Shanghai Journal Gay Festival in China Pushes Official Boundaries New York Times
SHANGHAI — It was shortly after the “hot body” contest and just before a painted procession of Chinese opera singers took the stage that the police threatened to shut down China’s first gay pride festival. The authorities had already forced the cancellation of a play, a film screening and a social mixer, so when an irritated plainclothes officer arrived at the Saturday afternoon gala and flashed his badge, organizers feared the worst.
After some fraught negotiations, Hannah Miller, an American teacher who helped put together the weeklong festival, agreed to limit the crowds, keep the noise down and, most important, “not let anything happen that might embarrass the government,” she explained after returning from the impromptu sidewalk meeting. “That was a close call,” she said.
Crisis averted, the party continued.
And so it went for Shanghai Pride week, a delicately orchestrated series of private events that revealed how far China’s gay community had come, and how much further it had to go. In the 12 years since homosexuality was decriminalized in China, there has been an unmistakable blossoming of gay life, even if largely underground. Most big cities have gay bars, and social networking sites ease the isolation of those living in China’s rural hinterland. Antigay violence is virtually unheard of.
But official tolerance has its limits. Gay publications and plays are banned, gay Web sites are occasionally blocked and those who try to advocate for greater legal protections for lesbians and gay men sometimes face harassment from the police. For years, movie buffs in Beijing have tried, and failed, to get permission for a gay film festival.
This month, public security officials forced Wan Yanhai, a prominent advocate on gay issues, including AIDS, to leave Beijing for a week because they feared he might cause trouble during the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
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Shanghai gay pride: the show goes on
A colourful show of drag queens dressed in Chinese opera costumes was one of the festivities that marked Shanghai’s gay pride on Saturday, the first in China where homosexuality remains largely hidden.
A “Big Bash” barbecue Saturday — billed as the highlight of the week-long festival — went ahead as planned in a bar despite previous last-minute event cancellations by local authorities that marred the “Shanghai Pride.”
Drag and fashion shows and a ‘hot body’ competition took place at Cotton’s bar attended by at least 500 people, in a garden that was hidden from view by a rainbow banner covering the surrounding fence.
Later Saturday night, two fake gay marriages were to take place before people were ferried onto buses to go to an afterparty at a bar on Shanghai’s famous Bund promenade.
“We would have liked the whole week to go without cancellations, but today everything has happened as we wanted it to, so we’re happy,” said Kenneth Tan, spokesman for organisers Shanghai LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender).
Events for “Shanghai Pride” have been organised at private venues without a public parade — in stark contrast to similar events elsewhere in the world — to avoid attracting unwanted official attention.
But still, city authorities forced the cancellation of a film screening and a play during the festival, and the two venues hosting the “Big Bash” events Saturday had received calls from officials, according to Tan.
He said police had come to Cotton’s Saturday where expatriates and Chinese people mingled but soon left.
Liu Yang, a 27-year-old Chinese homosexual who was enjoying the shows Saturday, said he was amazed by the festival.
“I’ve never been abroad, and I have really wondered how such an event could take place so smoothly — I’m really nicely surprised,” he said.
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Lawsuit: High school is anti-gay
Controversy ensued over brief cancellation; ACLU says ’sexist, homophobic environment.’
Tags: Aclu, Anti Gay, Cancellation, Gay ControversyLawsuit: High school is anti-gay
Controversy ensued over brief cancellation; ACLU says ’sexist, homophobic environment.’
Tags: Aclu, Anti Gay, Cancellation, Gay ControversyLawsuit: High school is anti-gay
Controversy ensued over brief cancellation; ACLU says ’sexist, homophobic environment.’
Tags: Aclu, Anti Gay, Cancellation, Gay ControversyACLU sues ‘Rent’-canceling high school
(Newport Beach, California) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against Corona del Mar High School, accusing officials of fostering a homophobic and sexist atmosphere.
The lawsuit cites the cancellation of a student production of “Rent” over its gay characters and a Facebook video in which football players at the …
Tags: Aclu, American Civil Liberties, American Civil Liberties Union, Atmosphere, Cancellation, Civil Liberties Union, Corona Del Mar, Corona Del Mar High School, Del Mar High School, Football Players, Gay Characters, Newport Beach California, RentEconomy Leads To Cancellation Of Tampa Gay Pride Event
The Winter Pride Tampa Bay Festival has been canceled.
The gay pride event, which has been held since 2006 and was scheduled for Feb. 28 at the Al Lopez Park, was nixed because organizers were unable to cover the costs, according to published reports on at least three gay rights Web sites.
A statement from the festival’s executive board of directors published on those sites said that, “With the country’s economy being what it is, this has adversely impacted our local economy as well. Our expo vendors, businesses, sponsors and supporters, whom WPTB has relied on in the past, found it difficult to support our cause this year.”
The event drew about 5,000 people in its inaugural year and an estimated 10,000 the next year.
Organizers hope to continue the festival in 2010.
“We apologize for the delay in making this announcement,” the statement said, “However, the last minute miracle we hoped would present itself, did not appear.”
See Economy Leads To Cancellation Of Tampa Gay Pride Event
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