Welcome to China! Even though the Chinese government tries to hide them, there are a few gay Chinese mulling about here and there. You will also be surprised to note that there are many gay things to do in this country, which up until ten years ago, would be considered “hooliganism” and punished with a light slap on the wrist, in addition to the added bonus of ten years of hard labor along the borders of Siberia. OK, I made the latter punishment up, but the fact is that China has come a long way over the past ten years in terms of acceptance and openness to homosexuality.
In olden days, homosexuality was a very acceptable way to get one’s rocks off in ancient China and many high-ranking officials kept male mistresses (a.k.a their bitches) and would often bring them to official functions and dinners. In fact, many historians speculate that the late Qing Dynasty Tongzhi emperor died of syphilis contracted after too many late-night romps in the gay brothels in the red-light district south of present-day Tiananmen Square. I won’t even mention the sordid shenanigans that happened down south in Shanghai in the early part of the 20th century. However, following the rise of the Communists and the establishment of New China in 1949, Chairman Mao declared the East to be red, not pink, and, thus, all of the most flamboyant of comrades hid away their feather boas and leather chaps for fear of getting sent to the countryside (we’re not talking about the Hamptons here). During this time, the only way China’s butt-comrades could meet up would be late at night in city parks after all the lights were shut off, basically one giant open air darkroom.
Things started to change with the decriminalization of sodomy (yay!) in 1997 followed by the removal of homosexuality from a list of mental disorders in 2001. After meeting some of the homos across China, you will quickly question the prudence of the latter decision. Fast-forward to today and you will see a thriving, albeit small, gay community in the bigger cities. Bars, clubs, restaurants, saunas, and bathhouses dot major cities and are often very crowded, especially on weekends. The biggest gay club in Beijing, Destination, is often the first stop on the list for any fresh-off-the-boat flamer, as is D2 in Shanghai. Gay and gay-friendly establishments are popping up seemingly everyday across the country as China continues down the road to hedonism and fiery destruction (oops….out childhood Christian indoctrination!)… down the road to openness and tolerance. Organizations are popping up to increase awareness for queer causes such as aibai.cn and Queer Comrades, a regular bilingual Internet talk show that focuses on relevant gay issues. In June 2009, Shanghai held China’s first gay pride, causing homos and journalists to let loose and go crazy for an entire week. With so much to do and an extremely friendly and open gay community, you will have little reason to sit at home watching episodes of Sex & The City for the 10th time. So, sit back and learn how to make the most of your pink trip to China.
Many of you will be coming to China on a homestay program, basically becoming the adopted foreign son or daughter of a local Chinese family. It is a great way to improve your Chinese and really immerse yourself in local Chinese culture. On the other hand, if you are a party animal or someone who enjoys having bedtime friends over late at night, you may have to change some of your habits out of respect for your new family. Even though Chinese society might be progressing at breakneck speed, most of the average families that are part of the homestay programs are still going to be rather conservative. In other words, if you are going to hook-up, don’t host and if you are going to party all night, tell them you will be out late and to not worry. It is also recommended that you keep your sexuality to yourself to ensure things don’t get weird between you and your new family, which will cause uncomfortable tension. Needless to say, but I’ll say it anyway: it will probably be a good idea to keep your veined double-header black 12” dildo dong out of plain sight.
Even though China is becoming gayer by the day, it still cannot hold a candle to more liberal Western countries. Gay venues are still limited and, in some cases, underground and inaccessible to most outsiders. The bigger clubs are often meat markets filled with people with one thing on their mind, and it isn’t to find a crochet partner. Instead of meeting people in bars and other gay themed events, many homos have turned to the Internet to meet new and interesting people. The biggest gay-dating site by far in Asia is Fridae.com. Other sites, such as Gaydar and even Craigslist are popular in the bigger cities. If dating is not what you are looking for and you just want to make new friends, Gays.com, which is based out of Shanghai, will be your best tool for meeting new people in a non-aggressive way. Basically, the gay Facebook, Gays.com is an open and friendly site where users use their real names and focus more on interests and less on body type and cock size.
If the Internet is not your thing or if you would rather speak to someone face-to-face rather than the cold hard glare of a computer screen, another option is to hit the bars or clubs. Major cities like Beijing and Shanghai have an active gay bar/club scene and can be found in the many local English magazine listings. If you are lucky enough to be in Beijing, www.gayographic.org lists all of the city’s gay bars and other special gay-related events. In other cities gay bars and clubs are less prominent, so it might take some sleuthing to find them from the many straight bars that dot most cities. Chinese gay bars are quite eclectic, with the ones in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai being more international in the way they are set-up and run. Gays in China are generally open and approachable to foreigners, unlike in South Korea or Japan. You should have no problem at meeting new people in bars or clubs, either Chinese or foreign.
One thing to be aware of, however, are the money boys who will attempt to extort money from you following some late night activities. If you even have an ounce of common sense, you will be able to spot one right away. Victims of money boys will often find themselves being extorted for various amounts of money. If the victim does not give in, the money boy will often threaten to go to the police. If you find yourself in this situation, remember that homosexuality is not illegal in China and often the money boy will face harsher scrutiny that yourself. These are often empty threats. Call their bluff and they will usually go away empty-handed.
Gay bathhouses are quite numerous in China, again, especially in the big cities. We do not recommend visiting such places because they are often not very clean and there are high rates of STDs due to the low rate of condom use. However, if you are just looking for the experience and to check out a Chinese gay bathhouse, you certainly will not face any danger by visiting one. Gay bathhouses are generally known by word of mouth and some will actually advertise to the foreign community, such as Oasis in Beijing near Fuchengmen. Just remember to be safe if you do more than just watch.
Finally, you will face little discrimination in China about being gay. Some of your more conservative Chinese friends may be a bit puzzled, but other foreigners and more liberal Chinese will be very accepting. There are no moral issues surrounding homosexuality as there are in other regions and countries. Those who find themselves opposed to homosexuality are often at that opinion because they believe it is not normal or because of years of Soviet indoctrination that it is wrong. Rarely will you meet a person who opposes it simply for theological reasons. As long as you do not flaunt it (ie public displays of affection) and you do not in anyway politicize it, you will have one of the pinkest times of your life while in China. You will quickly see that the famous red star over China is starting to take on an ever-increasing pinkish hue.
[...] The East Is Pink [...]
Thanks for that very helpful summary of the Chinese situation. You mention that “as long as you do not flaunt it (ie public displays of affection)” you’ll be fine… but how open can one be?
It seems China’s come a long way pretty fast — you even decriminalized it before America did!
true