China’s gay youth wanting to expand rights at home seek a different path to LGBT campaigners in the West
- For many of the estimated 70 million people in mainland China who identify as LGBT, acceptance rather than individualism may be their main goal
- Young Chinese would like to see more diverse representations of homosexual men in Chinese media and to hear the voices of rural and working-class gay men
The first time Eugene Wu observed a pride parade in Manchester after arriving in Britain to study architecture in 2017, it was a bit of a culture shock.
“I saw many people dressed in eccentric and flamboyant clothes,” the London-based architectural assistant said. “In a Western environment, this would not be an issue, however if it took place in East Asia, which is comparatively more conservative, it would likely invoke confusion, or even hostility.”
There were pride events in China too, notably the Shanghai parade that was an annual affair until 2020, but Wu had never attended one in his home country.
“Gay pride is a sort of carnival crafted through the lens of Westerners, but our people are more conservative about sexual expression,” the 24-year-old said. “It could result in more criticism and misunderstandings, even if that wasn’t our intention.”
There are an estimated 70 million people in mainland China who identify as LGBT. Homosexuality was decriminalised in the country in 1997 and removed from the list of mental disorders in 2001.