A Chinese Lesbian Student Sues the Education Ministry Over Homophobic Textbooks

In 2016, a young lesbian student at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou found herself confronting institutional discrimination — not from classmates but from the very textbooks used in her university courses. While studying, she discovered that educational materials still described homosexuality as a psychological disorder, despite the fact that China removed homosexuality from its official list of mental illnesses back in 2001.

Outraged, the student — known only by the pseudonym Qui Bai — decided to take action. She sued the Chinese Ministry of Education, arguing that educational materials should be accurate and not stigmatizing. Her case marked at least the third lawsuit on this issue, reflecting ongoing frustration among queer students who encounter outdated, discriminatory content in school resources.

Her activism drew attention to how public education materials can reinforce harmful stereotypes about LGBTQ+ people and the challenges students face when educational systems lag behind social change. The lawsuit made visible a rarely discussed form of discrimination: institutional bias embedded in curricula, which can shape how peers, teachers, and future professionals perceive queer identities.

While information about the final legal outcome isn’t widely reported, her willingness to challenge the Ministry of Education highlights how even access to accurate representation in textbooks can be contested ground for queer students in China.

https://www.thepinknews.com/2016/06/16/lesbian-sues-chinese-education-ministry-over-gay-disorder-textbook/