China Coming Out of the Closet

Recently, several teenagers and young adults have committed suicide over the past month in America simply because they were being true to themselves. They were gay, and because they of that single reason, they were bullied relentlessly enough to succumb to death by their own hand. Bullying is typically not just at school or on the streets but truly begins within homes where parents are lost in confusion and devastated to know that their child has come out of the closet. Furthermore, society creates this false belief that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth are abnormal, a hated sight, people who can’t be themselves because they don’t resemble the straight majority. With such a problem, people have resisted the burdens of such ignorance, hate speech and simple-mindedness about the LGBT community through not only reaching out to the youth but reaching out to the guides of life, the story-tellers for the next generation, and the people of today: parents.
One of the best resources for people, especially parents, to get educated on the LGBT community is through the non-profit organization Parents, Families and Friends for Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). PFLAG aims at supporting families and friends with loved ones who are LGBT, at how to cope with society, at educating audiences on sexuality, and advocating for equal civil and human rights among all people, regardless of who they are. Most people behind PFLAG often blog about current news, successes and active plans but they go beyond a website by visiting schools , creating seminars or conferences, joining parades for the LGBT community, and campaigning for education and equality on these topics. Their main goal in doing this is to send the message home for parents who are worried and against having a son or daughter who is LGBT. If change begins at home, that beginning can always start with the ones in charge of it.

'Mama Wu' holding a seminar for PFLAG China

Internationally, PFLAG is a success in attempts to spread awareness and peace in families in countries such as Australia, France and Mexico. The newest addition to global PFLAG organizations is in China, founded by Wu Youjian, or “Mama Wu.” Standing by her gay son, Mama Wu had the courage and ambition to radically change China’s conventional outlook on gays and lesbians, being a taboo like in most norms of modern societies. Like many LGBT advocates, Mama Wu continues to campaign for fair treatment and acceptance of LGBT adolescents and people in general. Her bravery and efforts to reach out and violate a social norm have made widespread reception with her seminars, her interviews in newspapers, televised news and in magazines that advocate for gay rights. With PFLAG, there has been greater attention brought to gay culture and issues in China, such as how surveys say that 30 percent of gay youth attempt suicide. In addition to suicidal young adults who are gay or lesbian, many men and women are forced to repress their sexuality for social survival in China by forcing themselves to have heterosexual marriages. Surprisingly, even though homosexuality is not illegal in China, many traditions for homosexuality into the dark and sometimes there is action taken to close down gay venues, clubs and shops run by someone LGB, further ruining the lives of these people. To promote PFLAG globally also means that the issue of LGBT rights is also global. Although Mama Wu is starting out small by just creating PFLAG China, her ideas and goals mainly, are already taking the form of action with advocacy, education and hope for homosexuality in China.

Source:
‘Mama Wu’ unlikely hero for homosexuals in China: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/16/mama.wu.homosexual.china/?hpt=C1

Image Source:
http://projectqatlanta.com/images/uploads/MamaWu.jpg

Video:

Brynn Olivia Sy

Team 3: Youth Outreach

Cleveland High School ’11