Elucidating Confucian Heteronormativity: The Case of Chinese Schooling
Abstract
This article employs Confucianism and queer theory to examine the experiences of 25 LGBTQ schoolteachers in China. Drawing on the Confucian concept of li , understood as the normative regulation of social roles, and the queer notion of heteronormativity, I propose the novel concept of Confucian heteronormativity to better explain how gender and sexual norms are (re)produced and negotiated in societies shaped by Confucian values. Grounded in the case of Chinese schooling, I conceptualise Confucian heteronormativity as operating through three key features: the construction of social sameness, the role of elders as key agents in transmitting norms and the imposition of self-restraint on individuals. As schools are crucial sites for the (re)production of social norms, this hybridised framework contributes to sociology by expanding understandings of heteronormativity beyond western paradigms and addressing the cultural specificities of normativity in contemporary China and other Confucian-influenced contexts.
Ingestion failed: Traceback (most recent call last): File "/srv/app/app/worker.py", line 85, in run_once process_job(db, job) File "/srv/app/app/worker.py", line 39, in process_job pdf_path, info = fetch_pdf_temp(candidate["url"]) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/srv/app/app/downloader.py", line 129, in fetch_pdf_temp raise ValueError(f"PDF source returned HTTP {response.status_code}.") ValueError: PDF source returned HTTP 403.
No local PDF is available.
GROBID Extracted text; discontinued.
This text is generated from TEI extraction for accessibility, search, and TTS. Formulas, tables, figures, page layout, and references may not perfectly match the original PDF.
No accessible text representation is available. The text extraction service has been discontinued for the time being. If you require this service, for accessibility or any other reason, please submit an issue/request on this page.
Metadata
Issues
No public issues have been filed for this DOI.
Submit an issue
Record history
| When | Event | Field | Old | New |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-18 19:37:53.011249+00:00 | identifier_assigned | DSEID | DSEID-001-2242705 |