Dec 19, 2008  |  By: DEENA GUZDER & ANN BINLOT  | COMMENTS     

HONG KONG — There were no drag queens in sexy ensembles with heavy makeup strutting down the streets in platform heels, or buff shirtless sailor boys splayed like starfish on moving floats.

But Hong Kong’s first official Gay Pride parade Dec. 13 was still a colorful gathering. And for a country that rarely acknowledges homosexuality, let alone celebrates it, some people saw the parade as downright revolutionary.

For a few hours, a city that usually seems immune to surprises watched in awe as approximately 1,000 parade-goers stopped traffic, filled the streets and spread their message to “celebrate love.” A rainbow-colored dragon bobbed over the heads of carefully coiffed men donning dainty dresses and dancing to “Celebrate Pride,” which warbled through a loudspeaker in the center of the city. Men with fiery red-feathered tiaras chanted, “Pride parade! Pride parade! Pride parade!” in Cantonese and English while marching through Hong Kong’s congested Hennessy Road waving multicolored pride flags.

Although Hong Kong has held several small demonstrations against homophobia, this was the first parade solely dedicated to celebrating queer identity.

“We came out today to show the world that people in the queer community are normal people too,” said Ariel Wong, a 21-year-old student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University who wore a rainbow wig and distributed stickers with pink hearts on them.

The parade was co-organized by Rainbow of Hong Kong, Midnight Blue, Social Movement Resource Centre and the Women Coalition, with support from groups working on myriad issues, including civil rights, HIV/AIDS education and transgender awareness. It represented progress for China’s gay community, marking the first large-scale event of its kind in any major Chinese city. Only Taipei has hosted similar events.

Antonio Licon, a Web designer for Hong Kong Magazine who grew up in Hawaii, said, “I think socially there are a lot of pressures in Hong Kong to conform to expectations and not disappoint parents.”

People emerged from shops and restaurants to witness the historic event. While some spectators cheered in support, most looked confused and bewildered.

“I never thought I would see this in Hong Kong,” said Kevin Li, a salesperson who nevertheless believes the younger generation is less homophobic than the older one. “Our society has different values than the West regarding sex because we are more traditional and more Chinese.”

Yet it was Victorian colonial laws, not conservative Chinese attitudes, that first criminalized homosexuality.

In 1901, British colonial laws threatened gays with life imprisonment for anal intercourse and up to two years imprisonment for any so-called indecent acts involving two men, even if the acts occurred in the privacy of their home.

In 1980, after an inspector of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force committed suicide as a group of officers were about to arrest him on suspicion of having engaged in homosexual activities, a debate sparked on legalizing homosexuality. Finally in 1991, after more than a decade of discussion, it was decriminalized.

But even if homosexuality is no longer a crime in Hong Kong, a stigma remains, as do discriminatory statutes with double standards.

In 2005, Hong Kong–based civil rights attorney Michael Vidler successfully challenged a law that set the legal age of consent at 21 for gays — the age of consent for heterosexuals was 16 — with a punishment of up to life in prison for violators. The law was ruled unconstitutional, but it has not been formally repealed.

“There are still archaic ideas of homosexuality as a form of gross indecency,” said Vidler, who said he has seen cases of discrimination against gays in the workforce and housing market. “Hong Kong says it’s a world city, but [it] has protocols in place that show it is still a backward country in regard to homosexuals’ rights.”

Hong Kong lacks any non-discriminatory ordinance, and many locals still regard homosexuality with unease. Eric Herrera, a member of a white-collar gay-rights group called Fruits in Suits, which helped organize the parade, said, “I have no problem walking down the streets arm in arm with my partner of 21 years, but it makes many people very uncomfortable.”

Many of the parade participants came from mainland China and Hong Kong’s large expatriate community. “I’ve lived in China for a long time, and I’ve never marched in a Gay Pride parade, so I always had my sister march in Chicago on my behalf,” said Scott Wilson, who works in Wanzhou province.

Amnesty International’s gay issues coordinator in Hong Kong, Medeleine Mok, said, “In mainland China, it’s impossible to have a Gay Pride march, so this is a very important day that has attracted many people to ...