Behind the Rainbow, "Tongqi" Wives of Men Who Have Sex With Men in China: A Systematic Review

Yuanyuan Wang; Amanda Wilson; Runsen Chen; Zhishan Hu; Ke Peng; Shicun Xu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02929

Behind the Rainbow, "Tongqi" Wives of Men Who Have Sex With Men in China: A Systematic Review

Front Psychol. 2020 Jan 14:10:2929. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02929. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Yuanyuan Wang¹, Amanda Wilson¹, Runsen Chen², Zhishan Hu³, Ke Peng^{4

5}, Shicun Xu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Division of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom.
² National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders & Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, China.
⁴ The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁵ School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ Department of Population, Resources and Environment, Northeast Asian Studies College, Jilin University, Changchun, China.

Abstract

Background: Due to the restrictions and stigmatization of homosexuality in China, there has emerged the "Tongqi," or the wives of men who have sex with men (MSM). There are around 14 million Tongqi wives whose needs for support are often overshadowed. This phenomenon has been largely under researched, this review is the first to address the current data on the Tongqi. The aim of this systematic review is to begin to provide insight into the pre-existing data and the further support that is needed for the wives of MSM.

Methods: The researchers searched PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CNKI, Sinomed and WangFang databases from their inception date until June 7, 2019. Handsearching was also completed to provide a rich data set.

Results: The articles were summarized and analyzed for thematic clusters. From the selected article, five themes emerged, including Sexual Health Issues, Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health Status, Marriage Dissatisfaction, and Coping Strategies. These themes often intersected to provide a complex understanding of the current gaps in support provided to Tongqi.

Conclusion: Tongqi wives remain a hidden population in Chinese mainstream society, who deserves a sensitive approach to support. The study revealed that the MSM wives suffer severe mental, physical, health, and life related harms. However, instead of situating them into the victim roles, many women take on an identity of empowerment and are working together, aiming to make social changes. In order to address the Tongqi phenomenon, it is also essential to reduce the discrimination toward homosexuality. Tongqi are a special group of Chinese women, they require further intensive research attention.

Keywords: China; Tongqi; mental health; review; sexual health; violence.

Publication types

Review