Lesbians in China: less "threatening" than gay men?

[ensho]

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/china/gay-china-lesbians


A new play in Beijing has China's emerging gay community buzzing.


The two women, in flowing robes of silk, caress each other and sing sweet nothings. “We’ll sleep on the same pillow tonight,” they serenade in unison.

This is a scene from "Lianxiang Ban" ("A Romance: Two Belles in Love"), a 17th century play by saucy Qing dynasty wordsmith Li Yu. The story: two women — Cui Jianyun and Cao Yuhua — enchanted by each other’s fragrance, fall in love and plot to marry the same man so they can continue their lesbian romance. This version, running at Beijing’s Poly Theater this week, is in the form of Kunqu opera, a traditional theatrical form that dates back over 600 years.

China’s gay and lesbian community is abuzz with excitement. The fact that a top mainstream theater in Beijing is showing such a high-profile lesbian production is a breakthrough for China’s gay community, especially for a city that just four months ago shut down a gay beauty pageant minutes before it started.

“The fact that we have approval to put this kind of subject matter on stage is one more step towards Chinese society becoming more open-minded,” said Stanley Kwan, the opera’s director. Kwan, 52, hails from Hong Kong, and is an openly gay filmmaker famous for "Women" (starring Chow Yun Fat) and gay love tale "Lan Yu."

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Homosexuality is not illegal in China and it was removed from an official list of mental diseases in 2001. Gay clubs, bars and saunas have opened in many big cities and the Chinese internet is packed with gay and lesbian websites. While the domestic media are increasingly covering gay stories from a sympathetic angle, there still appears to be an official discouragement of any direct promotion of gay lifestyles. Homosexuality remains a sensitive but not banned topic while gay and lesbian groups are tolerated provided they stay apolitical.

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“It would have been more of a challenge to have gay men,” said Xiaogang Wei, founder and presenter of "Queer Comrades," a Beijing-based gay podcast. The idea of a gay man, he says, is more threatening than the concept of lesbians to Chinese society.

That could be because women are considered less sexual than men.
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there is a pic and video

note: it is a 17 century play

[GoddessOfGuinness]

1. "less threatening" = more of a turn-on to males who hold power.

...as long as they're young and physically appealing to men.