Contest aims to boost community’s confidence in country where homosexuality was classed as illness until 2001

Winners of Mr. Gay China

INTERVIEW VIDEO LINK http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jan/11/china-gay-pageant

There’s a swimwear round and a talent section where contestants can show off their singing and dancing. But organisers insist the contest to be held this Friday is a serious business. It is China‘s first gay pageant.

The event is a striking sign of how far attitudes in China have changed and of gay people’s increasing confidence. Gay sex was illegal until 1997. Homosexuality was classed as a mental illness for four years after that. Now an emerging gay community is busting stereotypes.

“We are intelligent, we’re professionals, we’re gorgeous – and we’re gay,” said contestant Emilio Liu, from Inner Mongolia. “I want the audience to know there are a whole bunch of people like us living in China. It’s a wonderful life and it’s not hidden any more.”

These days there are gay support groups and websites helping people to explore their sexuality and meet potential partners. There are gay venues in most major cities; last year, the first government-backed bar opened in Kunming, in south-western Yunnan. Shanghai held the first Gay Pride week and in Beijing, campaigners called for same-sex marriages.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Contest aims to boost community’s confidence in country where homosexuality was classed as illness until 2001 INTERVIEW VIDEO LINK http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jan/11/china-gay-pageant There’s a swimwear round and a talent section where contestants can show off their singing and dancing. But organisers insist the contest to be held this Friday is a serious business. It is China‘s first [...]

By Christine Laskowski (China Daily)

As the year 2009 comes to a close, it does so having been a monumental year for China’s LGBT community. Beijing and numerous cities across China experienced the successful completion of 12 anniversaries and public events that expose LGBT culture and related issues like never before.

Participants and organizers smile for Shanghai Pride.

China’s LGBT community, which is an acronym that refers to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, has adapted the terms tongzhi to refer to gays, lala for lesbians, ku’er for queer – an umbrella term for those who do not identify as heterosexual with regard to sexuality, sexual anatomy or gender identity.

The community is young. Most are in their 20s and 30s, are educated, working professionals with experience abroad who are now highly active and public organizers, authors, editors, designers, film directors, curators, activists and artists.

One catalyst was the Olympic Games in 2008, a landmark event that many in the LGBT community have interpreted as a “coming out” event. LGBT websites have allowed for communities to build, to advertise events, and to allow contact and information to be exchanged between LGBT members from big cities and small towns in China with those from around the world.

As one of the organizers of China’s first gay pride events and editor for shanghaiist.com, Kenneth Tan, puts it: “Gay people, young and old, are now coming out en masse. These people are all what I call ‘first generation queers’.”

Policies, too, have been slowly changing. At a national level, 1997 saw the removal of sodomy from the country’s list of crimes; homosexuality was removed from the list of mental disorders in 2001; and since 2003 prominent sexologist and activist, Li Yinhe, has been proposing same-sex marriage legislation at the annual Two Sessions.

In China, where LGBT-themed films are prohibited and gay-themed exhibitions, novels and magazines are taboo, the success of many of these events have been years in the making. Organizers have gotten creative: they arrange other activities; they hold their film festivals and art exhibitions just outside major cities; they keep publicity to a minimum.

So with all this happening, what does the future hold for China’s LGBT community? Li Yinhe has revealed plans to propose another same-sex marriage bill in 2010. And in a nation without ratings, perhaps introducing them to TV shows and films, will help lift the ban on gay and lesbian characters on screen. Perhaps China will witness the coming-out of its first celebrity.

Yet among all involved to promote awareness and to end discrimination, there seems to be a consensus: they have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go.

Look back China’s major LGBT events in 2009

Feb 14: Qianmen Valentine’s Day Photo Shoot, Beijing

May 17: Rainbow In Motion Bike Ride, Beijing

June 7-13: Pride, Shanghai

June 14-21: Difference Gender Art Exhibition, Beijing

June 17: Fourth Beijing International Queer Film Festival

June 28: PFLAG China’s 2nd anniversary, Guangzhou

July 27-Aug 2: The World Outgames, Copenhagen – Chinese delegation attended

August: Courage by Xiao Jie

August: iLOOK magazine’s “Happy Gay China” Issue

October-November : China Queer Film Talk Tour

Nov 20-22: 3rd Annual Lala Camp, Guilin, Guanxi
Read more about each event at Chinadaily

By Christine Laskowski (China Daily) As the year 2009 comes to a close, it does so having been a monumental year for China’s LGBT community. Beijing and numerous cities across China experienced the successful completion of 12 anniversaries and public events that expose LGBT culture and related issues like never before. China’s LGBT community, which [...]