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Being Side or Doing Side: Constructing "Side" Identity Among Tongzhi in China
Changhui Song1, Zhenkun Xue1, Hui Xie1
1School of Social Sciences, Henan Normal University.
Journal of Sex Research
|June 12, 2026
Summary
This study explores the identity of "side" among Chinese men who are romantically and sexually attracted to men (tongzhi). "Side" identity is a dynamic survival strategy, not a fixed role, shaped by bodily experiences, relationships, and digital platforms.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Gender Studies
- Psychology
Background:
- Binary sex roles often dominate gay dating platforms in China.
- The identity construction of non-insertive sexual preferences, like
- side,
- is underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the identity landscape and enacted practices of
- side
- among tongzhi in Chinese contexts.
- To understand how
- side
- identity is constructed and negotiated.
- To extend Sexual Script Theory (SST) by examining
- side
- as a survival strategy.
Main Methods:
- Virtual ethnographic observation.
- Semi-structured interviews with 21 tongzhi who identified as
- side.
- Narrative analysis of findings.
Main Results:
- "Side" is a dynamic, discursive resource, not a fixed label.
- Tongzhi construct a
- being side
- identity to mitigate embodied dissonance and a
- doing side
- strategy to renegotiate relationships.
- Digital platforms create insertive hegemony, forcing navigation between exclusion and visibility.
Conclusions:
- "Side" is a survival strategy for tongzhi to rework intimacy under patriarchal stigma and digital constraints.
- Identity is fluid and negotiated, particularly in the digital era.
- Public health interventions should address the negotiated nature of sexual identity.
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