The Gay Asian and Pacific Men of New York (GAPIMNY) and Q-Wave (Queer. Asian. Visible. Empowered), organization of Asian gays and lesbians, respectively, conducted a joint educational outreach in Chinatown.
Members of the two organizations handed out postcards with messages like “Love knows no gender” in different Asian languages. Many of the participants said that hiding in the “closet” is more painful than coming out.
This is the first time that the two Asian gay groups conducted an event in a public.
“There are gays, too, in the Asian immigrant community,” said Alan Yep, co-chairman of GAPIMNY, referring to the stigma that drives many Asian homosexuals to hide their sexual orientation. “This event allows us to show our faces to the immigrants. It is our hope that immigrants will understand that our love is not different from heterosexual love. Gays also want to share their lives with the ones they love.”
About a dozen homosexual men and women handed out postcards on the street.
Cynthia Hsu, who is openly lesbian, said that most people who took the postcards were slightly nervous – but friendly. There were no confrontations, even though there were some who refused to take the postcards.
“People were more than willing to share their experiences with anyone who wanted to listen,” Hsu added.
Zhixin Ni, who grew up in Long Island, said he knew that he preferred boys at a very young age, but he became certain of his sexual orientation during his freshman year in high school.
He said that he has always been very close to his mother, and he did not want to hide it from her. So after years of struggle with his sexuality, he came out to her. He said that his relationship with his mother has become closer than before, and his mother cares a lot for him and often inquires about his life.
Yi-Pin Ton said that being an Asian lesbian, she has already faced a lot of difficulties. Her life would have been more difficult, though, if she were to hide in the closet.
She admitted that “coming out was a painful process, but afterwards everything has been easier.”
