Thought this is interesting and belongs here
https://cilisos.my/46-years-ago-the-johor-m...ve-of-her-life/

Thanks for sharing!

So weird to see how time has changed. People who say our society has always been anti-LGBT need to check their facts straight.

This is adorable have fun guys. Hope you all make lots of new friends there.

🇺🇸 The Gayest Place on Earth: Provincetown Bear Week | Balls Deep
Source: https://youtu.be/DzV2omlPEzI


Originally aired in 2016, journalist Will Thomas travelled to the gayest place on Earth (disputed), Provincetown, Massachusetts, to learn more on the gay sub-culture— "the bears". (22:35)

🇲🇾 LETTER | Transgender Day of Visibility - think about the invisible
Source: https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/568758



Tomorrow marks the Transgender Day of Visibility, which was conceived as the cheerful and perky little sister to the dark and brooding big brother which was Nov 20th’s Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Whereas the latter is the day we bring attention to trans lives lost that year, the former is the day we celebrate the simple success of transgender people living their authentic lives.

Honestly, I can’t think of any lower bar there is to have a “day” named after it.

Hari Pahlawan honours the sacrifices of our armed forces, past and present. International Women’s Day honours the women who have done so much but get so little acknowledgement. Father's and Mother's Days ask us to cherish our parents who have given so much of themselves to raise us.

Transgender Day of Visibility simply celebrates the fact that we are still alive, albeit with a small pre-condition: In addition to being alive, we need to be living as ourselves.

(Except maybe Taco Day. But that requires us to drive to Cyberjaya, which is a form of sacrifice to some people as well.)

One might argue that visibility is a rather weird concept. Why does one need to bring visibility to something that is already so apparent?

We all know about Nur Sajat. Some of us are addicted to Safiey Illias’s glamorous lifestyle as portrayed on Instagram. A precious few of us hear about the uphill task faced by Nisha Ayub and Dorian Wilde in their attempts to advocate for basic human rights for transgender people.

The truth is, not all trans people are like Sajat and Safiey. Likewise, not all trans people are Nisha and Dorian. For each of those names, there are a thousand transgender people who are invisible that you don’t hear about.

Some, like the occasional transwoman working as a make-up artist or the transman eking out a life in sales, are “seen”, but go unnoticed in the grander scheme of things. They deserve visibility as well – an acknowledgement of the trials and tribulations they face, simply for the chance to be their authentic selves.

These are people who are your next-door neighbours, who eat at the nasi kandar shop while seated one metre away from you, who go to school, who attend religious classes, who stress at project deadlines and long queues at roadblocks, who are your fellow Malaysians, and importantly, who are your fellow human beings.

Those are the lucky ones.

Many more are not even allowed to be “seen”. Whether forced to do so by family or just to get a job – they need to be invisible. Becoming visible means being rejected by the people closest to them, being fired regardless of their work ethic, qualifications and abilities, and constantly paranoid that “somebody will find out”.

Every single moment being invisible – they lose a little bit of their soul.

Until the day comes when there’s nothing left to lose.

Which is why the rates of suicide, depression and other mental health disorders are sky-high among transgender people forced to suppress themselves.

Which is why “out” transgender people who receive gender-affirming care and support end up being completely fine.

Don’t get me wrong - this letter isn’t meant to ask you to support transgender people. If you already do, that’s awesome – but it’s likely that you don’t even personally know a transgender person.

The purpose of this letter, written for this Transgender Day of Visibility, is to ask everybody to take a good look at the transgender people around you.

But don’t just judgementally squint to see what you want to see.

Allow your eyes and mind to open to see who they really are. To realise that they’re fellow human beings with dreams, failings, ambitions and aspirations. What you find out might surprise you.

---

Added on
Happy Trans Day of Visibility!

It's a sombre celebration this year seeing our local transgender icon is currently being silenced and in hiding.

🇲🇾 Author, publisher of 'Gay is OK!' gets green light to challenge book ban
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/amp/news/crime-court...llenge-book-ban



KUALA LUMPUR: The publisher and author of the book "Gay is OK!: A Christian Perspective" have succeeded in obtaining leave to proceed with their legal challenge over the banning of the book.

In the legal action, publisher Gerakbudaya Enterprise and author, Ngeo Boon Lin, had named the Home Minister and the government as the first and second respondents respectively.

When contacted, federal counsel Mohammad Sallehuddin Md Ali who acted for the respondents said the High Court today allowed the two applicants' (Gerakbudaya and Ngeo) bid for leave to initiate a judicial review.

He said the decision was delivered via e-mail by judge Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya after she heard the application today.

"The court has fixed April 13 for case management," Sallehuddin said.

Lawyer Michael Cheah Ern Tien represented the applicants.

Gerakbudaya and Ngeo had filed their legal action through law firm Messrs AmerBon at the High Court here on Feb 17.

They filed the judicial review leave application to revoke the banning order dated Nov 27, last year.

In their legal action, they claimed that the Home Minister had no legal and factual basis to impose the ban as it is not likely for the book to be prejudicial to public order, morality and public interest.

They claimed that the ban was irrational and a disproportionate violation of their right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to equal treatment under the Federal Constitution.

The applicants said there were no untoward incidents caused by the book which has been in publication for over seven years, adding that Part One of the book had already been published in the period from 2010 to 2011.

They said the Home Minister had failed to provide any reasons as to how the book was likely to be prejudicial to public order and identify the parts deemed prejudicial.

"In light of the matters stated above, the ban is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or of accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied his mind to the question to be decided could have arrived at it," they contended.

The two applicants also claimed that they came to know of the ban from online media reports published on Dec 18, 2020 following a media statement issued by chief secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Datuk Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz on the same day.

They further contended that in spite of issuing a letter dated Feb 2, 2021 through their lawyers to the first respondent to revoke the ban order within seven days, no reply was given and there were no reasons provided to support the ban.

Bernama reported that on Nov 27 last year, the Home Ministry had gazetted a prohibition order on the publications of the book under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

Wan Ahmad Dahlan said it is absolutely prohibited to print, import, produce, reproduce, publish, sell circulate, distribute or own the publication in the country.

He said the contents of the publication "Gay is OK! A Christian Perspective" was viewed as an attempt to promote homosexual culture in Malaysia, which goes against religious and cultural sensitivities in the country.




This post has been edited by internaldisputes: Apr 1 2021, 02:31 PM

Two funny things about this:

1. The border security claiming they will be extra vigilant patrolling the borders to arrest Sajat when cross-border smuggling is still rampant.
2. The need to distribute photos of Sajat when I'm pretty sure everyone and their dogs know how she looks like.

Hopefully the reports that she has successfully absconded is true.

🇳🇱 Dutch couples mark 20th anniversary of world's first same-sex marriages
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherla...y-idUSKBN2BO54I



AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Twenty years ago, Dutch couple Gert Kasteel and Dolf Pasker made history when they tied the knot in the world’s first legally-recognised same-sex wedding in the Netherlands.

They were among four gay couples - three male and one female - to be married shortly after midnight by the mayor of Amsterdam on April 1, 2001.

On Thursday, they celebrated their 20th anniversaries in small groups or at home due to COVID-19 social distancing rules that prevented large gatherings.

“It’s nicer to say to other people ‘he’s my husband, he’s my man’,” said Dolf, sitting next to Gert as they flipped through an album of photos and newspaper clippings of the wedding, which made headlines worldwide. “It has helped me to accept myself.”

All four gay marriages have passed the test of time. One of the men, Frank Wittebrood, died of a heart attack in 2011 at 55.

Those who participated looked back with pride at having made legal history.

“People told me that the Netherlands would be the first and the last country (to pass same-sex marriages), the rest of the world won’t follow you,” said Henk Krol, a lawmaker who supported the bill when it passed the Dutch parliament in 2000.

“Almost 30 countries in the world followed the Dutch example,” he said.

Most European Union countries, Britain, the United States, Australia, Mexico and South Africa are among 29 nations to have legalised same-sex marriage since 2001.

“I’m very proud that it’s possible,” said Gert, who before he could complete his sentence had Dolf jump in and finish it: “that we could play a little part of it. We made history.”

---

Added on
These guys have better marriage than some straight couple that I know.

From 🇲🇲 to 🇸🇬, Why LGBTQ+ People Come Out to Protest
Source: https://www.queerlapis.com/from-myanmar-to-...out-to-protest/



It’s been over a month since the 1 February military coup in Myanmar, and it still feels like a bad dream. From the senseless beginning—Aye Min Thant of The News Lens called it “The Stupid Coup”—to the current state of chaos, we’ve seen over 1,300 people arrested; protesters subjected to tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades in the streets; some even shot and killed with live ammunition by their own police.

However, in the midst of the sorrow and madness, I’ve also been feeling a deep sense of pride. The reason is this: queer citizens have taken on a highly visible role in resistance against the Tatmadaw (the Myanmar armed forces), forming a vital and respected part of the CDM (Civil Disobedience Movement).

You may have already seen the photos. Since 4 February, LGBTQ advocates have been marching with other pro-democracy activists every day, often carrying rainbow flags and rainbow signs printed with the objectives of the CDM. On 19 February, 1,500 queer folks marched 7 kilometres to Sule, the centre of Yangon, in lieu of the Pride Parade usually held at that time of the year: they have since vowed to repeat this action every week until the movement’s demands have been met.

Why are the queers of Myanmar fighting? To some degree, the struggle is about LGBTQ rights. Activists recall a major turning point at the 2015 General Elections, where Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was victorious over the Tatmadaw.

“Before 2015, people really couldn’t accept the diverse expression of LGBT people,” says gay activist Ye Linn in an interview with Time. “Most LGBTQ+ people internalized the idea of being wrong people and accepted it; they thought they were abnormal.” After the win, however, queer community organising and activism flourished. There were successful efforts to convince NLD politicians of the importance of granting legal protections to queer people; even hopes that the Myanmar would soon see the end of the colonial sodomy law, Section 377.

Now, the coup has made all that impossible—how can one argue about queer rights with military officers who don’t even recognise the concept of human rights? So it’s only logical that recently empowered queer folks are taking to the streets bearing #LGBTQ4Democracy signs.

It also helps that these actions are creating queer allies. Speaking to Time, Sue Sha Shin Thant, a trans woman activist based in Mandalay says, “People see that LGBTQ+ people are brave and they applaud and encourage us. We receive love,”

But there’s something deeper than identity politics at stake here. As one activist interviewed by Outright International said, “At this point, LGBT people are not even thinking about special rights or demands. We are all in Myanmar going through the same thing together. LGBT or non-LGBT, our goal is to get rid of the dictatorship.”

It’s a sentiment that’s expressed by queer people all over the region who’re struggling for democracy. We’ve seen this in Thailand, where LGBTQ activists have taken a leading role in opposing the government installed by the 2014 military coup, with some even refusing to accept the regime’s offer of a civil partnership bill. Among the numerous individuals who’ve organised marches and demonstrations, one of the most prominent is gay student activist Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree, founder of the Free People Movement, which campaigns for a new constitution, free and fair elections and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut. In the words of Tattep’s boyfriend and fellow activist, Panumas Singprom, “We don’t want to grow old and have our kids ask us, ‘When the country faced injustice what did you do?'”

I’ve also seen this personally in Singapore, through the actions of my friend Jolovan Wham, an openly gay man who’s dedicated himself to working on a plethora of non-LGBTQ issues, including migrant worker rights, death penalty abolition and freedom of speech. He’s only just been released after serving a 22-day jail term (reduced, for good behaviour) for his role in organising a public protest in 2017, drawing attention to the government’s history of detaining activists under the Internal Security Act.

And I can’t help but feel there’s something very queer and camp about the adoption of the three-finger salute among Thai and Myanmar activists. It’s an act of defiance made famous by Katniss Everdeen, the fictional protagonist of The Hunger Games—a quote from pop culture, an imitation of a strong, beautiful, bad-ass woman; yet devastatingly sincere—the very essence of drag culture.

The courage of rebels like this is inspiring—it makes me want to yell out all these queer anarchist slogans I’ve seen circulating on (US-centric) social media: “The First Pride was a Riot”; “Be Gay; Do Crimes”; “Not Gay as in Happy, but Queer as in Fuck You”. And I have tried to follow in their footsteps, in a small capacity, participating in an illegal public protest for trans students’ rights outside Singapore’s Ministry of Education this year. (We’ve been questioned by the police, but as of the time of writing, we’re still awaiting charges.)

Yet I also know that this kind of activism isn’t necessarily representative of the queer community. Here in Singapore, LGBTQ organisations such as Pink Dot and IndigNation have typically in fact been careful to stay on the right side of the law, attempting to win the respect of conservative lawmakers and members of the public using a strategy some have called “pragmatic resistance”.

Furthermore, queer folks who take to the streets in protest can face dire consequences. In Myanmar, multiple queer protesters have been arrested, such as Zaw Zaw, a gay man in the LGBT organisation Kings N Queens, who was taken from his own home during curfew by police who physically rammed down his door. In the town of Lashio, a lesbian and transgender group reported that they were visited by the police after their photos were circulated by the media; after this, they’ve been careful not to march with rainbow paraphernalia or makeup.

And there are real fears about the safety of LGBT people in prison. “Being a trans person, I’m concerned,” says Chrissy Ong, a Los Angeles-based Myanmar actress and activist. “If you look different because of your clothing, gender identity or appearance, you are vulnerable to all kinds of violations of police and authority.” Similar issues were described in human rights lawyer, Michelle Yesudas’ experience in Myanmar.

Most recently, during the armed attacks on 3 March—a day the protesters are referring to as Black Wednesday—we had the first confirmed case of a queer activist killed in action: 19-year-old Maung Htet Wai Htoo, a Moulmein University student and member of LGBT Rights in Myanmar.

Conversely, even if the revolution in Myanmar is successful, there’s no way to be sure the new government will honour its queer community by granting them rights. “For the short term, the public is acknowledging LGBT participation in the movement, but in the long term stereotypes and discrimination against LGBT people will still exist,” says Maung E.B, a trans man activist based in the city of Monywa to Time.

It’s a strange dilemma that compounds the sense of sorrow I feel, not only when I look at the state of politics in Myanmar, but also in Singapore and around the world. Too often, queer pro-democracy activists are fighting for a country that does not love them back.

But we have to remember, we’re not alone here. It’s the same story with feminists, leftists, ethnic minorities, economic and social underclasses. Throughout history, marginalised groups have battled against tyrannies that oppress everyone, only to be rewarded with a new status quo that oppresses only them.

Still, I refuse to end on a depressing note. In both Myanmar and Thailand (I dare not comment on my own nation), there’s a real possibility of dictators being overthrown; of queer folks and other victims of discrimination to win some better recognition of rights under democracy. Which is why I’m lending my voice—and some of my money—to trying to help these movements succeed.

We can’t think of a political struggle as a limited-time-only opportunity to grab privileges just for our communities, and no-one else’s. Nosiree.

We must fight because *everyone* deserves to be free.

Maybe she already out of this country. I can't help but thinking all this reports are just lip service by our authorities to shut up conservatives and fundies from questioning any further.

I think for the almighty IGP to make a public appeal for Sajat to come out is like an admission of defeat. We can all rest assured Sajat has already escaped Malaysia. I'm happy!

🌎 Novel HIV vaccine approach shows promise in “landmark” first-in-human trial
Source: https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.co...in-human-trial/



A novel vaccine approach for the prevention of HIV has shown promise in Phase I trials, reported IAVI and Scripps Research. According to the organisations, the vaccine successfully stimulated the production of the rare immune cells needed to generate antibodies against HIV in 97 percent of participants.

The vaccine is being developed to act as an immune primer, to trigger the activation of naïve B cells via a process called germline-targeting, as the first stage in a multi-step vaccine regimen to elicit the production of many different types of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). Stimulating the production of bnAbs has been pursued as a holy grail in HIV for decades. It is hoped that these specialised blood proteins could attach to HIV surface proteins called spikes, which allow the virus to enter human cells, and disable them via a difficult-to-access regions that does not vary much from strain to strain.

“We and others postulated many years ago that in order to induce bnAbs, you must start the process by triggering the right B cells – cells that have special properties giving them potential to develop into bnAb-secreting cells,” explained Dr William Schief, a professor and immunologist at Scripps Research and executive director of vaccine design at IAVI’s Neutralizing Antibody Center, whose laboratory developed the vaccine. “In this trial, the targeted cells were only about one in a million of all naïve B cells. To get the right antibody response, we first need to prime the right B cells. The data from this trial affirms the ability of the vaccine immunogen to do this.”

Schief presented the results at the International AIDS Society HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) virtual conference on Wednesday 3 February.

In the Phase I IAVI G001trial, 48 healthy adult volunteers were enrolled to receive either a placebo or two doses of the vaccine compound, eOD-GT8 60mer, along with an adjuvant developed by the GlaxoSmithKline.

One of the lead investigators on the trial, Dr Julie McElrath, senior vice president and director of Fred Hutch’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, said the trial was “a landmark study in the HIV vaccine field,” adding that they had demonstrated “success in the first step of a pathway to induce broad neutralising antibodies against HIV-1.”

HIV affects more than 38 million people globally and is among the most difficult viruses to target with a vaccine, in large part because of its unusually fast mutation rate which allows it to constantly evolve and evade the immune system.

Dr Schief commented: “This study demonstrates proof of principle for a new vaccine concept for HIV, a concept that could be applied to other pathogens as well. With our many collaborators on the study team, we showed that vaccines can be designed to stimulate rare immune cells with specific properties and this targeted stimulation can be very efficient in humans. We believe this approach will be key to making an HIV vaccine and possibly important for making vaccines against other pathogens.”

The company’s said this study sets the stage for additional clinical trials that will seek to refine and extend the approach, with the long-term goal of creating a safe and effective HIV vaccine. As a next step, the collaborators are partnering with the biotechnology company Moderna to develop and test an mRNA-based vaccine that harnesses the approach to produce the same beneficial immune cells. According to the team, using mRNA technology could significantly accelerate the pace of HIV vaccine development, as it did with vaccines for COVID-19.

“This is a tremendous achievement for vaccine science as a whole,” said Dr Dennis Burton, professor and chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research, scientific director of the IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center and director of the NIH Consortium for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development. “This clinical trial has shown that we can drive immune responses in predictable ways to make new and better vaccines, and not just for HIV. We believe this type of vaccine engineering can be applied more broadly, bringing about a new day in vaccinology.”

The scientists believe the same approach could also be applied to vaccines for other challenging pathogens such as influenza, dengue, Zika, hepatitis C and malaria.

🇰🇷 'Sexual minorities are often invisible': meet Seoul's only LGBT mayoral candidate
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/...rea-oh-tae-yang



One morning in late March, Oh Tae-yang awoke to news that his campaign banners, which feature rainbow flags and pledges to work toward same-sex marriage, had been vandalised, torn down and strewn across the ground.

After he got over the initial surprise, he noticed a particular detail in the destruction. “The banners had been ripped horizontally just below my neck, as if the person who did it was thinking of cutting my head off,” Oh said.

Oh is a fringe candidate in Wednesday’s Seoul mayoral byelection, and the only one whose platform is built on advocacy for the LGBTQ community and other vulnerable groups. “Sexual minorities are often invisible people in our society. The person who ripped down the banners must have felt they had a right to live without being reminded of such people’s existence,” Oh, 45, told the Guardian at his office in Seoul.

Oh Tae-yang was spurred to run for office after the deaths of three prominent members of Seoul’s LGBTQ community, particularly that of Byun Hee-soo, a trans woman who was forcibly discharged from the military after undergoing gender confirmation surgery.

Her death came within weeks of those of Kim Ki-hong, a non-binary politician and activist, Lee Eun-yong, an LGBTQ playwright.

“I attended the memorials after these deaths, and talked to people there, and I kept wondering, why did these people feel they had no choice but to take their own lives? I want to try to understand this situation and enact measures to prevent deaths like these,” Oh said.

Despite its economic power, technological prowess and the soaring global popularity of its pop music and cuisine, South Korea remains a conservative, patriarchal society.

The byelection is in effect a two-way race between ruling Democratic party candidate Park Young-sun and Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power party. The last poll before the vote shows Oh Se-hoon – who is no relation to fellow candidate Oh Tae-yang – in front by a wide margin, with 55% of voters saying they plan to cast their ballots for him, compared with 32% for Park.

The vote is mostly seen as a referendum on the tenure of the Democratic party and the left-leaning president, Moon Jae-in. Moon’s popularity has plummeted in recent months amid government corruption scandals. Voters are also disappointed by the administration’s failure to rein in rising housing prices and spur an economic revival.

Two byelections are being held on Wednesday: in Seoul, and in Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city. Both contests have their roots in allegations of sexual misconduct levied against the previous mayors of both cities. The former Seoul mayor Park Won-soon took his own life after a former secretary accused him of having sexually harassed her for years. In Busan the previous mayor resigned after a female aide accused him of unwanted touching. Both were members of the ruling party.

In Busan too, the opposition People Power party looks poised to come out on top, with candidate Park Hyung-joon holding a large lead over ruling party rival Kim Young-choon. Park was up 57% to 31% in the last poll.

‘He can influence and educate’

Oh knows he isn’t going to be the next mayor of South Korea’s biggest city, but feels as though his presence on the ballot, and open advocacy for LGBTQ issues, can create momentum toward improving minority rights.

“Just his candidacy is absolutely important,” says Heezy Yang, a 30-year-old Seoul-based drag performer. “Even if he doesn’t win the election, him being seen making statements that are supportive of LGBTQ+ people matters a lot, because he can influence and educate.”

Yang says the conditions faced by LGBTQ South Koreans are “steadily improving” but still have a long way to go. “When I was a kid, LGBTQ+ issues were never even mentioned in this country’s politics. Now because there are politicians and influential people who are supportive of us, the concept of being ‘pro-LGBTQ+’ is a thing and it matters,” said Yang.

LGBTQ activists in South Korea have long been calling for legislation that would mandate penalties for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and other identities. For example, other Seoul mayoral candidates have hesitated to guarantee LGBTQ groups’ rights to hold a Pride festival in Seoul, saying the public may be made uncomfortable with public displays of their identity. Advocates have pointed out that freedom of assembly is included in South Korea’s constitution.

If Oh were elected mayor, he says he would issue city ordinances banning such discrimination, and permitting same-sex marriages.

He would also create various offices in Seoul city government to improve conditions for people with disabilities, multicultural households and youth, while aiming to have half of all city government jobs filled by women.

Oh Se-hoon, the most likely victor of Wednesday’s election, would be taking office for his second stint as Seoul mayor, having served in the post from 2006 to 2011. Like many South Koreans, Oh Tae-yang feels frustrated at how the nation’s politics can seem like a game of musical chairs between the same old politicians with the same old ideas.

“For a long time in our country, people just thought that if they made enough money, everything would be fine and they didn’t need to worry about anything else. Fewer people think like that now, more young people recognise that we need different kinds of solutions,” Oh said.

“And that starts with diversity, by different kinds of people having a voice. That’s real democracy.”

🇨🇳 Boys Keep Flirting With Each Other on Chinese TV But Never Fall in Love


In the fantastical world of ancient China, two handsome, superpower-wielding men find soulmates in each other. They flirt with ancient love poems, enjoy the moonlight on a romantic rooftop, raise an apprentice together, and come to each other’s rescue at life-and-death moments.

The stirring scenes are from the Chinese fantasy period series Word of Honor, the latest hit in the gay romance genre that has exploded in popularity in China: boys’ love. Well, not “love,” exactly. In a particularly emotional scene, one of the two male leads hugs his grieving companion, only to affectionately call him a “brother.”

Subtle gay dramas, adapted from boys’ love webnovels, has become a lucrative business in China, where censorship of anything LGBTQ-related is tight. But the appetite for queer content is just too big to ignore, a demand that comes not from gay men, but mostly straight women.

At least eight shows adapted from novels with boys’ love romances are expected to premiere this year across China’s major streaming platforms, including Alibaba’s Youku, Tencent Video, Mango TV, and iQIYI. The stories range from historical-fantasy action flicks to modern mystery thrillers and teenage melodramas.

The trend is a double-edged sword for China’s sexual minorities, providing a rare positive portrayal of queerness on mass media, but also perpetuating stereotypes for profit.

“This type of queer, more fantastic than real, does little justice to the gay community,” said Zhange Ni, a professor at Virginia Tech who studies Chinese webnovels. “Its social impact is largely under the control of digital capitalism. Only the ‘homonormative’ gay characters, men who are handsome, wealthy, with exceptional qualities, are liked by consumers. It is disconnected from the experiences of the LGBTQ population.”

High risk, high returns

Making and showing boys’ love dramas in China is a cat-and-mouse game between the profit-driven entertainment industry and the homophobic censorship regime.

In 2016, the hit teen series Addicted (also known as Heroin), a drama with explicit gay scenes, was pulled from online streaming platform iQIYI before it could release its last three episodes. In 2018, the sci-fi drama Guardian went offline on video hosting site Youku two months after its release, even though the original gay romance storyline was rewritten as friendship. But the demand for boys’ love was clearly insatiable — before it was banned from Youku, Guardian had already racked up over a billion views.

The potential for serious profits encourages companies to continue queerbaiting while trying to please censors by incorporating elements from official state ideology. The 2019 fantasy series The Untamed, featuring an unlikely bond between a cheeky magic-wielder and a stoic ice prince, started an online craze over the pair’s implicit romance. But the show’s promotion focused on its portrayal of Chinese traditional culture — a push consistent with Chinese Communist Party propaganda.

“By showing the beauty of Chinese culture, The Untamed has conveyed our cultural confidence and established positive values,” communist mouthpiece People’s Daily wrote at the time, in a surreal piece tying President Xi Jinping’s political buzzword to a boys’ love show.

Read more @ https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k95mg/boys...v-untamed-lgbtq

Question, why need to call male as cis male and yet calling trans male is wrong?

Who say it is wrong?

Just from some twit I read last time,

the person say trans male is wrong, should call him male only

Its called bromance. Totally different from being a homo

I think it depends on context? If someone wanna refer to a group of trans people to discuss about their struggles, experiences, etc... by all means they can use the word. Otherwise I don't see a reason to treat trans people differently from cisgender people.

I have a trans male friend and I just treat him as a regular guy.