Many gay and lesbian couples in China are engaged in non-legally binding relationships. Since a good percentage of these are rather short-lived because of lack of legal protection, the risk of spreading sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is higher. Official data show an increasing rate of HIV infection and STDs among men who have sex with men. One-third of the new HIV cases in recent years have been homosexual men and more than 5 percent of the men who have sex with men are living with the virus. The legalization of same-sex marriage, to a large extent, will provide a stable social structure for homosexual relationships, leading to a drop in new HIV and other STD infections.

To escape social estrangement and/or pressure from family members, millions of homosexuals have tied the knot with people of the opposite sex. This means that millions of women married to gay husbands and millions of men married to lesbian wives suffer "collateral damage" because of the traditional belief that everyone should marry, and a man should always marry a woman. Legalization of same-sex marriage can greatly reduce the number of such unhappy marriages.

From tolerance for sub-cultures that do not conform to the mainstream to accepting social practices that were previously looked down upon, human society has been taking one step after another toward inclusiveness, demonstrating a higher degree of tolerance. Chinese culture has been part of that process. And although same-sex marriage is not likely to be legalized in China any time soon, it is an attainable goal entailing greater good for Chinese society.

The author is a researcher at the Institute of Sociology, affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily 03/12/2014 page10)