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Beijing youth pave way for gay acceptance

By Monique Ross and Paul Sutherland (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-03 16:00

The gay club, Destination, is pictured under neon light near the west gate of the Worker's Stadium in Beijing, file photo. [chinadaily.com.cn]

A young bartender working at Destination, who did not want to be named, says Beijing is becoming more "gay-friendly" and attitudes towards homosexuality in China are changing, particularly among younger generation.

He said while many people in rural China are unable to embrace their homosexuality due to strong traditional values, in Beijing they can find more acceptance.

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Although many younger generation homosexuals have been accepted by their peers and colleagues, most are still having trouble revealing their true sexual identity to their parents, who often feel unsure about the notion of homosexuality.

Older generations exert the most social pressure towards homosexuals and many parents are not ready to accept their children as gay. Traditional family values, such as the expectation for young people to eventually get married and have children, are fuelling the notion that homosexuality is unacceptable.

Official government figures, last released in 2004, say about 15 million people in China are homosexual. Other researchers claim the number is much higher.

Professor Zhang Beichuan, a long-time researcher of homosexuality and member of the policy sub-group in the Ministry of Health HIV/AIDS information committee, estimates the number is as high as 40 million.

Northern European countries were the first to recognize same-sex civil unions, a trend which has since spread to many other countries. Although China still refuses homosexuals the right to a legal union, there have been positive steps forward.

The Chinese government decriminalized sodomy in 1997, and homosexuality was removed from the Chinese Classification and Diagnostic Criteria of Mental Disorders in 2001.

Li Yinhe, a sexologist from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and an expert on homosexuality in China, believes homosexuality should be more widely accepted.

"One doesn't necessarily show his or her affection to only one person, or to the same sex. Homosexuality should be tolerated and accepted by society provided that it doesn't harm others, as it's not as unhealthy as some believe it to be," Li said in her blog.

Li said in China men are under pressure to get married not only to continue the family, but also because this is a norm established by traditional Chinese culture.

Li's research suggests Chinese male homosexuals eventually choose to enter marriage with a woman. This might be as a means of concealing their true homosexual identities and to have children.

West says after a night of enjoyment many of the patrons of Destination, and other gay bars around the city, return home to their parents and some to husbands, wives and children.

These people feel unable to show their true identities – homosexuality is a topic many in China are still coming to terms with.

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