Health Promo 03 (Getty) | Advocate.com
||  Sports  ||
 

Beijing in Pictures

On assignment for Amnesty International, out former NBA player John Amaechi and out photographer Jeff Sheng report from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
An Advocate.com exclusive posted August 19, 2008
Beijing in Pictures

When former NBA star John Amaechi, who was raised in England, accepted assignments from Amnesty International (where he serves as a spokesperson) and the BBC (where he provides basketball commentary) to cover the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he knew exactly who he wanted as a travelling companion. His friend Jeff Sheng is ethnically Chinese, fluent in the language, and has spent more than a year living and traveling mainland China as a foreign exchange student and frequent visitor. Sheng is also something of a wunderkind. At 27 his arresting photographs have appeared in more than 20 exhibits across the country, including at Yale University and as part of "LA25," a select group of diverse artists showing October 8 to November 16 at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions in Hollywood. And he's a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

What resulted was a series of photographs, which we've excerpted here, as well as daily musings on life in China, the Olympic Games, and anything else that comes to mind. For a full account go to beijinglegacyblog.com.

2008 Olympics 02 (Jeff Sheng) | Advocate.com

2008 Olympics 03 (Jeff Sheng) | Advocate.com

Page: 1 | 2 | 3

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: Jacksprat
    Date posted: 2008-08-26 3:11 PM
    Hometown: America the GREAT!

    Comment:

    Dear Pal- It's freakin handball ok. A school yard game played during recess. Yippee you got a medal in it. Hooray for you. We are overjoyed with love and in awe of your country's obvious superiority and athletic prowess, In handball. You truly are the country to beat. Maybe next time they'll even show the handball competition on TV!! Gosh what progress that will be! See you in 2012 baby!


  • Name: Pål
    Date posted: 2008-08-23 3:40 PM
    Hometown: Oslo

    Comment:

    Gays are THE BEST performers in the Olympics!!!! Today we got three!!! Gold Medals. As Katja Nyberg and Gro Hammerseng of Norway slammed the russians in the female handball final and Matthew Mitcham of Australia shocked the chinese favorites with his world-record dive from 10 meters. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics there were 10 openly gay/lesbian athletes. (One man - Matthew Mitcham - and nine women) 64% of our athletes won a medal!!!!!!! Beat that China or America!


Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives
  • Austerity Chic
    How novelist and performance artist Mike Albo gets by in lean times.
  • Hoping to "Wu" Michelle
    Dressing Michelle Obama in November was a game changer for designer Jason Wu. Now he has his sights set on the future first lady’s most high-profile event: Inauguration Day.
  • Great American Couple
    In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, Hollywood Bohemians: Transgressive Sexuality and the Selling of the Movieland Dream, Brett L. Abrams explores the relationship between Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, who led homosexual lives right under everyone's nose.
  • Mormons Gone Wild
    After one man undresses missionaries for his calendar, LDS Church–owned Brigham Young University strips him of his degree.
  • Constructive Impatience
    Stung by the Warren decision, GLAAD's former executive director Joan Garry offers the Obama transition team some sage advice.
  • Boxer Goes Trans for Eli Stone
    Often perceived as male by confused casting agents, boxer-body builder turned actor Dallas Malloy felt a deep connection to the trans minister she plays on Eli Stone.
  • Mamma Mia! Rises Again
    Meryl Streep and company managed to top Harry Potter and Titanic at the U.K. box office, and now Mamma Mia! is poised to break similar records on DVD. Director Phyllida Lloyd talked to Advocate.com about bringing one of the biggest musicals of all time to the big screen.
  • The Other White Meat
    As one of the subjects of the documentary about the drag pageant circuit, Pageant, opening in select theaters, and one of the contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race, premiering next month on Logo, Victoria "Porkchop" Parker may not look or act like your typical female impersonator, but make no mistake, she is one of the best.
  • The Religious Defense
    In an excerpt from her new book, Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians, author Candace Chellew-Hodge incorporates the wisdom of Xena: Warrior Princess to illustrate her theories as to how gay and lesbian people of faith can protect themselves from those who attack their views.
  • Photo Finish
    Did Prop. 8 backlash cause art censorship -- or its reversal -- at Brigham Young University? Could be, as BYU photography student J. Michael Wiltbank found when his contribution to a two-week-long art exhibition -- eight pairs of benign portraits, each depicting an LGBT-identified BYU student alongside a supportive friend -- had been removed.
  • The Divine Miss M.
    Since the death of performer Wayland Flowers in 1988, his over-the-top puppet creation Madame has been seen only sporadically. But with the launch of her new casino tour, Madame is back.
  • Whither NLGJA?
    The leading professional organization for LGBT journalists is facing a crisis that threatens its very survival. In a changing media landscape and a tough economy, how does a small nonprofit live up to its mission and retain members?
  • The Road to Equality
    Barbara Boxer, the U.S. senator from California, understands why her gay constituents are furious over Rick Warren's role in the inauguration -- it feels like Proposition 8 redux.
  • A Call to Action for Barack Obama
    In the wake of the decision by President-elect Barack Obama to select Reverend Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration, Equality California executive director Geoff Kors calls on Obama to live up to his promise of "One America" and prove he is the ardent supporter of LGBT equality he claims to be.
  • Gays Shut Out of Cabinet
    As if the news of antigay pastor Rick Warren's invitation to deliver Obama's inaugural invocation weren't insulting enough to LGBT Americans, we're now hit with the reality that no openly gay people will be seated at the cabinet table to weigh in on the next antigay flap.
  • Wading Your Way Through Hollywood
    Reichen Lehmkuhl switches hats for his second column and leaves the activist at the door as he offers some sage advice for Hollywood hopefuls. Whether you're gay or straight, what Reichen has to say about "talent" puts the business that is entertainment into perspective.
  • The Better Angels?
    President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration puts LGBT Americans on notice: While the next four years hold unprecedented promise for our rights, we may sometimes feel forsaken.
  • Stage Doubt, Screen Doubt
    On Broadway, Doubt -- the story of a steely nun facing off against a heroic priest, whom she fixates on for giving special attention to the school’s only black (effeminate) kid -- worked because of a top notch cast and its unique brand of stylized narrative. If only the excellent Meryl Streep and Viola Davis were enough to make the movie work quite so well.
  • People of the Year: Al Gore, Chad Griffin, and Lawrence King
    This week Advocate.com is going to highlight our remaining People of the Year, who range from activists to entertainers, politicians to students. Today we take a look at environmentalist Al Gore, political strategist Chad Griffin, and slain student Lawrence King.