ArticleAuthors: Yue Wu; Yi Mou; Yi (Jasmine) Wang; David Atkin (2018)
The subject of homosexuality remains taboo in contemporary China, given that the public maintains a considerably negative attitude toward the subject. Recent Pew Research indicates that, on average, 21% of Chinese respondents believe that homosexuality should be accepted. However, parallel surveys of Internet users paint a different picture, as online surveys found a more liberal atmosphere toward homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The online and offline discrepancy in attitudes toward homosexuality begs the question of whether the Internet carries a stigma-reducing function in terms of views on sexual minority groups.
Guided by the contact hypothesis and parasocial contact theory,... 
