School Experience of Chinese Sexual Minority Students in Hong Kong

Heterosexism faced by sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning [LGBQ]) students has been extensively studied internationally in the past 2 decades but has only recently received attention from Hong Kong Chinese society. Chinese LGBQ students are not guaranteed to be included in Hong Kong schools, where antidiscrimination ordinance that is based on sexual orientation has not been enacted. Inclusive policies and sexual diversity teacher training to enable schools and teachers to support LGBQ students are nonexistent. The qualitative inquiry was part of a larger research project exploring experiences of LGBQ students in secondary schools and universities in Hong Kong. This article explored the lived experiences of 23 Chinese LGBQ students (ages 15-19) attending Hong Kong secondary schools through in-depth phenomenological interviews. Qualitative data analyses using software package NVivo for data coding revealed the following themes: (a) heterosexism in Hong Kong--alignment of Western Christianity and Chinese Confucianism; (b) forms of heterosexism--psychological and cultural heterosexism; and (c) effects of heterosexism--feeling distressed versus feeling resilient. Recommendations were made about professional practice/training, antidiscrimination educational policy, and future research with reference to Hong Kong Chinese sociocultural context.