More than half of China’s gay people won’t come out in the next five years: Study

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More than half of gay and bisexual men in China have said they have no plans to come out in the next five years, a study of social app users has found.

The survey was conducted by Blued, a gay lifestyle app, and asked questions to 16,690 LGBT+ people, as well as 3,310 non LGBT+ people.

Less gay or bisexual women said they had no plans come out in the next five years, at 49 percent compared to 55 percent of gay and bi men saying they wouldn’t come out.

39 percent of lesbians said they planned to come out within a few years, compared to just 23 percent of gay men.

The poll looked at reasons so few people said they were planning to come out.

Family pressures measured high on the reasons why, with 75 percent mentioning family as a reason they may not come out.

The public perception of gay people also factored in with 61 percent mentioning that as a reason.

The survey also asked the geographic location of the respondents, with 70 percent saying they lived in less-developed cities like Chengdu and Chongqing.

The same survey from 2015 had suggested that the LGBT+ communities in those cities were more open.

Other locations included 22 percent of gay men and 19 percent of lesbians lived in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

Just 8 percent said they lived in small towns and villages.