This PRIDE, we shine the spotlight on China's queer community

Pride Month may have started in the United States, but its observance during the month of June has spread across the globe — including, for many years openly, in China.

Since our inception, SupChina has been on the frontlines reporting on China’s LGBTQ+ community, from positive strides toward acceptance of gay and transgender rights to disappointing setbacks and censorship of queer expression.

This June, we’re excited to shine the spotlight on LGBTQ+ issues in China, including the launch of our new column: Queer China, a fortnightly round-up of news and stories related to the sexual and gender minority population in the Greater China area.

The inaugural feature focuses on “Rose Boy,” a junior high student in Taiwan whose death, after relentless bullying from his schoolmates over his non-conforming gender expression, kicked off an activist movement and a hit anthem from pop singer Jolin Tsai. Read more about how China's "cultural appropriation" of that song speaks both to the mainstream erasure of and the undercurrents of support for the queer community.

Throughout the month, we’ll also be showcasing more of our catalogue of LGBTQ content, including written reports and interviews, audio and visual stories, and voices from China’s diverse queer community.

A couple of our all time favorites include:

How Fujian was once an LGBT Mecca (where people worshipped a rabbit god)

We dig into the long history of progressiveness towards same sex relationships in China and the worship of Tù’er Shén 兔儿神, a deity in charge of the affairs of men who love other men, in the Fujian area.

Haus of Lily: Beijing Drag House

We sat down with one of Haus of Lily's prominent queens, Elizabeth Stride, to talk about how drag culture has been evolving in China. A few weeks later, China made moves against "effeminate men" and Douyin banned one of its star content producers, who was known for his crossdressing.

Strangers in China interviews CINEMQ (from 2019)

CINEMQ was one of Shanghai’s premier queer events, though it’s not one you’re really supposed to know about. Our host Clay Baldo talked with the organizers of CINEMQ to explain the process of putting together a queer event in a city that was facing increasingly intense governmental scrutiny.

Follow us for more as SupChina celebrates Pride.