Shortlist, LGBT in China by Raul Ariano

"The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community has faced discrimination in China since 1979, when the communist party criminalised ‘hooliganism’ (an umbrella term that included homosexual activities). In 1997, the Chinese government abolished the crime of ‘hooliganism’ and four years later homosexuality was removed from its list of psychiatric disorders. Despite these changes, the LGBT community still feel stigmatised.

Many Chinese families are traditional, and people avoid ‘coming out’ to their parents or relatives for fear of being labelled the underdog. What’s more, the one-child policy (which came to an end in 2015) has put extra pressure on parents to raise a child that meets all of their expectations, including having grandchildren. For some, this could be described as an obsession, which puts pressure on LGBT children to conform to a heterosexual lifestyle in order to give birth."