LGBT MATTERS: THE SILENT MAJORITY

Xiaogang Wei, Ying Xin, Luke Zhao

moderated by Valerie Kremer

While the LGBT community in China have gained some ground in recent years, sexual and gender minorities still have extremely low visibility in Chinese society. According to a recent UNDP survey only around 5% of them choose to disclose their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression at school, in the workplace, or in the religious communities. More are choosing to come out to their close family members, but still no more than 15% have the courage to do so. And, the survey said, over half of sexual and gender minority people report having been unfairly treated or discriminated. To deflect social pressures, the phenomenon of gay men and lesbians “dating” and marrying in what’s known as “lavender” marriages of convenience appears to be becoming more prevalent. In this discussion, Xiaogang Wei from Beijing Gender, and Ying Xin (Xiao Tie) from the Beijing LGBT Center, and Luke Zhao from GaySpot magazine will discuss recent issues and developments in the LGBT field and assess the road ahead. Event moderated by Valerie Kremer from MSB.

This event will be consecutively translated in English and Chinese. 

LGBT问题：沉默的大多数

Xiaogang Wei, Ying Xin, Luke Zhao 
主持人 Valerie Kremer

3月11日（星期日），下午四点 | 60 RMB | BW11-4

尽管近年来中国的 LGBT 群体取得了一些进展，但性少数人群在中国社会的受重视程度依然极低。据联合国开发计划署最近的一项调查显示，只有大约5%的人会选择在学校、单位或宗教团体中公开自己的性取向、性别认同或性别表达。相较而言，更多的人会选择向他们的家人公开，但其百分比仍不超过15%。此外，该调查还显示，超过半数的性向及性别少数者曾受到不公平待遇或歧视。为了转移社会压力，男同性恋者与女同性恋者进行“约会”，步入形式婚姻等现象也似乎越来越普遍。在本次的讨论会中，北京性别研究机构的 Xiaogang Wei，北京 LGBT 中心的 Ying Xin (Xiao Tie) 以及 GaySpot 杂志的 Luke Zhao 将会一同探讨LGBT领域的最新问题及进展，并对未来的发展道路进行评估。

此活动现场翻译，中英双语进行。 

Xiaogang Wei was born and raised in Xinjiang, China. He was trained as an actor at the drama department of the Xinjiang Arts Institute in Urumqi and at the Shanghai Drama Academy. Having a passion for community work and a drive to contribute to social change, Xiaogang has continually searched for meaningful ways to share his drama skills with others and to use them in socially relevant ways. During recent years he started to engage himself on the production side of various film and other productions benefiting different social movements in China. In 2007, he founded the LGBT webcast Queer Comrades, for which he hosted and directed more than 50 half-hour episodes. He is the executive director of the NGO Beijing Gender. Founded in 2002, it constitutes one of the first Chinese NGOs to focus on issues of gender, sexuality and sexual health. Together with the Beijing Gender, he launched a series of groundbreaking events in China, including the China AIDS Walk, the China Rainbow Awards, the China LGBT Community Leader Conference and All Gender Toilet Program. He is also The Co-Chair of the Beijing Queer Film Festival, Advisor of UNDP Being LGBTI in China Program and 2016 Berlin International Film Festival Teddy Jury. In 2013 he was awarded the Vanguard Awards from the LA LGBT Center.

Ying Xin (小铁/Iron), 31, pansexual, is the executive director of Beijing LGBT Center. She has worked as a volunteer in the field of sexuality equality since 2009. She participated in the leadership training organized by the Los Angeles LGBT center in 2011, and she became a full-time staff member in Beijing LGBT Center in 2012. She is co-founder of Wuhan Rainbow and she is also the co-curator of the Chinese women’s film festival. She initiated many LGBT campaigns, including gay wedding performance art in 2011; lesbian couple’s registration in 2013; the de-pathologization work on LGBT in 2012; and the Chinese LGBT affirming psychologists training in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Xi’an, etc. She initiated the first national survey based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression (SOGIE) along with the UNDP and Peking University. She has been to many countries to present the situation of the LGBT community in China, and her work has been covered by many media outlets at home and abroad.