CNN: Is there a need for a gay cure?

In a controversial segment [1] aired Tuesday, news anchor Kyra Phillips explores the question of whether there is a need to cure homosexuality.

Rep. Bonnie Lowenthal, the California assemblywoman advocating for the repeal of a law requiring health professionals to seek a cure for gays, debated the issue with ex-gay Richard Cohen. Interesting fact: Neither guest is gay.

[2]

Lowenthal mentions the law was created at a time when homosexuality was officially a mental disorder. “It has been on the books for 60 years and is quite useless and rather offensive to many, including myself,” she said on CNN.

Cohen is the author of “Coming Out Straight” and claims to be a psychotherapist. He was expelled from the American Counseling Association in 2002 for what the Washington Post [3]called “multiple ethics violations.”

Cohen argues that California’s existing law seeking to cure homosexuals actually is a good thing because it forces studies of sexual predators which he sites as a reason people go gay.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHgJbjIXw8g&feature=player_embedded
[2] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-gay-cure-top.jpg
[3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/15/AR2005081501063.html

China hushes up first gay pride week

Beijing – Organizers of China’s first gay pride week were struggling Thursday to find new venues for their events after police in Shanghai warned clubs and bars against joining the planned festival.
The crackdown came even as China’s state-run English-language daily was hailing the celebration as “a good showcase of the country’s social progress” and “an event of profound significance.”
Police and commercial bureau officials warned a local restaurant of “very severe” consequences if it screened films as part of the festival, says an organizer who asked not to be identified. A photo studio called off a theater performance after a similar visit.
Gay activists said the official interference illustrated official Chinese policy toward homosexual gatherings: low-key events in private spaces are tolerated; public activities are banned.
“If you attract a lot of attention and media reports, the government will intervene,” says Wan Yanhai, an AIDS activist in Beijing.
The two American women who organized Shanghai Pride week deliberately avoided scheduling any public events that would have required official permission, for fear of being banned. The festival of film, theater, literary readings, and panel discussions, however, has drawn considerable international media attention, even if the Chinese-language press in Shanghai has made no mention of the event. Most of the 500 or so people who have attended events so far have been foreigners.
There are thought to be around 35 million homosexuals in China, who face considerable discrimination in the workplace and elsewhere if they are courageous enough to come out. Homosexuality was a crime here until 1997, and classed as a mental disorder until 2001. Some government-funded medical institutes are still trying to find a “cure” for homosexuality.
Although gay websites, clubs, and tea rooms have sprung up in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, there is still a taboo on gay culture in Chinese cinema and television. At the same time, adds Mr. Wan, “the traditional Chinese concept of the family is very conservative, and families put heavy pressure on gays to get married.” China hushes up first gay pride week
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/china-hushes-…

China’s first Gay Pride event

China’s first Gay Pride event, organised by Shanghai’s English-speaking expatriates, has been quietly celebrating homosexuality this week with no hint of a parade or advertising hype.

In a country where acceptance of homosexuality is still low, organisers — foreigners living in China — have been reluctant to draw official attention.

So “Shanghai Pride” does not include the colourful parade that typifies Gay Pride events in Europe and the US, but is centred around events held in private venues to avoid the need for government permission.

As a result, few Chinese appear to be taking part — or even to know about the events — and attendees have been mostly expatriate.

“Even though we have talked about (Shanghai Pride) for a long time, the news published in Chinese about this is only very recent,” said Xing Zhao, a gay man in his thirties.

Homosexuality has long been a taboo subject in China with gay sex decriminalised only in 1997, while homosexual behaviour was officially viewed as a mental disorder until 2001.

Those behind Shanghai Pride hope it will help change prevailing attitudes, no matter how incrementally.

See China’s first Gay Pride event AFP
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