Gay studies class
offered at Chinese university

Fudan University in Shanghai, China, is offering its first-ever gay and lesbian studies class to undergraduate students that experts say is a sign gays in the country are gaining cultural and governmental acceptance, The New York Times reports. The class has attracted overflow attendance, organizers say. "For such a university to have a specific course like this, with so many participants and experts involved, will have a very positive impact on the social situation of gay people and on the fight against AIDS," Zhou Shengjian, director of a gay advocacy group in Chongqing, China, told the Times.

Activists say China's growing acceptance of gays is tied to the government's increasing acknowledgement of homosexuality in the country in light of HIV awareness and prevention campaigns that target gay and bisexual men. But gay rights advocates say they are using that growing awareness to promote acceptance throughout Chinese culture, not just in the disease-prevention arena. "We use the discussion of AIDS as a way of coming together on other issues: from getting coverage of gay life in the media to starting a discussion with the society," Zhen Li, a volunteer for a gay telephone hotline in Beijing, told the Times. (Advocate.com)