But unlike the others, Tingting is a lesbian whose one goal at present is to become China’s first openly lesbian lawyer. Simon Denyer, reporting for the Washington Post, writes: “Li Tingting, 25, a lesbian campaigner on women’s issues, is probably the most prominent of the five women who were detained in early March … the five were released April 13 after a global outcry but remain under investigation. They have been told to report regularly to police, to not leave their home cities and to not talk to journalists. But Li, in a statement given to The Washington Post, said she was determined not only to force the government to drop the case against her but also to continue her struggle for justice for women in China.”
Li’s activism began to catch the attention of officials after a series of protests. “In 2012, in a “bloody brides” campaign against domestic violence, Li and two friends marched down a busy street in Beijing wearing wedding dresses spattered with fake blood, bearing placards and chanting slogans declaring, “Love is not an excuse for violence.”
“Li also led about 20 women to take part in a campaign known as Occupy Men’s Room, where they took over male public restrooms in Beijing and Guangzhou for short periods to protest against a shortage of facilities for women.”
Li was interrogated 47 times and was warned against speaking to the media, a condition for her release. She has no plans to abide. “Li said her time in jail cemented her plans to become the first openly lesbian lawyer in China, and she is now studying to become an attorney. It’s good for attorneys who are gay but afraid to admit it, and for LGBT people who need legal aid,” she wrote. “It’s also a kind of compromise to my parents.”
