New | ‘This is not my coming-out’: leading Chinese sexologist sets record straight with surprise revelation
One of China’s most prominent sexologists and crusader for LGBT rights has dropped a bomb on social media by admitting that she has had a long relationship with a transsexual man.
One of China’s most prominent sexologists and crusader for LGBT rights has dropped a bomb on social media by hitting back at her critics and admitting that she has had a long relationship with a transsexual man.
“I am not homosexual”, Li, 62, announced on her microblog Thursday night in response to recent accusations that she had deliberately concealed her own sexual orientation from the LGBT community, for whose rights she has been a vehement defender for years.
In her blog post, Li revealed a 17-year relationship she has had with a transsexual man, after losing her husband Wang Xiaobo, a renowned novelist who died of a heart attack in 1997.
“I don’t think this is a statement of ‘coming out of the closet’," she told the newspaper The Beijing News.
"I am not homosexual, but a heterosexual woman who has fallen in love with a transsexual person,” she said, “I treat him as a man.” She added that her partner had worked as a taxi driver and became her agent later.
Li’s revelation came as a big surprise to her fans and foes alike.
An outspoken sociologist with more than one million followers on her Weibo social media account, Li has won as many critics as fans over the years with her impassioned defence of sexual minorities in China and her fierce criticism against conventional gender stereotypes and prejudices.
