Lesbianism in China

Lesbianism in China has a long but usually hidden history. This paper examines the historical and literary sources of the past to illustrate the history of lesbianism and then turns to a survey of lesbianism in the China of today. As in the past, lesbianism remains more or less hidden, and comes to light only occasionally. Data for contemporary China comes from a visit to an institution for delinquent young women, recent police records, and contemporary fiction. It has only been in the past 4 or 5 years that it was possible to talk about lesbianism and most lesbians are fearful of becoming identified.