UPDATE: Mr. Gay World 2010 and the fight against international homophobia

Will Fennell hosts "Mr. Gay World" in Oslo, Norway, on Feb. 13

UPDATE: Chinese Police shut down the pageant an hour before it was supposed to open, stating that they had not applied “according to the procedures.”  The struggle continues….

January 15, 2010 marks a special day for gay men in China—the first ever “Gay Men’s Pageant.” Mr. Gay China will then go on to compete for the title of Mr. Gay Worldwide 2010 in Norway next month for the title of Gay World Ambassador. Nice title no? While at first this may appear as more of the same spectacle we’ve come to expect from “the gays,” it is also the sign of serious change regarding attitudes towards sexuality and gender on the international front. We’re talking about change that may affect you personally.

Although gay sex was decriminalized In the People’s Republic of China in 1997, homosexuality remained pathologized as a mental illness for another 4 years.  Now there is growing acceptance, and work being done to combat discrimination and stereotypes in the P.R.C.

On July 2, 2009, the High Court of Delhi ruled in the case of Naz Foundation vs. National Capital Territory of Delhi, parts of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalized homosexuality to be unconstitutional.  The law was intact since colonial-era rule, and although rarely enforced, had been used for years to terrorize Gay men; leading police to extortion, causing legal headaches for public health workers dealing with Gay people, and validating various forms of social discrimination.

International support for gay rights has gained steady, though rarely publicized, support in the past several years.

In early 2007 “The Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” (say that five times fast) which was introduced by 29 international human rights experts including “a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN independent experts, current and former members of human rights treaty bodies, judges, academics and human rights defenders.”

By Mid-2007 the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the first time granted consultative status to two LGBT organizations, one Swedish the other Canadian, allowing LGBT groups to actively work for gay rights from within the UN.  ECOSOC granted a third LGBT NGO, this time from Brazil, to consultative status in 2009.  At the end of 2008, the UN General Assembly confirmed that international human rights protections include sexual orientation and gender identity, and objecting to “violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization and prejudice are directed against persons in all countries in the world because of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Struggles for LGBT rights in the developing world have looked at Western nations gay rights movements for ideas on how to craft their own crusades.  While recent small victories like Portugal becoming the 6th European country to legalize gay marriage, as well as marriage equality in Mexico City, Mexico, and a continuing legal battle in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the fight for rights in China and India mark a significant shift. Both countries combined hold 1/3 of the world’s population (China 1.3 billion, India 1.16 billion), which means 1/3 of the world’s gay community no longer bear the burden of state sanctioned persecution.

So, while social stigmas and discrimination will continue, now Gay people in these countries have a legal foundation to fight for further equality.  This will cause more pressure in the International community to recognize that discrimination of gay people is wrong. Hence why this topic should matter to Americans.

Living in New York, London or Berlin, we hear of gay murders and gay bashings, but lead lives removed from state sanctioned homophobia. While we are disgusted when we hear of the executions in Iran, or the recent Anti-Gay laws introduced to Ugandan parliament, it is important that we recognize that the rights we have accessed in the past 40 years have been built upon by generations of our forebears fighting for their rights through litigation or direct action. We must support these burgeoning human rights groups in their fight for equality. Donate where you can to any of the groups that you can find, and hopefully in a few years, gay Iranians and Ugandans will join in Mr. Gay Worldwide Pageant as global ambassadors for progress—tiaras and all.

For first hand information visit the IGLHRC website or see “Dangerous Living: Coming out in the Third World.”

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