5 Hong Kong LGBTQ+ icons – from Leslie Cheung to Denise Ho
From Canto-pop to cinema, the city’s LGBTQ+ community has found inspiration in outspoken and flamboyant stars unafraid to speak their mind or be themselves
Although Taiwan has taken the lead in LGBTQ+ affairs in East Asia – legalising same-sex marriage in May last year – Hong Kong has a proud history of LGBTQ+ representation. Some of the city’s most popular stars, regardless of their own sexuality, have become darlings of the LGBTQ+ community. Here are five of Hong Kong’s most famous LGBTQ+ icons.
Leslie Cheung
In his own words, Cheung was bisexual, saying, “It’s easy for me to love a woman. It's also easy for me to love a man, too.” In 1979, when he was 22, he asked Teresa Mo to marry him (she declined). Years later, in 1997, he revealed he was in a same-sex relationship with his childhood friend Daffy Tong Hok-tak, and a year later he starred in Wong Kar-wai’s gay romance drama, Happy Together. His charm, talent and sad suicide mean Cheung is widely revered to this day.
Anthony Wong Yiu-ming
Another Hong Kong singer who has been public about his sexuality is singer-turned-activist Anthony Wong Yiu-ming. Wong has said he knew he was gay since high school, when his sexuality came into conflict with his school’s Christian teachings.
Although references in his songs alluded to his sexuality it wasn’t until 2012, following a series of concerts, that Wong openly declared he was gay, telling, the press, “I never talked about this before because I was worried that if I did you wouldn't have anything to talk about [me] in the future.”
Denise Ho