June is the designated month of Gay Pride events all over the world, Shanghai showed its Pride last week by holding several events at Shanghai’s own, one-of-a-kind gay dance club/bar/motel multiplex, PinkHome.
Hundreds of LGBTs (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and some curious straight folks packed the Cotton’s Xinhua Road club from 2 to 10 pm on Saturday, with a series of live events culminating in four same-sex weddings when gay marriage is still illegal in the country.
The festive crowds continued their party in the Glamour Bar on the Bund until the next day. On Sunday, the LGBT crowds celebrated their last-day party with singing, badminton and swimming contests.
For many LGBTs, it was the first time they felt like coming out of the closet in the country’s largest metropolis. It was their first grand party on the Chinese mainland.
Although China decriminalized gay sex in 1997 and no longer considers homosexuality as a mental disorder since 2001, discrimination against LGBTs is still prevalent. Some government officials still do not recognize and accept LGBTs as normal human beings, and deny them due dignity and equal rights.
During the week of Shanghai Pride, local government officials intervened to cancel several film screenings and the staging of a play. This is a truly shame for Shanghai, a city which claims to be open and progressive; a city of immigrants that is proud of its tradition of embracing different peoples and cultures.
Shanghai has embarked on an ambitious program to develop itself as an international financial and shipping hub. It is a city that is planning to host the World Expo in May 2010 when 239 countries and international organizations will showcase their technologies and unique cultures.
Yet, if Shanghai cannot even show acceptance, understanding and tolerance for LGBTs, how can it expect it to attract and respect the diverse people coming to visit the Expo and develop in future the working environment for a global financial and shipping center.
It’s quite disturbing to see the local authorities still adopt such a hostile attitude towards LGBTs and persist in trying to confine them to the closet in such a big city. While it’s unrealistic to expect a country like China, with a strong conservative tradition, to change overnight, cities like Shanghai should definitely take the lead.
