Scholars,
activists, and artists opened the first-ever regional
conference on Asia's gay, lesbian, and transgender
individuals on Thursday in Bangkok, tackling issues
from discrimination to how films portray transsexuals.
More than 500 delegates from East Asia and countries
that included Israel, Pakistan, and the United States
came for the three-day event, said Thaninnit
Pithaksinakon, the conference's public relations
manager. About 50 to 100 delegates had been expected
initially, Thaninnit said.
"Gay, lesbian, and transgender Asia has arrived.
It is here, and it is real," declared Peter A.
Jackson, an Asian history fellow at the Australian
National University and a coorganizer of the event.
"This is a phenomenal and historical gathering,"
said Josephine Cheun-Juei Ho, a feminist scholar and
head of the Center for the Study of Sexualities at
Taiwan's National Central University.
Jackson said more gay, lesbian, and transgender
Asians have been coming forward in recent years with
an increasing number of nongovernmental organizations,
films, and businesses focusing on them. "However,
absolutely everywhere across Asia, they're still seen as
second-class citizens," Jackson said.
Experts at the conference plan to discuss the
social stigma attached to the communities as well as
legal discrimination and the way gays and transsexuals
are portrayed in Asian cinema and literature. They also
expect to discuss promoting legal recognition for sex
changes. The meeting was jointly organized by the
Australia-based nongovernmental organization
AsiaPacifiQueer Network and the Office of Human Rights
Studies and Social Development at Thailand's Mahidol
University. Although Thailand is a conservative
Buddhist society, homosexuality and cross-dressing are
widely tolerated. (AP)