Sham marriage

marriage to feign heterosexuality for one or both spouses

marriage of convenience entered into without intending to create a real marital relationship

Tongqi ("tongCHEE", ) is the neologism for Chinese women who have married gay men. Similarly, tongfu ("tongFOO", ) is the corresponding neologism for Chinese men who have married lesbian women. Liu Dalin, among the first sexologists in mainland China, estimated that 90% of gay men in China marry a heterosexual woman. By comparison, 15–20% of gay men married women in the United States as of 2010. Sexologist and sociologist Li Yinhe believes there are 20 million male homosexuals in China, of whom 80% marry women.