Being Gay in Hong Kong
Hong Kong, despite marketing itself as an international city, still has a long way to go in terms of inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ community which consists of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer community. In 1842 Hong Kong, same-sex sexual activity between consenting male adults was criminalised as a reflection of British laws with Hong Kong being a British colony. However, in 1991, it was decriminalised with the age of consent being raised from 16 to 21 in section 118 of the Crimes (Amendment) Bill 1991. An early example of homophobia is the case of John MacLennan. McLennan was a young police officer who took his own life after he was due to be arrested for the crime of homosexuality. A solicitor involved in his death in 1980 has no doubts that he committed suicide, and that he was “hounded into killing himself” by Hong Kong’s police hierarchy.
Even now, same-sex marriage is not legally recognised in Hong Kong and couples still experience discrimination and hate crime. Hate crimes are crimes that are motivated by prejudice against a person based on one of their characteristics, such as their sexual orientation or gender identity. There is no explicit legislation that protects queer people from anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Hong Kong. Most companies also do not include sexual orientation in their diversity and inclusion policies. In a 2021 study done by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) on the social and legal marginalisation of transgender people in Hong Kong, it was reported that 70% of respondents had been the victim of some sort of physical or non-physical violence based on their sexual orientation. These included verbal abuse and insults, sexual violence, and physical attacks, all of which constitute so-called hate crimes.
Additionally, in the CUHK study, 76.9% contemplated suicide while 42.8% of respondents were showing moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms. Rejection, victimisation and discrimination were common issues faced by many transgender people in Hong Kong. This shows how discrimination takes a toll on members of the LGBTQ+ community in Hong Kong.
Understanding the Culture of Homophobia
The understanding of LGBTQ+ inclusion in Hong Kong needs to be contextualised in the historical, cultural, and social contexts of Hong Kong society, a post-colonial city strongly influenced by Chinese culture. Society here can be conservative because of the traditional Confucian mindset. Upholding cultural traditions is an integral part of local Chinese people’s lives as evidenced by the high participation rates during traditional Chinese festivals like Chinese New Year, QingMing Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc,. Confucianism states harmony is achieved through the traditional role of a mother and father raising their child, which creates a rigid framework of how a family should be.
Additionally, Hong Kong, like many Asian countries, is a collectivist society, one that values the interests of a group rather than an individual. People in a collectivist society commonly exercise emotional restraint in order to avoid shame and save face. Individuals who are considered non-conforming to group values are seen as deviants in a collectivist society. Therefore Chinese culture may foster homosexuality-related stigma. Moreover, in a society that widely endorses stigmatizing attitudes, homosexual men may internalize these attitudes and believe that they should be stigmatized or discriminated against. These can lead to negative feelings of self-hatred and shame.
A move towards acceptance
Although there are still some cases of discrimination, there has been a step towards progress and hope. Recently, there has been a more positive attitude among the Hong Kong people in relation to homosexuality. 60% of Hong Kong people now agree with same-sex marriage, as shown in the Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey (CCPOS) at CUHK which questioned 1,551 Hong Kong residents aged 18 and over between January and February of 2023.
Comparing the test results between 2023 and other earlier years, we can see an improvement in the public’s attitude towards homosexuality. The telephone survey has been conducted in 2013, 2017, and 2023. In 2023, 60% agreed with same-sex marriage whereas in 2013 and 2017, only 38% and 50.4% of people had expressed agreement with same-sex marriage respectively. The increase in percentage shows the improved acceptance rates of Hong Kong citizens when it comes to same-sex marriage.
In the past, gay bars traditionally remained discreet and virtually unidentifiable outside the gay community, relying exclusively on word of mouth promotion. This was because in the 20th century, homosexuality was illegal in many places like Hong Kong and members of said community hid their sexuality in fear of prosecution. More recently though, gay clubs and events are often advertised on posters in the street, on social media, and at other clubs and events. This opening up of gay bars indicates the gradual integration of the queer community into regular Hong Kong spaces, no longer as a place of hiding but one that fosters acceptance.
Gay Bars as a Safe Space
Due to the discrimination and hate LGBTQ+ members face in Hong Kong society, they have resorted to queer clubs. A gay bar is a bar that caters mostly to the LGBTQ community; the term gay is used as a broad term for LGBTQ+ communities. It is one of the few places where they can fully express themselves in terms of gender and sexuality, without being shunned or judged. There is no need to fit into the heteronormative standards of heterosexuality when presenting themselves.
“Not everyone interacts with openly gay people so it’s a nice place to interact with other people in the common,” states Dewan Tyieeb, a 22-year old university student at the LINQ bar.
In regular clubs, queer couples may feel judged or looked down upon as seeing a same-sex couple out in the open in Hong Kong is a rarity. The attention itself could make LGBTQ+ people uncomfortable in a regular bar setting. Conversely, in gay bars they do not have to be constantly on edge with how they are perceived as well as feeling the need to hide their sexuality. The strong sense of community and bonding gives them the ability to feel comfortable in their own skin.
A prominent feature of gay bars are drag shows, in which both the straight and queer community participate. Drag is a performance art form that uses cross-dressing, namely in an extremely feminine-presenting fashion, to critique gender inequalities. It challenges the boundaries of one’s freedom of self-expression. The people who usually perform drag are gay men and they are referred to as drag queens.
A Brief History of Drag
The word “drag” and the distinctive culture it is famous for has woven itself into the socio-cultural context of today’s world, especially circumventing it in popular culture. Although the origin of drag is rooted in LGBTQ+ culture, the specifics of where it started is still being debated by historians. Drag culture has mostly been pioneered and popularized by Black and Latino performers in the 19th century who began the custom of holding drag balls after being excluded from white drag and female impersonating pageants. Crossdressing in theatrical acts also holds a significant portion of credits when it comes to the popularization of drag.
Drag’s Entrance into Hong Kong
In fact, this is how Hong Kong’s drag culture began to take root, when men played the roles of women and vice versa in Chinese opera by crossdressing (反串/ fanchuan). However, this is mostly symbolic of Chinese performance culture than anything, quite detached from the modern day heavily queer drag culture that we know of.
Proper LGBTQ+ influenced drag was introduced to the Hong Kong queer community through Western expatriates and the growing prevalence of Western popular culture influence in general. They manifested in the form of drag balls and drag-themed events held at the nightclubs Disco Disco (1978) and Propaganda (1991) in the city’s now famed bar and club district, Lan Kwai Fong. Clubbing and bar culture have always been deeply intertwined with the LGBTQ+ community, especially for drag queens who frequent the nightlife district to showcase their extravagant performances. There aren’t many gay bars in Hong Kong, but the ones that do exist are a physical and symbolic embodiment of the city’s queer community and the way they express themselves. While Disco Disco and Propaganda no longer exist, other gay bars and clubs have popped up to fill the gap. LinQ and FLM are two such bars where regular drag performances are frequented by queer and straight people alike.
Through the Lens of a Drag Queen
While Hong Kong’s population of drag queens isn’t as abundant as its Western counterparts, with there being around forty to fifty drag queens in the city, the minority that exist represent a flamboyant community rarely seen beyond the dusk in Lan Kwai Fong. Majority of Hong Kong drag queens are of Southeast Asian or European origin, usually being expats, who find their way into drag driven by their passion and a desire to contribute to the creative artform.
36-year-old drag queen Pacifica Rimowa’s journey began whilst watching drag performances herself. She said she had felt compelled “to know, [to feel] and to experience.” Like any other performer, enthusiastic reactions and engagement from the audience fuels a drag queen’s intensity to deliver equally entertaining performances. Rimowa has found that impassioned platform at LinQ, where “the energy of the audience is just phenomenal.”
On the other hand, Falanja, a 27-year-old drag queen was captivated by how she could become “a different person” while doing drag after watching people transform themselves on drag TV shows. When asked about how Hong Kong culture facilitates and reacts to drag, she responded that she “[feels] comfortable in a strange way.” The way people stare, albeit “with a judgy face”, instils an odd form of comfort in Falanja. It is one that propels her to continue being her authentic self as there fails to be any outright form of hate from the local community.
Many of the drag queens we see today get the inspiration to start their journey from watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, a long-running reality TV show where drag queens battle to become “America’s Next Drag Superstar”. Lilo May, also known as Tony, is one such drag queen. “Drag gave me a platform to put my creative mind into,” said Tony. Drag is far more than just a form of entertainment for many queer people – it also serves as a form of self-expression uninhibited by gender norms and a validation for one’s gender and sexuality. It acts as an all-inclusive art form that unifies people from all different kinds of backgrounds in a community that’s still seen as taboo in Hong Kong.
An Inclusive Space for All
It’s not just the LGBTQ+ community that enjoys these performances, however. Contrary to popular belief, gay bars are frequented by quite a number of straight people as well, especially straight women. This can be attributed to the reported safer environment they experience in gay bars or clubs. Jasmine Chan, a 22-year-old student that usually accompanies her queer friends to gay bars, thinks this is due to the fact that “people in gay bars tend to respect you for who you are regardless of your sexual orientation when compared to those in normal bars, especially when you’re a girl.”
Access to queer bars aren’t just limited to the relevant community. Their invitation of being an inclusive space for all extends towards the heterosexual community as well. Rimowa enjoys being at LinQ because “it’s not just for LGBTQ+ people, there’s straight people here and they have fun.”
There’s an integral significance to having both communities meld and mingle in these gay bars, and that is educating one another on the gender and sexuality-related cultures experienced beyond heteronormative customs and beliefs. Gay bars have the ability to foster a safe environment for the queer community because it provides a safe space for queer people to interact and express themselves freely, unimpeded by external judgement, especially because the straight people who do visit gay bars are usually those who are either supportive or, at the very least, open towards LGBTQ+ people.
Drag queens play a role of being a bridge of common interest between the LGBTQ+ and straight communities, allowing straight people specifically to acquire a far more profound understanding towards the queer community and the drag queens that make it. As Rimowa said, “[LGBTQ+ people] are not just all about sex, all about drugs, all about mean things. We foster community, solidarity, and safe spaces for us and straight people.”
The Toilet Inclusivity
This safe space also extends to the lavatory usage in bars. Gay bars sometimes feature toilets that are gender fluid such as in LINQ bar where it is not segregated by gender. Misgendering may be a hurtful and marginalising experience for transgender and non‐binary people. Additionally, transgender people have reportedly experienced discrimination in terms of lavatory use. Trans people are routinely subjected to harassment and assault in bathrooms. In the same 2021 CUHK study. 42.8% of the respondents reported suffering from moderate-to-severe levels of depressive symptoms when facing substantial social and legal marginalization such as using a toilet to match with the self-identified gender and changing the sex entry on identity cards. However, banning transgender people from using facilities in alignment with their gender identity deprives them of the ability to participate in public life. Without the ability to use a public restroom, trans people are less able to live their lives and travel outside their home. Thus, even gendered toilets serve as a safe space for trans people.
A reclamation of power
With such a safe and supportive community, it allows people to express themselves as their most authentic selves without being discriminated against. Gay bars can facilitate self-love in this way as queer people are encouraged to feel proud about being gay rather than ashamed. Historically, this reclamation of power and control through space has been prominent in LGBTQ + movements. From the historic events at Stonewall to modern Pride parades and pop-ups, queer members have claimed their power through such shared space.
Bishal, the bar manager at LinQ, openly vouches for acceptance and inclusivity at his workplace. “Of course, we don’t just accept queer people. We accept everybody…that’s why we created this environment – so that everybody is accepted,” he said.