Chinese Couples Come Out for Gay Rights

Larger Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai offer nightclubs and bars specific for the gay and lesbian community, but much as in the U.S., the rural areas of China still hold homosexuality as taboo.

On Valentine’s Day of this year, thirty Chinese gay and lesbian activists came out, near Tiananmen Square and had wedding photos taken, in order to promote equality in a country that classified homosexuality as a mental illness until 2001.

Those who were campaigning for the acceptance of same-sex marriage posed in traditional Western marriage attire, in the street as photographers took pictures. There was no discouragement or disruptions by the police or other citizens who witnessed the demonstration.

To date, there is still no legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation in China, but there are signs that homosexuals are gaining support amongst the general public.

While the Communist Party has typically maintained that homosexuality goes against traditional Chinese values and morality, some Chinese historians say acceptance is only natural as China has in the past been relatively open to gay relationships and none of the country’s major religions specifically prohibit same-sex relationships.

Perhaps China will lead the U.S. in equality as well as manufacturing someday.