Asia

Asia / Australia / Lesbian / Politicians — 38 Comments
27
Jul 10

BEING PENNY WONG

Penny Wong with partner Sophie Allouache

Australian Senator Penny Wong with partner Sophie Allouache

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  As of November 2010 Penny Wong publicly announced her long-standing private support for gay marriage. A long time coming, but very very welcome nonetheless

After recent disappointing comments on gay marriage by Julia Gillard and Penny Wong I didn’t think I would be saying this … but I almost feel sorry for Penny Wong.

Why?  Don’t spit – please read on for a minute.

I’ve been reading American websites call her personally ‘despicable’ (what would they know personally about an Australian senator?), readers of this blog called her a ‘bitch’, on Facebook there were plenty of racist comments made on several gay rights pages. Not to mention all the related homophobic crap that is probably piling into her inbox from all angles.

And for what …  telling us what we already knew the Labor party’s policy to be on gay marriage. What else was she going to say in the middle of an election campaign?  And would we have attacked her straight male colleagues in the same way if they said the same thing? I bet not. So how is that fair? Continue reading →

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Asia / North America / Personal Stories / Wedding — No Comments
20
Jul 10

INDIAN PERSPECTIVE ON GAY MARRIAGE

indian gay couple on cover of Trikone Magazine

Photo: Michael Aram Tarr for Trikone Magazine

In a country where the standard coming out line is “Mum, Dad, I don’t think I am going to get married,” marriage equality takes on a special significance.

Click on this link to hear a great radio story from about an Indian couple in an unofficial gay wedding in California (it’s from a National Public Radio station in the US).

One is Christian, the other Hindu, so they had two ceremonies. And their fathers flew in from India to bless them.  The reporter even goes on to imagine that there might one day be a time and place for gay arranged marriages in India.

Now there is a topic worth further discussion …

Continue reading →

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Asia / Heroes / Personal Stories / Wedding — No Comments
23
Jun 10

CHINESE GAYS SPEAK UP

ABOVE: Dutch television story on gay wedding in China

Four centuries after China pioneered female same sex unions (there were occasionally male ones also) and less than a decade after homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness by the ruling Communist Party, campaigners for gay marriage rights for China’s 60 million  gays and lesbians are finding a large audiences for their views.

Couples campaigning for acceptance are even holding unofficial weddings, and being covered sympathetically in the state-run press in the world’s most populous nation. For example on Valentne’s Day in China Daily and a much longer piece in April 2010. Indeed, on Valentine’s Day, thirty Chinese  gay and lesbian rights activists gathered near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, posing in same-sex wedding photos to publicize their cause. Imagine that!

The Beijing LGBT centre is issuing it’s own homemade marriage certificates to couples wanting a tangible expression of their shared commitment. Continue reading →

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Asia / Parents / Parenting / Personal Stories / Video — No Comments
22
Jun 10

EXTRAORDINARY CHINESE COUPLE

Chinese couple who married unofficially 25 years ago, and now their adopted son is marrying the girl of his dreams.
Read (in English) and watch (in Mandarin) this extraordinary story here. This story was screened on an Oprah-style TV show in China.

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Asia — 1 Comment
30
May 10

GAY MARRIAGE IN ASIA

Nepal seems likely to introduce equality in 2010 and the King of Cambodia supports marriage equality - personally intervening to help partnered gays get Cambodian visas and even posting a handwritten note on his website to make his views clear point.

But who else is making a real push forward in Asia?

Sadly it is much easier to determine who is going nowhere. Hong Kong ruled out equality in 2006, for example. Chinese attitudes are changing, but very slowly, as this article shows.

It seems the only gay marriages in Asia for a while yet will be the sham heterosexual marriages of closeted gays and lesbians. I think there is great potential to achieve more. Continue reading →

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arrests / Asia / Wedding — No Comments
26
May 10

TRANNY HELL IN PAKISTAN

Same sex marriage is often about perceptions.

For example, is a party a wedding? Is a marriage between a man and male-to-female transgender person a same-sex marriage? is anything the resembling the above a great excuse for mass arrests and humilation? The Pakistani policy seem to think so. They arrested 43 people at a ‘transgender wedding’ yesterday claiming they broke anti same sex marriage laws.

Businessman Iqbal Khan, 48, and his alleged bride, an 18-year-old whose formal name is Kashif but goes by Rani, will be charged with attempted sodomy, police official Shaukat Ali said. Up to 7 years jail awaits.

Continue reading →

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Asia / Marriage / Surprising Marriage Equality Supporters — No Comments
22
Apr 10

NEPAL SCALES NEW HEIGHTS

Painting the mountain pink

The home of Mount Everest, Nepal, is proof that change can happen quickly and where you least it expect it on the issue of marriage equality.

Like Albania, no-one would have predicted rapid advances in rights, certainly not imminent marriage equality or a global tourism campaign promoting Nepal as a destination for gay honeymooners.  Maybe that was because homosexuality was illegal until 2007.

But Nepal is killing two birds with one stone:  giving a social boost to a minority and an economic boost to all. It’s when you get a powerful alignment of interests like this that change can happen so quickly.

This will be the gayest thing to happen to Mount Everest since these newsreaders. Spread the word.

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Africa / Asia / Australia / Europe / North America / Personal Stories — No Comments
19
Apr 10

LOOKING FOR LINKS

Trying to build global links at The Gay Marriage Blog

Hello everybody – I’m about to create a blogroll / resources page on here.

Please send me links to the sources you trust on same sex marriage; I am especially keen to find non-English language sites and blogs.

For example, Purple Unions, has a great events directory and collection of short stories from married couples.

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Africa / arrests / Asia / Australia / Europe / Gay / Lesbian / North America / Sex — 1 Comment
14
Apr 10

MAXIMUM SECURITY?

copyright - Mark, www.slapupsidethehead.com

Debates about marriage equality are at very different stages across the world – as this global map of marriage rights from the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) shows.

Did you know lesbians and more often gay men can be jailed for private sexual activities in more countries (78) than they can marry (10)?  That’s not the kind of maximum security we need.

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