Last night I had a taste of the Beijing gay scene.
A tongxin (gay) friend of one of the American interns took us to Destination, the most well-known gay club in the Chinese capital. It's located in the Sanlitun area.
We got there around 10pm and the place was quite empty. But an hour later it was definitely rocking with cool dance tunes and a wooden dance floor that bounced with the people dancing on it.
And there were many guys to look at -- some were pretty boys, some more beautiful than women, and some you never would think they were tongxin. There were also some foreigners who were surveying the scene too.
Some were showing off their cool dance moves, while others hung out in one of the many lounges in the club. When we left, the crowd of men had spilled out into the street for everyone to see.
Apparently the gay population in Beijing is around 47,000 with over 100 bars and clubs for them dotted around the city. Many have trouble coming out of the closet to their families as the Chinese perception of gays are that they are practically an alien race.
Some well-educated and well-travelled straight people have trouble accepting gays, so you can imagine it's going to take a long time before they are more generally accepted in society. But in the meantime this community is going to make sure they have as much fun as possible.
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4 comments:
the western gay culture has spread its decadent practices to the east. this is part of the price we paid for catching up with the rest of the world in economic, scientific and other progress. homosexuality is an inborn defect of psychological development in sex orientation. it occurs in a certain percentage of all animals including human beings.
Are you "trying" to start a flame war? (no pun intended)
Strange that KS has stated that "...western gay culture has spread its decadent practices to the east..." yet also state that "...homosexuality is an inborn defect of psychological development..." How is it that something that is supposedly inborn is spreading as a result of the west?
I give you credit for recognizing that homosexuality is rooted in genetics...but the judgement of "decadent" is an over-generalization that contributes to negative stereotypes of gays and their further victimization and persecution.
what is that a picture of?
Humans are animals too in case you didn't realize that.
Why is being gay a decadent practice? So are you trying to say that it's an indulgence? So people who are openly gay are being indulgent while those who are closeted are withholding their indulgence?
There have been more than a few ancient Chinese written works where the suggestion of homosexuality has been more than blatant. So do not blame the west for introducing homosexuality to the east. It is something well ingrained in ancient civilizations such as the Roman empire, Indian and Chinese civilizations, WAY before economic, scientific and other progresses as KS suggests.
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