Inside the “Labyrinth”: China’s Confused LGBT+ Communities Amidst Conflicts
By Zhu Xi –
On a vast screen, two young men sit shoulder to shoulder, engaged in an intimate conversation. Originally part of a group around a bonfire, they had slipped away together, their departure carrying an air of clandestine romance. Against the backdrop of a moonlit beach and the gentle murmur of waves, their exchanged glances are imbued with a tantalizing ambiguity, heightened by the delicate interplay of light and shadow.
This scene might not surprise the audience if it was shown elsewhere, but this was in mainland China—on May 17, 2024, the movie Labyrinth was released nationwide. This day coincides with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
Ma Baoli is a Chinese national and the founder of BlueCity, the world’s first publicly listed LGBT+ social networking company. He shared his thoughts during the premiere a week earlier: “Presenting such emotions from a unique perspective in the current environment is remarkable; releasing it on such a special day is particularly thoughtful.”
On May 15, Ma, the prominent figure in the LGBT+ community with 269,000 followers on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, posted about the “male-male affection” in the movie, urging fans to “support ‘our’ movie.”
Photo Caption: Posters of the movie ‘Labyrinth’ on the premiere day/Photo: Ma Baoli’s Weibo
Jerry Qiu (alias), a 28-year-old gay man, watched Labyrinth on its release day. “They (the promotion team of the movie) went to gay bars to promote it, and I was surprised that such a movie could be released in China,” he said.
Qiu noted the movie’s meticulous emotional depiction, saying it was “very delicate in illustrating the intricacies of having a secret crush on a straight classmate during high school,” which resonated well with his own personal experience.
“I believe that the release of Labyrinth indicates that the Chinese Communist Party does not intend to completely eradicate the concept of LGBT+,” said Qiu.
The movie’s nationwide release could suggest a softening of the government’s stance or at least an indication that the conversation around sexual and gender diversity is slowly finding its way into the public, amidst a backdrop of increased censorship and repression of LGBT+ communities.
Ambiguous Attitude of the Government Towards LGBT+ Topics
According to a 2023 annual report from the US think-tank Freedom House, China has intensified cultural censorship and repression of LGBT+ groups since 2017. Since June 2021, China’s major pride events have been suspended. While Pride month is celebrated worldwide, China has had no significant LGBT+ events.
Ma’s BlueCity was delisted in 2022, just two years after its initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ. On Weibo, Ma hinted in a post at how challenging it is to run an LGBT business in China.
In May 2023, the Beijing LGBT Center, established in 2008, which played a vital role in combating prejudice against sexual and gender minorities in China, announced its closure due to “force majeure”—often indicating government shutdown in China. This closure marked the end of the last major LGBT+ organization in China.
The China Dissent Monitor indicated that nearly half of the dissent in mainland China in 2023 related to LGBT+ issues was suppressed by the government, police and universities.
Credit: Data Visualization by: Zhu Xi
On January 1, 2024, in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, a woman waving a rainbow flag at the New Year’s Eve event at the Financial City Twin Towers was stopped by the police.
Two weeks later, a well-known Chinese transgender dancer, Jin Xing, raised a rainbow flag at the end of a performance in Taiyuan, Shanxi, sparking intense online discussions, with the photo subsequently censored.
Seventeen-year-old Lisa Le (alias) posted in early May on her Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform, calling for participation in an LGBT-themed installation art project. She received few responses but attracted the attention of the National Security Bureau, leading an officer to visit her at the Huoying Police Station of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Photo Caption: Original photos of Lisa Le’s planned installation art project retrieved from her post/Photo: Lisa Le
“I was scared when I entered the police station and found it somewhat ridiculous—they seemed to be wasting police resources,” said Le.
She learned from the officer that “some foreign embassies” planned to organize “certain activities” in Beijing on May 17, and the National Security Bureau suspected Le of colluding with foreign forces.
The post has since disappeared from Le’s Xiaohongshu page.
“My childhood friend also told me to stop,” Le said. “Many of my interviewees have traumatic experiences and are reluctant to make them public.”
Le initiated this project to voice her friend’s bullying experience due to non-conforming gender appearance, but that friend was also the first to refuse her interview request.
“I understand the government acts for national security, but they should not suppress activities that awaken social kindness. The neglect, discrimination and distorted perceptions from family and society are more painful to me”, said Qiu, who was among the audience at the debut of the movie.
Despite winning accolades prior to its release, Labyrinth struggled at the box office. As of May 22, it had earned less than 1.4 million yuan in mainland China. Director Ma Xue has been urging support on Weibo, warning that without viewers, screenings may cease soon. Netizens commented that even with a desire to watch, few screenings were available on the movie’s debut day, with many local cinemas not showing it at all.
Bringing LGBT+ narratives to the mainstream stage seems to remain a lengthy and arduous endeavor.
LGBT+ Voices Struggle for Respectful Representation
Even within the community of gender and sexual minorities who have seen Labyrinth, opinions are divided. The production team promoted Labyrinth with gay elements and the slogan “love beyond gender,” but not all members of the gay community embraced it. A significant point of contention was that one of the male characters kissed a girl in the movie.
A search on “Labyrinth” on Xiaohongshu reveals numerous angry comments accusing the team of exploiting gay audiences for profit. Ma and other key opinion leaders (KOLs) who recommended the movie did not respond to interview requests about Labyrinth.
Even within the LGBT+ community, there are perplexing contradictions, making the concept of ‘LGBT+’ an overly broad label.
“I completely do not understand bisexuality; I think they are so greedy that they want everything,” said 22-year-old gay man Ran Ran (alias), who said he is firmly attracted only to men. Ran took several years to confirm his sexual orientation, transitioning from feeling nothing for girls in his adolescence to experiencing “unprecedented feelings” for a male classmate in college.
“I also don’t understand those who dress very femininely and speak meanly; they seem more like transgender heterosexuals than gays,” Ran said, adding that the stereotype of effeminate gay men on social media worsens societal attitudes toward gay men.
Grace Gu, an incoming postgraduate in Sociology, recently completed a five-month field study exploring the vibrant nightlife of Beijing and Chengdu. Her research took her to a diverse array of lesbian and gay bars, where she observed stark contrasts in atmosphere and culture.
Upon transitioning from the warm embrace of a lesbian bar to the pulsating energy of a gay bar, Gu felt as though she had been “transported to another planet”. The distinct vibes of each venue highlighted the unique identities and experiences of their respective communities.
Photo Caption: A rainbow flag hangs prominently in a lesbian bar /Photo: Zhu Xi
Lesbian bars, usually adorned with rainbow flags and graffiti, create a space that celebrates sisterhood and empowerment. They screen movies that resonate with the lesbian experience and offer a menu of drinks inspired by lesbian culture, fostering a supportive environment where “girls help girls.”
However, Gu noted that “this sanctuary can sometimes border on extremism”, as it often feels necessary to exclude men and those who do not conform to their norms in order to establish a distinct voice. She described it as a “fragile utopia,” a safe haven that, while providing a sense of community, is built on the exclusion of others.
Pride to Come
As the Pride month of June approaches, dissent among China’s LGBT+ communities become more frequent and active. Most LGBT+ dissent acts in 2023 occurred during May and June.
Data Visualization by: Zhu Xi
Despite Qiu’s discomfort with being simply classified as “LGBT+,” he still supports themed activities and plans to attend the “Guangzhou LGBTQI+ Movie Festival” in June. He described this event as “hard-won.”
“Although it’s somewhat a desperate move, it’s about surviving in the cracks,” Qiu said.
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Edited by: Holly Chik