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Introduction <p>Legal debates on same-sex families often invoke public attitudes, yet evidence from non-Western contexts remains limited. East Asian societies (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) share Confucian traditions with entrenched patriarchy and strong familism but also differ in baseline societal acceptance of sexual minority populations. This study examines gender gaps in attitudes toward same-sex parenting, including gender respondent, subject, and progress gaps. It also tests a conditional gender gap thesis, proposing that gender differences are more likely to emerge in contexts with higher baseline societal acceptance.</p> Methods <p>We analyzed harmonized adult samples from cross-national, nationally representative datasets: the World Values Survey (2018–2019, <i>N</i> = 6,148) and the International Social Survey Programme (2012, <i>N</i> = 9,257; 2022, <i>N</i> = 2,729, Japan and Taiwan only). Multivariable logistic regression models estimated agreement with same-sex couple parenting and assessed gendered gaps within and across societies and over time.</p> Results <p>Support for same-sex parenting ranged from low to moderate across East Asia, with higher levels in Japan and Taiwan and lower levels in South Korea and especially China. Gender respondent gaps where women expressed more support than men appeared primarily in higher-acceptance contexts of Japan and Taiwan. Across societies, same-sex female couples were viewed more favorably than same-sex male couples, except in China. Support increased substantially in Japan and Taiwan between 2012 and 2022, but without gendered progress gaps.</p> Conclusions <p>This study provides some of the first cross-national evidence on attitudes toward same-sex parenting in East Asia, highlighting intra-regional heterogeneity and distinct gender gaps. Findings also largely support a conditional gender respondent gap thesis.</p> Policy Implications <p>In a region where legal protections for same-sex families remain limited and uneven, understanding how gender and social context shape public attitudes is important to inform ongoing debates over same-sex marriage and parenting rights.</p>

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Good Parents? Gender and Agreement with Same-Sex Couple Parenting in East Asia

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月31日

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  • Haoming Song

摘要

Introduction

Legal debates on same-sex families often invoke public attitudes, yet evidence from non-Western contexts remains limited. East Asian societies (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) share Confucian traditions with entrenched patriarchy and strong familism but also differ in baseline societal acceptance of sexual minority populations. This study examines gender gaps in attitudes toward same-sex parenting, including gender respondent, subject, and progress gaps. It also tests a conditional gender gap thesis, proposing that gender differences are more likely to emerge in contexts with higher baseline societal acceptance.

Methods

We analyzed harmonized adult samples from cross-national, nationally representative datasets: the World Values Survey (2018–2019, N = 6,148) and the International Social Survey Programme (2012, N = 9,257; 2022, N = 2,729, Japan and Taiwan only). Multivariable logistic regression models estimated agreement with same-sex couple parenting and assessed gendered gaps within and across societies and over time.

Results

Support for same-sex parenting ranged from low to moderate across East Asia, with higher levels in Japan and Taiwan and lower levels in South Korea and especially China. Gender respondent gaps where women expressed more support than men appeared primarily in higher-acceptance contexts of Japan and Taiwan. Across societies, same-sex female couples were viewed more favorably than same-sex male couples, except in China. Support increased substantially in Japan and Taiwan between 2012 and 2022, but without gendered progress gaps.

Conclusions

This study provides some of the first cross-national evidence on attitudes toward same-sex parenting in East Asia, highlighting intra-regional heterogeneity and distinct gender gaps. Findings also largely support a conditional gender respondent gap thesis.

Policy Implications

In a region where legal protections for same-sex families remain limited and uneven, understanding how gender and social context shape public attitudes is important to inform ongoing debates over same-sex marriage and parenting rights.