Big and small gay
Most of the aspiring idols and pop groups taking part in the third season of widespread reality show “Youth With You” view about how you’d expect: thin, fair-skinned, and fresh-faced. And then there are the Produce Pandas.
Hyped as China’s first “XXL boy band,” the charmingly rotund Produce Pandas are older, hairier — and, yes, heavier — than much of their rivalry on the demonstrate . Since releasing their debut single, “La La La,” last summer, the band has carved out a niche for itself in China’s music scene, especially on short-video platforms. But despite hundreds of millions of plays and tens of millions of likes, their appearance on “Youth With You” was the first time most Chinese had ever heard of them. That’s partly because of how segmented China’s algorithmically focused music industry has become, and partly because Produce Pandas’ niche is relatively small: gay men.
Like many other homosexual men, I first learned of the band’s existence from short-video platform Douyin. The video introducing me to them portrayed their cover of a twirl routine set to the song “Ai Rui Ba Di” — a humoro
I grew up hating my body. I had stretch marks and curves in the “wrong” places. I came out as a gay man a not many years ago and I thought I could finally find comfort and acceptance, but it didn&#;t obtain me long to comprehend how toxic the customs of body shaming was in the gay community.
“No slim, no obesity, no ngondek (femme)”
“Manly only”
“Not for fat AND ELDER”
“Sorry guys, I’m Chub”
Those lines were taken straight from bios of Grindr profiles that I read this morning. They made me doubt why I decided to redownload the dating app time and again. The last profile bio I came across just broke my heart. Should that person apologize for creature plus-size in this world? Should I?
When I came out, I was eager to live in a time with plenty of dating apps for people like me to gather one another. I was ready to dive into Indonesia’s gay culture chief first, looking for admire or a one-time companion to get me through the night. I was naive then. I did not yet realize that once people saw my picture—my round, grinning confront, thick glasses, oversized T-shirt and pants—they immediately identify
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同志工作坊 / Start Making Sense Mandarin
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This blog is part of a series for the Salzburg Global LGBT* Forum’s program on LGBT* and Faith. Read more here:
You can also eavesdrop to Sukhdeep read his essay below.
The Sikh faith is one of the youngest faiths in the world. Founded in the 15th century, Sikhism as a religion is very tolerant and advocates equality; however, the Punjabi customs in which I grew up and which, as a state, is the heart of India’s Sikh community, is often not so tolerant. It is also a faith where, for a long moment, no large-scale discussions around the topic of homosexuality have taken place within the community (for excellent or bad). But as LGBT* rights advance across the world, the status quo within the Sikh faith too is switching slowly, thanks to a young generation of lgbtq+ Sikhs who are now vocal about their sexuality.
I still remember how lonely and confused I felt after coming out (both to myself, and then to the world at large). I grew up in a Sikh family in India, and while I was not particularly religious, I maintained my religious identity by having uncut hair and wearing a tu