Have you ever seen Chinese people dressing like this on the street celebrating before? How many homosexual Chinese do you know? How often do you hear “gay” this word in China, or even “lesbian”, “bisexual”, “transgender”?
In Britain, I’d like to quote a Russian friend’s words: “Here every other guy could be gay”. Well, maybe not that many, but 10% is very likely. “Because it’s too cold, people need to hold each other for warmth!” This is the answer from an Italian boy, and another Italian girl very seriously said to me that “it’s because of the food, really, you think about it.” …??? Until now I still can’t figure out the logic behind this, but I know I was quite amused and the British food and weather were flattered.
One thing for sure is that every city in Britain has a gay feel to some extent, like the SoHo area in London, the Polo Lounge in Glasgow, the LGBT (initials for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) communities in cities, the gay magazines in universities, and the Gay Pride Festival every year!
In the gay club, you can be yourself and do whatever you like. Nobody judges you for who you are, or what you do. LGBT communities organize all sorts of activities for people to have fun or to help each other, and more importantly, it is a place where you can share your feelings and ask for help if you are in trouble, so it is like a home where you can relax and feel belonged. Gay magazines do gay stories, pictures, arts, fashions, lifestyles, and health, to name but a few. Some students even set up their own gay magazines. In Glasgow University, it is called “Polari Glasgow”.
Gay Pride is definitely the biggest and most famous festival for LGBTs in western countries, and one of the most important moments to show their pride. The first Gay Pride March started in New York, USA in 1970, and every year since then, there will be a city hosting a giant festival. London, as the host city of the 42nd anniversary in 2012, under the slogan of “Today London, Tomorrow the world”, witnessed about 25,ooo people from all over the world marching—the biggest turnout ever, and tens of thousands of people came and enjoyed this festival.
So the Gay Pride festival is not only a show, a visual banquet, but also it has real effects on people. From them, you can feel gay people’s pride, freedom, and the spirit of “I don’t care”, “I am ok as I am”. Their every movement was trying to tell the world “I am who I am, I am true to myself and I am enjoying my life!” How many of us have the spirit of living as we think we should?
More importantly, other people are inspired, encouraged, and touched by their pride, confidence, free spirit and consistent fight for equal rights.
Still, there are many places in the world where homosexuality is repressed. LGBTs in some places still feel extremely pressured, ashamed, insecure and excluded. This is partly because of the traditional culture in which homosexuality is seen as unnatural, immoral, but also it is because there is no developed LGBT community which can guide people or organize campaigns to fight for their rights, and let their voice be heard. And one consequence is that gay people in these countries may live a double life, by either hiding or disguising their sexual identities. In some countries, there is even violent repression. In Uganda in Africa, gay people have been attacked by Vigilante groups and raped, tortured and murdered. One reason for this is that right wing religious group from America have spread propaganda there, blaming gay people for attacking children and breaking up marriages. Some people in the Uganda Parliament even want the death penalty for gay people. In China, foreign religious groups would not be allowed to spread propaganda like what has happened in Uganda and in many western countries there have been moves to protect the rights of gay people. Therefore, it has become very urgent for us to spread the spirit of gay pride and prompt these countries to build gay culture in which LGBTs can feel more comfortable and confident.
Not everywhere is that hard. In China, homosexuality is still under ground. But interestingly, China has seen quite a few gay marriages in the last couple of years, including the first lesbian couple getting married in An Hui Province in October 2012, even though these new couples’ parents don't really agree. Also in some cities in China, some big LGBT organizations have appeared, like the PFLGA China in Guang Zhou, BEIJING LGBT CENTRE, and the LGBT Equality online. So things are really changing, the young generation of Chinese are becoming more and more open, critical, and brave to break the rules and build the new culture.
Also in Britain, there are still people who are against homosexuality. These are mostly religious people. Being gay was even illegal before 1960s in Britain, so gay culture only developed dramatically during the last 50 years, but there has been an incredible change, very quickly. Now look at China, the situation is very similar to the route of western countries. So hopefully, in the near future, China can have this “gay pride” festival too—Today London, Tomorrow China!