Beijing’s ‘Happy Couples’ Launch Campaign for Same-Sex Marriages
The Guardian reports on a wedding pictures event by same-sex couples in Beijing:
With her bouquet of roses and fluffy white dress, Han Xincheng looked the epitome of the glamorous modern Chinese bride. But, although her parents had been pressing her to marry, the photographs were not what they might have expected: she is gazing adoringly at another woman, surrounded by onlookers.
The series of “wedding pictures” staged by lesbians and gay men in the heart of Beijing might not raise eyebrows any longer in most western countries, but they are evidence that attitudes are finally changing in a country where gay sex was illegal until 1997 and homosexuality classified as a mental illness until four years later.
There is still no legal protection against discrimination in China and few role models: no mainstream figures are openly gay. Yet now parts of China’s gay population are calling for the right to wed – and meeting with some sympathy.
POSTED COMMENTS: 2 Responses
Given the heavy boy-girl imbalance due to the one-child policy and cultural preferences for male offspring (1.14 to 1 vs a natural ratio of 1.05:1), China and India may have little choice but to fully legalize and even encourage homosexual relationships.
The alternative is 10% of an entire generation of adult men who will never be able to find a female spouse, with the ensuing potential for social unrest. Or Nepalese-style polyandry…
Fazal,
I can’t speak much to India’s gender imbalance (perhaps you can tell me more), but I can say that there have been official discussions for the past year or so on relaxing the one-child policy. They’ve already started doing it in some areas, like Guangdong, where people are now allowed to have a second child.
Thanks for reading CDT.
Paulina