This project aims to contrast two contested media discourses surrounding transformative LGBTQI developments in Taiwan: the "AIDSphobia" narratives of the 1980s and the recent marriage equality debates. In the 1980s, expert-authored reports initiated public discussions of LGBTQI issues, but activist Chi Chia-wei challenged the prevailing AIDSphobia narrative, increasing the visibility of LGBTQI topics in the 1990s. Under President Tsai Ing-wen, mainstream and LGBTQI media engaged in debates about legalizing same-sex marriage, with advocates and opponents utilizing media platforms to argue their positions. This project will investigate whether Taiwan's media meets standards required for providing a democratic forum, examining coverage in traditional, alternative, and English-language media.
Through critical discourse analysis of texts and interviews with stakeholders, the research will analyze media institutions as gatekeepers of discursive resources. It will trace how expert-driven AIDSphobia narratives were contested and transformed into positive recognition of LGBTQI diversity. During the marriage equality debates, the mainstream media shifted from negative to increasingly positive framing, while opponents organized temporarily successful anti-LGBTQI referendums. However, post-legalization coverage has emphasized Taiwan's status as Asia's most progressive society.
The analysis will determine how far Taiwan's media landscape provides a deliberative space for negotiating social diversity, or whether it remains constrained by biased agendas and populistreferendums. The findings will elucidate the complex interplay between media institutions, civil society movements, and political elites in processes of democratization and social change in Taiwan.