Seeking Pleasure in Peril: Male Same-Sex Relations during the Cultural Revolution

This article is part of a larger research project that traces the history of male same-sex relations in China during the Mao era, a topic on which virtually no scholarship is currently available. The Chinese government named the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) “ten years of turmoil” in its aftermath. Stories circulate widely about men who were labeled as sodomites, humiliated and tortured in public, and sentenced to hard labor; some reportedly were beaten to death or committed suicide during this period. Using oral history and archival cases collected by the author, this article complicates this narrative about the Cultural Revolution by documenting different experiences of sexual awakening, ingenuity, and resilience of those men as well as their fear, misfortune, and tribulations. Despite all the risks of being arrested, interrogated, and disciplined by the authorities, clandestine sex between men persisted in both private and public spaces throughout this tumultuous period.

Understanding Chinese Gay Men’s and Lesbians’ Experiences of Coping with the Pressure to Marry from the Lens of Suzhi Discourse

Chinese gay men and lesbians are faced with multiple challenges by living in a heteronormative society, and marriage is considered to be a major concern among this group of people. Anchoring from the lens of suzhi discourse, this research carried out a qualitative study by interviewing 21 gay men and lesbians to explore how they refer to the suzhi discourse to justify their choices when faced with the pressure to marry, so as to align themselves more with the mainstream social values. Results indicate that when faced with the pressure to marry, gay men and lesbians refer to the suzhi discourse to construct a positive same-sex identity and civilized community, pursue civilized same-sex relationships, or construct a flexible life.

Publisher Correction To: Disclosure of same-sex practices and experiences of healthcare stigma among cisgender men who have sex with men in five sub-Saharan African countries

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

A perspectiva do serviço social sobre adoção de crianças e adolescentes por casais homoafetivos

O presente artigo tem por objetivo apontar os desafios do trabalho do assistente social no processo de adoção de crianças e adolescentes por casais homoafetivos na sociedade brasileira, além de compreender as dificuldades dos casais homoafetivos encontradas no processo de adoção e apresentar a produção científica do Serviço Social sobre o processo de adoção no Brasil por casais homoafetivos. A metodologia utilizada foi a pesquisa bibliográfica, tendo como universo de pesquisa a produção científica dos Congresso Brasileiros de Assistentes Sociais (CBAS) de 2016 e 2019 e Encontro Nacional de Pesquisadores do Serviço Social (ENPESS) de 2016 e 2018, a qual abordasse a adoção homoafetiva. Os resultados alcançados estão relacionados à necessidade de conhecimento desses casais que são vítimas de estereótipos e discriminação social, bem como das legislações vigentes e seus impactos na superação das realidades vivenciadas por esses sujeitos. This article aims to point out the challenges of the work of social workers in the process of adoption of children and adolescents by same-sex couples in Brazilian society, in addition to understanding the difficulties of same-sex couples encountered in the adoption process and presenting the scientific production of Social Work on the adoption process in Brazil by same-sex couples. The methodology used was bibliographic research, having as research universe the scientific production of the Brazilian Congress of Social Workers (CBAS) in 2016 and 2019 and the National Meeting of Social Work Researchers (ENPESS) in 2016 and 2018, which addressed the adoption homoaffective. The results achieved are related to the need for knowledge of these couples who are victims of stereotypes and social discrimination, as well as current legislation and its impacts on overcoming the realities experienced by these subjects.

United States Normative Attitudes for Pursuing Parenthood as a Function of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Age

Decisions about whether or not to become a parent are significant parts of normative human development. Many studies have shown that married different-sex couples are expected to become parents, and that many social pressures enforce this norm. For same-sex couples, however, much less is known about social norms surrounding parenthood within marriage. This study examined injunctive norms and descriptive norms for the pursuit of parenthood as a function of age, gender, and sexual orientation. Participants in an internet survey included 1020 (522 heterosexual, 498 lesbian/gay) cisgender people from across the United States Findings showed that norms, especially descriptive norms, for the pursuit of parenthood for heterosexual people were much stronger than those for lesbian women and gay men, and that norms for lesbian women were stronger than those for gay men. These differences were more pronounced for older, heterosexual, and male participants. However, lesbian and gay participants, especially gay men, reported that lesbian and gay people ought to become parents to the same extent as heterosexual people. Overall, the results indicated that, regardless of sexual orientation, adults report that lesbian and gay married people ought to become parents, but that they expect only a minority of these couples will pursue parenthood. This research provided a glimpse into how Americans are envisioning family formation among same-sex couples today.

Nano-pesticides: the lunch-box principle—deadly goodies (semio-chemical functionalised nanoparticles that deliver pesticide only to target species)

Nature contains many examples of “fake promises” to attract “prey”, e.g., predatory spiders that emit the same sex-attractant-signals as moths to catch them at close range and male spiders that make empty silk-wrapped gifts in order to mate with a female. Nano-pesticides should ideally mimic nature by luring a target and killing it without harming other organisms/species. Here, we present such an approach, called the lunch-box or deadly-goodies approach. The lunch-box consists of three main elements (1) the lure (semio-chemicals anchored on the box), (2) the box (palatable nano-carrier), and (3) the kill (advanced targeted pesticide). To implement this approach, one needs to draw on the vast amount of chemical ecological knowledge available, combine this with recent nanomaterial techniques, and use novel advanced pesticides. Precision nano-pesticides can increase crop protection and food production whilst lowering environmental impacts. Graphical Abstract