D: TRANSPORT, AIR TIME AND OTHERS
10)Travel and consulting 10000
11)Air time 4000
12)Others 8000
TOTAL 110,000