Tolerance level in Taipei

[AndrewLi]

Hello! I'm a new member to the forums, but I have always had a great interest in Taiwan. Mostly because I took two years of Mandarin and I have great love for the island .

Now my question: From the aspect of tolerance, what is the general populations reaction to gays/lesbians in Taipei? Example: Two males holding hands, two women holding hands. I'm quite interested in the tolerance because I'm from a part of the United States that is only moderate in tolerating such...When I move to Taipei, I want to have a "good picture" of what to expect in case someone ever noticed my own behavior.

Thanks! oh wait... I mean 謝謝我的朋友

Sincerely
Andrew Li~ Feel free to invite or contact!
(我的facebook: http://www.facebook.com/andrew.limas.1/info)

[Feiren]

I don't think I've ever seen two men holding hands in public except at Taiwan Pride and in Ximending nearRed Theatre.

The fact that Taiwan Pride is the largest gay pride parade in Asia probably says something about the level of tolerance in Taiwan.

As far as I know, there is very little anti-gay violence like what you see in the US. There is however bullying in the schools, which has led to at least one suicide that I am aware of in a rural area down south. I think a lot of gay men over the age of 35 are very unwilling to come out of the closet to their families. They tend to adopt a no-questions no-tell policies to avoid offending the older generations. In most cases, I think it usually a pretty open secret though.

The gay scene in Taipei is very vibrant.

Many straight Taiwanese women hold hands in public so no one would really notice.

Interestingly, it is not too uncommon to see women being very 'affectionate' in public. Especially in the last MRT train. No one seems to care.

In general I think Taiwan is fairly tolerant, especially by Asian standards. But that doesn't mean that there is acceptance. Taiwan is nowhere close to legalizing gay marriage, a lot of older people don't appreciate having to see full-on gay culture, and the media publishes stereotypical coverage in which gays often shown in a prurient, unflattering light.

Perhaps others have different views?

Hello! I'm a new member to the forums, but I have always had a great interest in Taiwan. Mostly because I took two years of Mandarin and I have great love for the island .

Now my question: From the aspect of tolerance, what is the general populations reaction to gays/lesbians in Taipei? Example: Two males holding hands, two women holding hands. I'm quite interested in the tolerance because I'm from a part of the United States that is only moderate in tolerating such...When I move to Taipei, I want to have a "good picture" of what to expect in case someone ever noticed my own behavior.

Thanks! oh wait... I mean 謝謝我的朋友

Sincerely
Andrew Li~ Feel free to invite or contact!
(我的facebook: http://www.facebook.com/andrew.limas.1/info)

[Chris]

From my observations, I believe Taiwan is one of the most gay-tolerant places on the planet. In general, most people don't care if someone else is gay... unless they happen to be their own son or daughter (after all, who will bear their grandchildren, they're thinking).

If there's any Asian country that's likely to legalize gay marriage in the future (besides Nepal), it's Taiwan.

And the gay pride parade here is large, growing bigger every year, and is very effective at spreading the message of equality, which is being well received.

The bad: Occasionally the media will sensationalize some gay orgy that has been uncovered, or incidents of gays meeting in parks for sex. I also understand there are some old, cobweb-covered laws on the books that deal with an ill-defined "public morality" that are occasionally trotted out to get revenge against someone. But in all, tolerance for gays is rising as people are becoming more aware, and there's no real "religious right" here to fuel opposition to it.

[tommy525]

I agree, I think being gay is rather in vogue on the rock.

[Deuce Dropper]

The worst thing that will likely happen to you is you will be referred to as 'a gay' instead of 'gay'. Great island for being gay, especially if you are a power bottom (just kidding, jokes, levity people ).

You'll be fine here, hold no reservations.

[bababa]

Taipei seemed pretty tolerant to me. Many women were very interested in it - I had several friends and classmates who asked me to take them to a lesbian bar, even though they were not lesbians themselves (unless maybe closeted).
On the other hand I met many mainly older Taiwanese people who had very harsh anti-homosexual attitudes, but all of them also seemed completely oblivious to the fact that this or that acquaintance was in fact gay.

[PigBloodCake]

Hello! I'm a new member to the forums, but I have always had a great interest in Taiwan. Mostly because I took two years of Mandarin and I have great love for the island .

Now my question: From the aspect of tolerance, what is the general populations reaction to gays/lesbians in Taipei? Example: Two males holding hands, two women holding hands. I'm quite interested in the tolerance because I'm from a part of the United States that is only moderate in tolerating such...When I move to Taipei, I want to have a "good picture" of what to expect in case someone ever noticed my own behavior.

Thanks! oh wait... I mean 謝謝我的朋友

Sincerely
Andrew Li~ Feel free to invite or contact!
(我的facebook: http://www.facebook.com/andrew.limas.1/info)

You'll see some really close-knit girlfriends holding hands but that doesn't mean they're Lesbians. It's quite common for Asian girls to be holding hands going through a crowd where there probably are lotsa guys checkin' 'em out.

For 2 guys, quite rare (hand holding-wise) in Taipei unless you're in Ximending.

But you really don't have to worry about Taipei being a bible-thumping city. Good luck.

[John]

Yup, the challenge will be finding someone who is actually willing to hold hands in public (without wearing a mask )

[jimipresley]

Hello! I'm a new member to the forums, but I have always had a great interest in Taiwan. Mostly because I took two years of Mandarin and I have great love for the island .

Now my question: From the aspect of tolerance, what is the general populations reaction to gays/lesbians in Taipei? Example: Two males holding hands, two women holding hands. I'm quite interested in the tolerance because I'm from a part of the United States that is only moderate in tolerating such...When I move to Taipei, I want to have a "good picture" of what to expect in case someone ever noticed my own behavior.

Thanks! oh wait... I mean 謝謝我的朋友

Sincerely
Andrew Li~ Feel free to invite or contact!
(我的facebook: http://www.facebook.com/andrew.limas.1/info)

Taiwan is VERY gay-friendly. Blokes are generally discrete, but lesbians aren't. Patriarchal bullshit.

There's no bashing going on, like in other countries. Anyway, anyone gives you the Evil Eye, give Uncle Jimi a call. We'll set those fuckers straight.

[CraigTPE]

Nobody cares unless it's in their own family. Then they care.

I've never heard of any bashing, or felt at risk myself, but you seldom see any PDA or otherwise openly gay behavior in public (except during gay pride, or around the Red House in Ximen). They seem to prefer it to be the unspoken truth.