diff --git a/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/generic.py b/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/generic.py
index e0b0a827a61..ae054c95c28 100644
--- a/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/generic.py
+++ b/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/generic.py
@@ -19,4 +19,4 @@ class GenericViewsSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 %s
 </urlset>
 """ % expected
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
diff --git a/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/http.py b/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/http.py
index 8da971876f3..99042fef03f 100644
--- a/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/http.py
+++ b/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/http.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <sitemap><loc>%s/simple/sitemap-simple.xml</loc></sitemap>
 </sitemapindex>
 """ % self.base_url
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     @override_settings(
         TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),)
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <sitemap><loc>%s/simple/sitemap-simple.xml</loc></sitemap>
 </sitemapindex>
 """ % self.base_url
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
 
     def test_simple_sitemap_section(self):
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <url><loc>%s/location/</loc><lastmod>%s</lastmod><changefreq>never</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority></url>
 </urlset>
 """ % (self.base_url, date.today())
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     def test_simple_sitemap(self):
         "A simple sitemap can be rendered"
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <url><loc>%s/location/</loc><lastmod>%s</lastmod><changefreq>never</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority></url>
 </urlset>
 """ % (self.base_url, date.today())
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     @override_settings(
         TEMPLATE_DIRS=(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'templates'),)
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <url><loc>%s/location/</loc><lastmod>%s</lastmod><changefreq>never</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority></url>
 </urlset>
 """ % (self.base_url, date.today())
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     @skipUnless(settings.USE_I18N, "Internationalization is not enabled")
     @override_settings(USE_L10N=True)
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <url><loc>http://testserver/location/</loc><lastmod>%s</lastmod><changefreq>never</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority></url>
 </urlset>
 """ % date.today()
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     @skipUnless("django.contrib.sites" in settings.INSTALLED_APPS,
                 "django.contrib.sites app not installed.")
@@ -143,4 +143,4 @@ class HTTPSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <sitemap><loc>%s/cached/sitemap-simple.xml</loc></sitemap>
 </sitemapindex>
 """ % self.base_url
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
diff --git a/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/https.py b/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/https.py
index 26241eb30b3..baad02ac075 100644
--- a/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/https.py
+++ b/django/contrib/sitemaps/tests/https.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ class HTTPSSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <sitemap><loc>%s/secure/sitemap-simple.xml</loc></sitemap>
 </sitemapindex>
 """ % self.base_url
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     def test_secure_sitemap_section(self):
         "A secure sitemap section can be rendered"
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ class HTTPSSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <url><loc>%s/location/</loc><lastmod>%s</lastmod><changefreq>never</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority></url>
 </urlset>
 """ % (self.base_url, date.today())
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
 
 @override_settings(SECURE_PROXY_SSL_HEADER=False)
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ class HTTPSDetectionSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <sitemap><loc>%s/simple/sitemap-simple.xml</loc></sitemap>
 </sitemapindex>
 """ % self.base_url.replace('http://', 'https://')
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)
 
     def test_sitemap_section_with_https_request(self):
         "A sitemap section requested in HTTPS is rendered with HTTPS links"
@@ -53,4 +53,4 @@ class HTTPSDetectionSitemapTests(SitemapTestsBase):
 <url><loc>%s/location/</loc><lastmod>%s</lastmod><changefreq>never</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority></url>
 </urlset>
 """ % (self.base_url.replace('http://', 'https://'), date.today())
-        self.assertEqual(response.content, expected_content.encode('utf-8'))
+        self.assertXMLEqual(response.content.decode('utf-8'), expected_content)