Organisers of Shanghai’s Pride have told THEGAYUK that they have cancelled all foreseeable future events “for the safety of our family”.
Shanghai Pride is an event which has been running since 2009, but has recently announced that the time has come for “the end of a rainbow”.
In a blanket email statement, organisers wrote, “Over the past 12 years, we worked hard to enrich the culture and diversity of this city that we love so much: we showcased inspired artwork, theatre, and films; we fostered connections through job fairs and group open days; we offered a platform for individuals to share authentic stories about their lives; we threw parties that brought people together; and we hosted forums to trade wisdom on how to make Shanghai a more vibrant, inclusive place.
“Pride has a lot of different meanings for different people – for us, it has always been about showing our community that not only is there nothing wrong with who we are, but that our identities and the people that we love are worth celebrating
“Cancelling all upcoming activities and taking a break from scheduling any future events”
“ShanghaiPRIDE regrets to announce that we are cancelling all upcoming activities and taking a break from scheduling any future events. We love our community, and we are grateful for the experiences we’ve shared. No matter what, we will always be proud – and you should be, too.
THEGAYUK reached out for further clarification and were told by a spokesperson, “For the safety of our family, we are no longer holding events. While we keep a low profile for the foreseeable future, we hope to stay in touch in with our Pride family.”
The world’s most populated country has, since 2016, banned depictions of gay people on Chinese TV.
Scenes like this kiss in EastEnders between two men would be banned in China. CREDIT: (C) BBC Kieron McCarron
China has a raft of strict regulations on what its people can see, download and transmit. Even porn is forbidden in the country and its citizens have been offered money, lots of it, for turning in to the authorities those who are suspected of viewing or hosting the content.
However, even darker and more problematic is that the depiction of gay people is forbidden and the language used in that enforcement is incredibly worrying. In fact the ruling saying that content that ‘exaggerates dark side of society’ is banned. This includes homosexuality, but also adultery, earrings on males and even, yes, cleavage.
Even the relationship and first gay kiss in Star Trek between Lt. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Chief Medical Officer Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) would be banned in China.
The Chinese government’s ban is part of a crackdown on “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content” and was first reported in 2016 and is nothing more than a government-backed, systematic cleansing of gay people from society.
The government outlines that TV shows shall not “show abnormal sexual relationships and behaviours, such as incest, same-sex relationships, sexual perversion, sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual violence, and so on.”
This ban, according to the Guardian includes smoking, drinking, adultery, sexually suggestive clothing, even reincarnation.
This clampdown on content has increased since Xi Jinping, China’s president, came into power in 2012.
This means that content readily available in many countries across the globe that incorporate same-sex relationships would be forbidden. In fact, streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and the BBC’s iPlayer are not available to view in China.
In April 2018, Sina Weibo, China’s largest social network said it would remove “homosexual” content from its platform. Sina Weibo said in a statement that it had begun a “clean-up campaign” to remove “illegal” content, including “manga and videos with pornographic implications, promoting violence or (related to) homosexuality”.
Weibo reversed its ban, but only after a huge backlash against the platform.
WHILE WE HAVE YOU…. YOUR SUPPORT MEANS EVERYTHING
Help us deliver unique, usable and reliable journalism that supports the gay, bisexual and curious community of the United Kingdom. Can you help protect LGBT+ media? Publishers like us have come under severe threat by the likes of Google and Facebook. The problem is that advertisers are choosing to put their money with them, rather than with niche publishers like us. Our goal is to eliminate banner ads altogether on site and we can do that if you could pledge us a tiny amount each month.
We’re asking our readers to pledge just £1 per month, more if you’re feeling swanky. You can stop payment at any time.
It is illegal to display any form of same-sex relations in several destinations and in extreme cases you could be arrested or sentenced to death. If you are part of the LGBT community, it is critical for you to be wary of such destinations when making travel plans. Ending up in a foreign jail doesn’t sound so pleasant. If your next holiday wish is around Asia, then you are in luck. There are several LGBT-friendly zones where you can enjoy the best vacay with your partner. Find the list below:
When Japan comes to mind, a traditional religious country flashes through my brain. Despite being a robust spiritual state under Shintoism, they don’t oppose any form of gay sexual activity. If asked, I would even say they commend it. A recent poll indicated that 54% of the citizens believe that people should be free to associate with whoever they want to sexually. Maybe the people are so open-minded because their forefathers practised it. In fact, in the 11th-century men would take other male lovers and sign brotherhood contracts for exclusivity. With the belief rooted in so deep, it is safe to conclude that Japan has been safe for the LGBT community for a while. It’s only a matter of time before political parties rise to create supportive laws.
Being gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual is fully allowed in Cambodia. Everyone is permitted to have whichever sexual orientation and any sexual activity is permitted as long as both parties are consenting adults. They even have a traditional Khmer culture, which, tends to support gay people within the community. The culture recognises the male and female as equals under the term, (kteuy), and, also has a provision for a third gender in between (the Thai katoey).
In the year 2004, King Sihanouk publicly announced that he was impressed with same-sex marriages in San Francisco and would be willing to replicate the same laws in his country. Since then, several gay pride walks have been peacefully held. You can visit Cambodia almost any time of the year as the weather is nearly always perfect. However, we have to warn you that you may not want to leave this little heaven.
Before the year 2001, homosexuality was listed under types of mental illnesses in China. The LGBT community has similar legal rights as of other people with different sexual orientations. They are only allowed to practice any sexual activities in private as are the other people.
Similar to Japan, China has traces of homosexuality dating centuries back. In 1840, many emperors were believed to have had sexual relationships with the same-sex partners. This was way before the Western influence. The gay scene in China today is growing tremendously, with clubs, bars and saunas opening every other day. This is one excellent vacation stop to put on your bucket list.
As much as Indonesia is predominantly a strict Muslim region, Bali does not comply with the rules of the state. Bali feels like an entirely different state. The people there are free-spirited as they embrace all types of people regardless of their religion, sexual orientation, class, age or race.
Perhaps, being a top destination spot with tourists from every part of the world has forced the people there to embrace this new culture.
There are a bunch of gay clubs, the landscapes are breath-taking, the ocean is beautiful, and it is one of the best most affordable destinations in the world. A Bali vacation is always a good idea.
If you are gay and you are planning a vacation with your partner, you probably want a destination where no one will bat an eyelid if you hold hands. Phuket is the place for you. The rest of Thailand, however, is not so gay-friendly, there have been instances where gay tourists have been victims of assault from residents. In Asia most states are like this; part LGBT-friendly, part LGBT-hostile.
In Phuket, you will be completely safe. There is also an infamous Bangla Road, where gay pride walks, gay parties, and sex shows are popular. Make this your next holiday stop and you will not regret it.
Manila is completely LGBT-friendly. The most surprising thing is that the Philippines state is entirely religious. It is a traditional Catholic state, but we are lucky this doesn’t translate into oppression. The people there are very open-minded, I would say.
They accept people for who they are without being judgmental. The place is also very affordable, the flights, hotels, restaurants, and activities. In addition to all this, the scenery is spectacular, food exquisitely mouth-watering and it has an abundance of things to do.
We can’t leave out the most recent country in Asia to ban sexual discrimination against sexual orientation. Taiwan despite its political controversies with China claiming it as its own, is the safest place for the LGBT community. They have a Taiwan gay pride, which is held annually in October and tourists from all over the world attend. Last year alone, it had over 120,000 event attendants. This is one of the most liberal countries in Asia with an overflow of activities for the LGBT community. Now you can start packing!
The other Asian countries that are taking great steps towards accepting the LGBT community are Vietnam, South Korea, Nepal and Israel among others. We hope soon more and more states adopt the same attitude towards LGBT+ people.
You should steer clear off Bangladesh where same-sex sexual activities are punishable by life imprisonment. Bhutan and Pakistan also criminalise same-sex sexual relationships. The worst is the Maldives where a guilty individual could be punished by death. Now you know where to go when planning your next vacay. May you and your partner have the best vacation!
A recent study from China has found that lonely gay men are most likely to have condomless sex. Of the 507 men that took part in the study, those “who reported feeling lonely were more likely to have had condomless receptive anal intercourse in the past 6 months.”
The same men also said that they felt “hopeless for the future” and reports of higher levels of internalised homophobia.
The study showed that gay and bi men in China are suffering from high rates of depression and loneliness, of the 507 who took part, 26.8 and 35.5% reported moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression and feeling lonely, respectively. Despite homosexuality not being illegal in China LGBT people are subject to severe societal pressures.
The aim of the study was to help demonstrate that gay/bi and queer men with negative mental health in high-income countries were at risk of HIV infection. “We sought to describe depression and loneliness and identify their correlates among Chinese MSM”.
Without protection, like condoms or access to PrEP, men who have bareback sex are more at risk of contracting HIV than those who use condoms or who are on PrEP and who test regularly.
(C) BIGSTOCK
Chances of passing on HIV are Zero if you’re on effective treatment
The PARTNER 2 study results found no cases of HIV transmission between men when one partner had HIV but was on effective treatment. This finding offers further confirmation that an undetectable viral load prevents sexual transmission of HIV. This understanding is frequently expressed as Undetectable equals Untransmittable, or U=U.
The 14-country study found no transmissions between gay couples where the HIV-positive partner had a viral load under 200 – even though there were nearly 77,000 acts of condomless sex between them.
China’s LGBT rights
China has a chequered history in LGBT rights – same-sex sexual activity has only been legal since 1997, whilst the country does not recognise gay relationships or marriages. Same-sex couples are not permitted to adopt and there is no legal statute to protect gays from discrimination. However, trans people are legally permitted to change their legal gender.
Homosexuality was removed from the Ministry Of Health’s list of mental illnesses in 2001.
China’s Sina Weibo said it would remove “homosexual” content from the popular microblogging platform, prompting a storm of online protests Saturday under the hashtag “I am gay”. Weibo said in a statement Friday it had begun a “clean-up campaign” to remove “illegal” content, including “manga and videos with pornographic implications, promoting violence or (related to) homosexuality”.
When it comes to Chinese names for Western celebrities, “Sweet Tea” is definitely hot, “Fruit Sister” is off the menu, and an ample posterior can have you anointed “Lord of Butt”. Chinese is expressed using idiomatic characters rather than an alphabet, making it difficult to use the language to transliterate foreign names, and opening the door for a range of creative and often bizarre appellations for well-known stars. (more…)
After purchasing a majority stake in Grindr last year, a Chinese gaming company has acquired the rest of the dating app for gay men from its founder Joel Simkhai, the West Hollywood company announced Friday. (more…)
A man in China managed to get this penis stuck in a wedding ring for 48 hours and had to call the emergency services to get the metal band off.
He apparently stuck his Johnson into the ring and then panicked after he couldn’t get it out – after TWO days. The pain became so unbearable he was forced to call for medical help.
CREDIT: YouTube / DailyVideoDoes
After calling for help it was the FIREFIGHTERS who turned up first. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to remove the ring. It wasn’t until was shifted to a hospital where the professionals were finally able to snap the ring off, over an hour later.
Grindr has announced that it has sold a 60 per cent stake in its business to a Chinese gaming firm.
The self-funded growth of Grindr has come to an end. The world’s most famous gay dating app has sold a majority stake, reportedly worth $93m (£64m), of its business to tech firm Kunlun Tech Co, in China, a country which one can argue has a questionable gay rights history.
Taking to Grindr’s blog founder and CEO Joel Simkhai said,
“For nearly seven years, Grindr has self-funded its growth,
“We have taken this investment in our company to accelerate our growth, to allow us to expand our services for you, and to continue to ensure that we make Grindr the number one app and brand for our millions of users.”
Sixty per cent of the company has been sold to Kunlun Tech Co, a gaming company, whose chairman Zhou Yahui, 38, became a billionaire last year after his company was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in January.
The remainder of the company belongs to Simkhai and Grindr’s employees.
Grindr’s revenue was reported to be around $32 million in 2014, just a fraction of what Yahui has paid for the gay dating app.
The company is valued at around $150 million. Not bad for a startup which was created by Mr. Simkhai in 2009 with a couple of thousand dollars of investment. Its agreement with it’s new owner means that Grindr’s founders will continue to operate as is and it will, for now, retain the current team.
Speaking with THEGAYUK in 2012, Simkhai said that the thought of selling grindr made him “anxious” when he gave it too much thought. He said,
“(The) notion that ‘Joel, ‘X days from now or X months from now that Grindr will not be part of your life but just be a part of my resume or a part of my history’ makes me very anxious, makes me very uncomfortable.”
So now the new majority owner is a self identified straight man, what will become of the world’s most famous gay app?
