Male Homosexuality and Foxes in Ji Yun's Zhiguai Collection Tales of the Thatched Cottage

Tales reflecting homosexual relationships between foxes and humans had appeared as early as the Ming Dynasty.With both the increase in prevalence in society and fictional representation of homosexuality during the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the stories of male-male sex between foxes and humans became increasingly popular,demonstrating the popular attitudes toward homosexuality among the Qing literati.In this paper,I analyze late imperial Chinese homosexuality as portrayed in Ji Yun's zhiguai collection uTales of the Thatched Cottage?,(Yuewei Caotang Biji).Zhiguai,or strange tales in English,is a genre of writing featuring ghosts,magical animalhuman shapeshiftings,dreams that intervene in reality,and other supernatural characters and events.These tales are set against a background of strict Confucian orthodoxy and Buddhist beliefs in sexual activity(whether heterosexual or homosexual)as a manifestation of human greed,in a society where everything had its place,in which the boundaries of sexuality were rigidly controlled.I examine what foxes reveal about homosexuality in these tales as they cross the boundary between moral and immoral,healthy and destructive.1 argue that the fox’s homosexual punishment of humanity has two motives:(1)disciplining sexual lasciviousness and(2)karmic retribution for misdeeds in a former life.In these instances,the fox’s ensuing erotic deviancy serves as the vehicle for cautionary tales that demonstrate homosexuality to be a taboo as it punishes greedy desires(sexual or otherwise).

The relationship between acceptance of illness and quality of life among men who have sex with men living with human immunodeficiency virus:A cross-sectional study

Objectives To explore the relationship between acceptance of illness and quality of life(QOL),and factors associated with acceptance of illness among men who have sex with men(MSM)living with human immunodeficiency virus(HIV).Methods Three hundred and one MSM were recruited from an HIV clinic between August and December 2018.The battery of measurements consisted of the Acceptance of Illness Scale,World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire for HIV brief version,HIV Cognitive Appraisal Scale and a self-designed questionnaire used to collect general information.Pearson correlation test was used to examine the relationship between acceptance of illness and QOL.Univariate and multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to examine whether the general data(demographic and HIV-related clinical data)and HIV cognitive appraisal were associated with acceptance of illness levels.Results Descriptive analysis showed the acceptance level among MSM living with HIV was moderate(Mean=26.29,SD=5.28).Those with a better acceptance of illness had a better QOL(r=0.69,P<0.01).In the multivariate ordinal logistic regression model,education level,threat appraisals(OR:1.09;95%CI[1.06–1.13]),and controllability appraisals(OR:0.82;95%CI[0.71–0.94])were significantly associated with acceptance of illness.Conclusions Results showed acceptance level was moderate and had a positive correlation with QOL.High level of education,low threat appraisals and high controllability appraisals were related to high illness acceptance.This finding highlights the importance of focusing on HIV-infected MSM with low education and on their perceptions of threat and controllability about HIV-related issues when designing interventions to promote illness acceptance in this vulnerable population.