Changing Public Tolerance for Same-Sex Sexual Behaviors in China, 2010-2017: A Decomposition Analysis

Although the majority of the Chinese general public remains unaccepting of same-sex sexual behaviors, results from multiple waves of the Chinese General Social Survey have shown a substantial change in the public tolerance for same-sex sexual behaviors between 2010 and 2017. Using logistic regression models and decomposition analysis, the current study revealed that while changes in the changes in the demographic predictors (e.g., cohort succession and improved education) contributed to some of the attitudinal change, changes in the predictor coefficients explained most of the attitudinal change. Specifically, the Internet historically played a critical role in shaping pro-LGBTQ consciousness in China, but its effect has diminished over time. Socioeconomic factors such as education and household registration status (i.e., urban versus rural origin) have gained statistical significance and effect size in their prediction of public tolerance. Policy and advocacy implications of the findings are also discussed.