There's at least 14 million straight women in China who are currently trapped in false marriages with gay men, a researcher on LGBT issues said. For decades, these women remain in the shadows, silently suffering.

Wives of male homosexuals, called Tongqi, has been going on for decades as a result of Chinese traditional customs, which pressures adults to get married early according to Zhang Beichuan, a retired professor with the Medical School of Qingdao University. He also championed the research on LGBT issues in China. Zhang told China Daily that in the last two years, the Tongqis have learned to voice out their misery about their marriage.

Like Us on Facebook

"Tongqi's cries of marriage misery represent the development of society and women's conscience of equal rights; it also reaches the physical and mental limit wives married to gay men can tolerate," Zhang said.

Because of social pressure, many women are forced to marry for convenience and get trapped for a lifetime in a bitter relationship. Looking like the perfect family, most people wouldn't notice what's really going on between the husband and wife until someone speaks out about it, or they end up getting a divorce.

According to Ru Meng, a researcher, he found two reasons for the phenomenon. After two years of research, he discovered that homosexuality still has a strong stigma in China. Most gay men will use marriage as a shield to protect them from society's scorn. Secondly, even though their homosexual, they'd still need children to pass on the family's inheritance.

When Tongqis eventually learn the truth, they're so immersed in their marriage that it's hard to break it off. Most of them are also stay-at-home moms, who have no means to support themselves financially. More so, the wives feel a moral obligation to keep the family together for the sake of the children. Like homosexuality, divorce is considered dishonourable.

Zhang points out that if same-sex relationships will be tolerated and respected, then cases of Tongqis will be diminished. Society needs to eliminate the hostile attitude towards homosexuals.

Tagsmarriage in china, same-sex marriage in China, same sex marriage, Tongqi, trapped with gay husband, marriage in china, LGBT, homosexuality