The Normalization Project: The Progress and Limitations of Promoting LGBTQ Research and Teaching in Mainland China.

This article reflects on the author's own experience of promoting LGBTQ research and teaching in mainland China, where the fight for institutional legitimacy and recognition has been a core element in this journey. After a historical survey of how Chinese LGBTQ research has grown out of the particular sociopolitical milieu, it focuses on a discussion of the "normalization project"-a key approach to both create and expand the institutional space for LGBTQ studies. Apart from the positive effects this project entails, this article also critically examines its limitations by bringing into the picture certain critical perspectives.