Living with a man was out of the question for him.
Maitian says he always expected that he would get married and raise a child.
Zhang Beichuan, a professor at Qingdao University’s Medical School who researches gay issues, estimates that China is home to more than 21 million gay men, and more than half of them are married to women. Four years later, it was removed from a list of mental illnesses in China. At the time, homosexuality was punishable under the crime of “hooliganism.” In 1997, China eliminated the crime of hooliganism, and homosexuality was in effect decriminalized. Maitian says shortly before he got married, he started exploring his sexuality.
