at Margaret Cho for calling Gwen out on it on her blog (her complaint was that the Harajuku Girls reinforce sexist Asian stereotypes of women being docile and subservient). But Margaret gave a weak argument, and even conceded that having some Asians in the media was good, since there are like, none. I could talk about Margaret Cho for days, though. I have a love/hate relationship with her. Sometimes, I think she's hilarious and totally on point (seriously, read that), other times I think she's losing her edge ("Assassin"). But this blog is about Chinese gays, not Margaret Cho.Before we get to Chinese gays, I have to actually get there. So, Gwen. Right. After Gwen, I didn't think much about Eastern culture until I read David Sedaris' latest book, When You are Engulfed in Flames, in which he describes an effort to break his smoking addiction by jolting himself out of his routine and going to...Japan. No one can write like David Sedaris can, but his observations of the nuances of Japanese culture in comparison to Western culture are spot-on, and actually the first thing that made me consider the idea of visiting the country. Again, it's not because I'm racist, I just don't know what it would smell like over there and that scares me.
And then, I started to learn about the macrobiotic diet, which Madonna follows to ensure that she will live past 160 years old and never get cancer or any disease of any kind. I delved into the whole world of Eastern food practices and realized that they are much healthier and live longer and have lower instances of cancer and heart disease. The macrobiotic diet ("long life") is some crazy shit, you guys, and I encourage you to check it out on your own time and let me get to my Chinese gays.
So, after I picked up the green tea habit, I found myself warming up to Eastern culture. Just recently, I've been looking into Chinese culture specifically, and what they're up to. Apparently, they're up to all kinds of shit and they are watching you. And then I saw this article on my beloved Queerty that delved into the quiet gay revolution that's supposedly happening:
China is a nation in the midst of a great transformation, embracing modernity, but doing it in a way that's uniquely Chinese. This holds true for gays and lesbians as much as anyone. There are no formal political gay organizations in mainland China (there are a few in Hong Kong), but websites have taken on much of the organizing power and advisory status of Western gay rights organizations. Movies like Milk and Brokeback Mountain are banned by the state, yet Hong Kong's Phoenix Satellite Television, which mainland Chinese have access to, ran a 12-part series called Tongxing Xianglian or "Connecting Homosexuals," which featured openly gay hosts from different regions of China discussing gay topics on a panel. The show's producer, Gang Gang, told the BBC:
"We hope that after this show airs, homosexuality will no longer be an issue, that society will be more enlightened about it, more understanding and more tolerant."
A lofty and unattainable goal, but in recent years, gay Chinese have seen tangible changes in the way the state views them. China has its own version of Don't Ask-Don't Tell that applies to gay rights in general known as "The Three Nos": No approval, no disapproval and no promotion. But in practice, the country has eased restrictions on gays and lesbians that had been in place since the Cultural revolution.
When I read that, "the Three Nos," my mind went all wonky. At this very moment, I have trouble wrapping my head around it. My gut reaction was "hmm, that's actually pretty cool," and then I was like "wait, that's not cool." And now, I'm like "hmmwait, that's not actually pretty cool." I can't help but wonder if that policy normalizes homosexuality by not allowing people to either approve or disapprove, thus, not allowing homosexuality to be used as a pawn in some culture war or political game, which is pretty much the attitude that America has about homosexuality. It's this stupid hot-button, buzz-word topic that, for some reason, just gets people going. Where, in China, it's like "yeah, I'm gay. What you gon' do 'bout it? Cuz I'm pretty sure you can't do shit." It sure would make coming out to your parents a lot easier. "If you disapprove of my sexuality, I'm reporting you to the police."
But then there's that last little bit, "no promotion." What does promotion entail? I've heard so many times "I'm cool with you being gay, just don't flaunt it." Or, "Sorry, we can't hire you because you'd be promoting homosexuality to our children."
It seems like we have a culture that considers homosexuality taboo, especially when there are children or militaries involved. And without knowing jack squat about China, it seems like they have a culture where it's not as taboo, because people haven't hijacked that shit yet to use it in their agendas, because they're not allowed to. You're not allowed to use same-sex marriage as an argument that the world is ending, and you're not allowed to protest the funerals of dead soldiers and LGBT people with signs that say "God Hates Fags." But you're also not allowe
d to have a gay pride parade, either. That's no fun.
Maybe, just maybe, that's all for the best. If what the majority of us LGBTs really want is to be seen as "normal" or to fit right into this culture and have the house, the family, the 2.5 kids and piles upon piles of debt, then the Chinese seem closer to allowing that to happen.
Again, I'm definitely new to the whole Eastern culture thing, but I'm an eager and willing student. Plus, I really don't want Margaret Cho to assassinate me and blog about how ignorant I am, so for the first time ever on my blog, I'm asking for your insights.
What do you think about "No approval, no disapproval, no promotion"?
I actually just recently (and by recently, I mean like 2 weeks ago) wrote a paper comparing treatment of LGB individuals in South Africa, China, and Iran.
ReplyDeleteChina's a really interesting place and, by in large, it makes absolutely no sense, at least in terms of LGB rights. Yeah, you're right that the "3 no's" means that politicians can't use the gays as political cannon fodder. But there's a whole other set of problems, mainly tradition- based. Many Chinese LGBers still feel a need to marry someone of the opposite sex for "survival" (their words, not mine). While there has been somewhat of a thawing on tolerance in cities, there's still an enormous amount of prejudice and discrimination in rural areas of China (of which the country has plenty). Some rural LGBers sometimes keep two residences... one in the country, where the spend most of their time, and one in the city, where they can be openly (at least somewhat) gay.
Also, China seems to be rather schizophrenic in terms of allowing LGB individuals to speak up and be visible. Yeah, they did allow that web broadcast. They've also begun to let some colleges teach classes on LGB topics and to allow at least one college LGB club. But they also randomly shut down LGB film festivals and, during the "clean-up" of Beijing prior to the Olympics, raided LGB bars and clubs and arrested people on trumped up charges. On the other hand (again), they did toy briefly with legalizing same-sex unions back in the early part of the '00s. It seems that the Chinese government really has no clue what to do with the gays.
But I digress. To get back to your original question of the "3 no's"... perhaps the biggest problem with it is in terms of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the country. Infection rates are in the rise in the country, especially amongst gay men and people who live in rural areas. China has begun to try and address the problem, but, because of the "3 no's," they don't target education at gay men. As a result, there's still a lot of ignorance about HIV/AIDS. It's a really big problem.
I guess my point, if I have to have one, is that I don't think the "3 no's" allow the gays to fit in more. I think it makes them even more of an outsider, an "other." If the government can't even mention them, how can they ever fit in? I think "being normal," as you put it, without education, can only happen where prejudice doesn't already exist. Since it does in China (and everywhere else, if we're gonna be honest), the government needs to take the lead in teaching tolerance. And allow others to do so as well. And that ain't really happening yet. At least, not consistently.
Sorry about the non-linear nature of the post. Kind of stream-of-consciousness. Hope it made sense!
Cheers.
Thank you!! That was very insightful and made me feel thoroughly dumb.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I figured it was much more complicated and that gays don't have it made in the shade over there or else...I'd probably be there and we'd all know about it. I just think "the three nos" is a really interesting approach to take; I hadn't even considered the health implications.
The sense I've gotten about China with my minimal knowledge is that they very much "try things on," in a way America doesn't. It's fascinating to me, and I wonder how having such a huge population plays into that.
Anywho, thanks for the information and once again knocking me down a few pegs. I can always count on you, Seth!
That's really interesting. I wrote a paper in undergrad about Gay Rights and this would have been a nice inclusion to my argument.
ReplyDelete