Year of Gay China

M4 METRO MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2009 CHINA DAILY Year of Gay China By Christine Laskowski have allowed for communities to of these events have been years build, to advertise events, and in the making. Organizers have to allow contact and information gotten creative: they arrange As the year 2009 comes to a close, to be exchanged between LGBT other activities; they hold their it does so having been a monumen- members from big cities and small fi lm festivals and art exhibitions tal year for China’s LGBT commu- towns in China with those from just outside major cities; they keep nity. Beijing and numerous cities around the world. publicity to a minimum. across China experienced the As one of the organizers of So with all this happening, what successful completion of 12 anni- China’s first gay pride events does the future hold for China’s versaries and public events that and editor for shanghaiist.com, LGBT community? Li Yinhe has expose LGBT culture and related Kenneth Tan, puts it: “Gay people, revealed plans to propose another issues like never before. young and old, are now coming same-sex marriage bill in 2010. China’s LGBT community, out en masse. These people are And in a nation without ratings, which is an acronym that refers all what I call ‘first generation perhaps introducing them to TV to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and queers’.” shows and fi lms, will help lift the transgender people, has adapted Policies, too, have been slowly ban on gay and lesbian characters the terms tongzhi to refer to gays, changing. At a national level, on screen. Perhaps China will lala for lesbians, ku’er for queer 1997 saw the removal of sodomy witness the coming-out of its fi rst — an umbrella term for those who from the country’s list of crimes; celebrity. do not identify as heterosexual homosexuality was removed from Yet among all involved to with regard to sexuality, sexual the list of mental disorders in promote awareness and to end anatomy or gender identity. 2001; and since 2003 prominent discrimination, there seems to The community is young. Most sexologist and activist, Li Yinhe, be a consensus: they have come a are in their 20s and 30s, are edu- has been proposing same-sex long way, but there is still a long cated, working professionals with marriage legislation at the annual way to go. experience abroad who are now Two Sessions. highly active and public organ- In China, where LGBT-themed Qin Zhongwei, Wang Chao and Yang izers, authors, editors, designers, films are prohibited and gay- Wanli contributed to the story fi lm directors, curators, activists themed exhibitions, novels and and artists. magazines are taboo, the One catalyst was the Olympic success of many Games in 2008, a landmark event that many in the LGBT community have inter- preted as a “coming out” Feb 14: Qianmen Valentine’s Lesbian volunteers pose for wedding photos. Courtesy of Tongyu event. LGBT websites Day Photo Shoot, Beijing Organizers within the LGBT as it is closer to March when encouragement for LGBT people community wanted media the annual National People’s because they can stand out to attention for their cause, and Congress Standing Committee express themselves.” that is exactly what they got, meeting is held where prominent The couples who participated starting 2009 off with one gay sexologist and activist Li Yinhe were not, in fact, real couples, and one lesbian couple dressed in proposed her landmark same-sex although they all identify as gay wedding attire posing for photos marriage bill the year before. (Li and lesbian. among the crowd at Qianmen has proposed a bill three times: Xu Bin, who helped organize the Pedestrian Street, located south 2003, 2005, and 2006). fi rst Lala Camp held in Zhuhai in of Tian’anmen Square. “We wanted to spark public 2007, explained that the volunteers Valentine’s Day events for LGBT debate and awareness,” said were in relationships with partners groups have become part of an Jiang Hui of Aibai, who came up that were reluctant to participate, annual campaign since 2007. with the idea. “It gives people but “were out and willing to promote The day is significant for couples a chance to visualize it. So it’s this cause.” Participants and organizers smile for Shanghai Pride. Courtesy of Kenneth Tan M a y 1 7 : R a i n b o w I n M o t i o n B i k e An estimated 3,000 people attend- time, it turned out, was the charm. of going to the Outgames, I decided written.” LGBT-themes fi lms are not allowed in Ride, Beijing ed the six-day festival with people fl y- For fellow organizer, Cui Zi’en, who to compete in the marathon competi- “There are gay novels published in the Chinese mainland. ing in from all over China. is a well-known fi lm director, scholar tion.” China, but they’re written by foreign- “Some people don’t really have “I think people went away refreshed and LGBT activist, told METRO that With fi nancial support local orga- ers and imported,” Xiao Jie said. a chance to see Chinese queer Cycling through seven colleges with a vision of what things could be like the Difference Gender Art Exhibi- nization the Outgames committee films,” Xiao Gang said in an inter- in Beijing, students and supporters like in the future,” said Tan. tion, the location in Songzhuang had in Denmark , Fan was able to attend August: iLOOK magazine’s view at the opening China Queer wore T-shirts and logos with that a lot to do with the festival’s success, the Outgames. It was a life-changing “Happy Gay China” Issue Film Talk screening. said “Love Knows No Boundaries.” June 14-21: Difference Gender as did their decision to not publicize experience for him. The tour stopped in major cities, At each campus was an activity to Art Exhibition, Beijing it in advance. “The environment in Denmark is The August 2009 issue of iLook like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Cheng- raise awareness either through peti- Half of the LGBT-themed films really wonderful,” he said. “I found Magazine marked the fi rst time gay- du, Shanghai and Suzhou, offering tions or the distribution of education Despite the fact local authorities shown were Chinese and the other that the people there were really toler- related issues were made the main many the opportunity to view films materials. arrived the day prior and removed half were from abroad. The Fourth ant of LGBT people. They treated them theme of a mainstream Chinese about queer culture in China in an Rainbow in Motion, organized several pieces from the exhibition Beijing International Queer Film like ordinary people.” magazine. open and safe environment. by Aibai and Tongyu, marked the that were considered “pornographic”, Festival included a new element, While Fan did not bring home Fashion designer, Xander Zhou, fi rst public campaign in China on the fi rst public queer art exhibition called “Queer From Diverse Cultures,” a medal, the Chinese delegation was invited by iLook’s managing Nov 20—22: 3rd Annual Lala the International Day Against Ho- in China survived to embrace 500 which invited a queer fi lm festival succeeded in coming home with a editor, Hong Huang, to be a guest Camp, Guilin, Guanxi mophobia. visitors on its opening day. from another country to curate one Gold Medal in beach volleyball and editor because the issue would ap- Finding universities to host was Past attempts at having an LGBT- program of fi lms. Another highlight a Bronze in ping pong. pear exactly one year after China For Xu Bin, who helped organize not easy, however. “Some [universi- themed art exhibition met with was the successful gathering of hosted the Olympic Games, he said the fi rst Lala Camp held in Zhuhai ties] supported it and some didn’t closure before even being allowed queer films and filmmakers from in 2007, the camp was an effort to give their approval for it to happen, to open. the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, “get the next generation of young but students did it anyway,” Jiang “This was the fi rst one that really Taiwan and Singapore and three lesbian activists to share the same said. “The normal universities are worked,” Yang Ziguang, who curated panel discussions. experience and to make connections easier, and more willing to allow for the exhibition, told METRO. “That’s the function of our festival for joint projects -- to do something to events like this on their campuses. I “We wanted to raise the conscious- and our goal: to make an open and change Chinese community.” think it is because they are less high- ness of individuals and communicate free platform for people of different The first camp was so successful profi le,” he acknowledged. “Schools with the public,” said Sam, founder points of view and positions to ex- that the next year had the main like Beida and Tsinghua chose not to and editor of Les+ Magazine,one of press and share.” camp in Shanghai, with four participate.” the exhibition’s sponsors. mini-camps in Beijing, Chengdu, One of the artists, Zheng Bo, copied June 28: PFLAG China’s 2nd Kunming and Anshan. It cul- June 7-13: Pride, Shanghai and modifi ed some of his pieces on anniversary, Guangzhou minated in the establishment of display at the Guangdong Museum the Chinese Lala Alliance, which of Contemporary Art in Guangzhou. Wu Youjian, founder of PFLAG Chi- organized this year’s Lala Camp The Chinese mainland’s very fi rst After two years of preparation and a na, is the mother of the fi rst gay man in Guilin.

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