Chinese out of the closet At night, the neon lights of bars and nightclubs that line the west side of flash Workers Stadium as the eyes of hundreds of young people who are released to enjoy leisure in Beijing. Cars of the best brands stop at the doors of the premises, where the doormen reserved a special place for Porsche and BMW that give prestige their facades. Vehicle girls get off long hair and long legs, accompanied by boys ironed shirt and bulging portfolio. Others arrive by taxi, in pairs or in groups, ready to blow dry the thirsty tea cocktail of whiskey and shake the body under the hammer steamroller music DJs into the wee hours of the morning.
In the street, however, a string of purple lights identifies a very different local: Destination. The building, discreet and back entrance, houses a large nightclub with dance floor, several bars and a trail of rooms with sofas. Meet here every weekend hundreds of gays in the capital, looking for a place to have fun and leave behind the rejection and discrimination they face almost daily in this country where homosexuality was considered a mental illness until 2001.
Leaning on a wall, basking in the warm light of one of the rooms, Ben, 25, who like most homosexuals in China uses the English name or pseudonym, tells how he has forged its identity on intolerance and silence. "When I was in college, had a friend who took me to school every day on his bicycle. I had strong feelings for him. We were close friends, nothing sexual. Even my first year in college, I realized that I really was gay. I met a man of 39 years Internet y tuvimos un encuentro sexual. Lo dejamos tras graduarme, pero seguimos siendo amigos", dice este joven apuesto, vestido con camiseta blanca, vaqueros y un collar de gruesas cuentas.
Ben dice que sus padres no saben que es homosexual. Huyó de su ciudad natal, Xian, y se fue a Pekín para que no se enteraran. "Nunca dejaré que lo sepan. China es un país muy tradicional. Existe mucha discriminación contra los gays. No puedo respirar. No hay espacio para nosotros. Todas las semanas vengo un día a Destination. Aunque no encuentre novio, me gusta ver a la gente porque somos similares".
El secreto de Ben es el de millones de personas en China, que guardan su verdadera identidad sexual para los amigos más cercanos. La Much has changed since the years following the communist revolution (1949), when homosexuality was considered a disease of the decadent Western and feudal societies, and gays were persecuted. But it was not legalized until 1997 and although there is currently no specific legal prohibition such as in other Asian countries, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals are often forced to conceal their preferences, under pressure from a very traditional society and a government silencing the claims of these groups.
Many Internet sites are blocked on homosexual themes, festivals are censored and banned from display in theaters of his films. It has also been reports of students expelled from university for this reason. Homosexuals have vetoed
donate blood. The Government justifies this measure for health reasons. Says, "the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, is higher in groups like drug users and homosexuals." Shanghai held in June last year its first gay pride festival. But they were not allowed public parades and city officials forced to cancel several films and a play.
Xu Bin, 37, founder of Tongyu (common language), one of the first associations of lesbians as she says that "most homosexuals continue to live in the closet." "They experience a great social pressure and do not dare to tell their families for fear of not being accepted. Since 2001, China does not consider them mentally ill, but still there are many psychological clinics trying to cure them."
The increased pressure, however, comes from the family environment. China's tradition dictates that every child should marry and have offspring. His absence is considered a major offense to the parent-child love, so many refuse to be homosexuals themselves to meet the expectations of families. "Better not tell my parents I'm gay. I do a lot of damage. If I find a pretty girl, tall, slim and with big eyes, marry me, "says Xiao Liu (fictitious name), a 25 year old from the northern province of Liaoning, who studies marketing and says he has had couples and lovers of both sexes, but prefers men.
The situation is exacerbated by the one-child policy, as the lack of siblings can cause disruption of the genealogical line. Hence there are parents who have potential brides to their children even after they are have shown that they are gay. Some gays, called in Chinese Tongzhi (comrade) and lesbian (lala, abbreviation of the word lesbian) opt for marriages of convenience with friends of the opposite sex who are also homosexual, often without legally registering the union. At first, live together in a game of appearances that seem to please everyone, then, like millions of other couples in China, they divorce. "I know people who have done so. They sign an agreement not to meddle in the affairs of another," said Xiao Liu. But what happens when parents claim a grandchild? "You can tell them you do not like children," he replies. The government estimated between 10 and 15 million the number of homosexuals in China, but researchers estimate there are about 30 million, including 10 million lesbians. A large group with which the authorities have a difficult relationship. After the elimination of laws against homosexuality, Beijing adopted a policy called the three is, "no support, no opposition, no promotion," which in practice means that the stigma and discrimination are still installed in the formal structures on the grounds that homosexuality does not respond to traditional values.
Some sociologists disagree. The relationships between same sex during dynasties such as Han, Song, Ming and Qing are clearly documented, and the country has a long artistic and literary respect. The Dream of the Red, one of the four Chinese classical novels (XVIII century), including gay characters. Moreover, unlike religions such as Christianity or Islam, Confucianism and Taoism do not consider homosexuality a sin. Confucianism asks man to prolong the family line, if you then have male lovers, is their business.
Although in rural areas remains a taboo subject, the attitude of society China is changing rapidly, local governments are more tolerant, and in recent years have seen an explosion of bars, shops and products for homosexuals. "Traditional ideas change in the future, but it will depend on the evolution of education. China needs time," says Zhang Baichuan, researcher on issues of homosexuality, linked to the Ministry of Health.
If Destination is the home of Beijing gays, lesbians come to the bar and nightclub Feng Paw Paw, in the center. Ouren, 30, who also uses a nickname, held every Friday's event in Paw Paw, in which men are denied access. "My parents know I'm a lesbian. People around me do not support me, but I do not disapprove," he says. Inside the room, a hundred girls, most little more than twenty years, drink and dance with open bar for 80 yuan (8.6 euros). Some have short hair, long hair and others look Barbie doll style dress. Lying on a sofa, two girls kissing outside the music. After a while, come two young men, who seem Russian, in miniskirts, they go to the two vertical bars located near the door, grip the metal and start dancing doing acrobatics. Clients enthusiastic applause. While many homosexuals
deny their condition and suffer in silence, others flying proudly, influenced by the information they receive on the Internet despite the existing filters. "Most have a lot of pressure, but we do not. We have no fear of our families," says Zhongzi (his nickname), 22, who lives with his girlfriend and two lesbian couples in a functional apartment in Tongzhou, 20 kilometers southeast of Beijing. But there is
long way to go. The group saw a mirage of opening last January, when it convened the first Mr. Gay beauty contest in the country, in Beijing, to elect a Chinese representative in international competition in Norway this month. The police canceled the event hours before the meeting, warning young Chinese did not want any part in the event in Norway. In response, organizers and contestants chosen in secret to his representative, Xiaodai Muyi, 26, who defied the authorities, traveled to Oslo and last weekend won the fourth. -
Source: El País
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