Publisher, retailer sued over college textbook which says being gay is a ‘ disorder’

A college student who sued a publisher and an online retailer for vilifying homosexuality in a textbook confirmed with the Global Times on Tuesday that the case has been brought to court under the name of a “product quality dispute.”

The people’s court in Suyu district, East China’s Jiangsu Province, on July 17 accepted the appeal of Xi Xi ( pseud- onym), a student in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province, who sued Jinan University Press and JD. com on July 6 over a book which described homosexuality as a “sexual disorder or choosing the wrong sexual partner.”

Xi Xi sued the publisher and the seller under the name of “product quality” since “there are clear mistakes and misleading content in this book,” she said, adding that JD. com is involved because they sold the book.

The book is still on sale on JD. com as of press time.

This is the first time a lawsuit has been filed over vilifying homosexuality in textbooks under the name of “product quality,” Xi Xi said.

The book is a textbook in Jinan University and is circulating in 18 universities in eight cities right now, Xi Xi said.

She said she decided on the legal route after trying to contact the university and the author several times but got no response.

Jinan University Press told the Global Times on Tuesday that they also planned to resort to legal action to deal with the case but refused to reveal further information.

JD. com gave no comment when reached by the Global Times on Tuesday.

In January, Qiu Bai ( pseud- onym), a senior and a gay rights activist at Sun Yat- sen University in South China’s Guangdong Province, lost her case against the Ministry of Education over a textbook that described homosexuality as a “psychological disorder,” at a Beijing court, after losing her initial lawsuit at a previous hearing in June 2016.