While not quite on par with Boystown, the Castro District or KeyWest, the news coming out of Vietnam these days resembles less and less the stuff of third-world homophobia and more and more the growing sense of pride and community that these famed American enclaves have come to represent.
In 2011, director Vũ Ngọc Đãng released Lost in Paradise, what many consider to be the first film in Vietnam to deal openly with gay themes and characters. (It was a critical and commercial success.) But it wasn’t until this year when events began to take a dramatic turn for the better for the LGBT community. In the span of less than six months, both the Health and Justice Ministries have called on their government to allow – or at least debate and consider – same-sex marriage and the country’s National Assembly will take up the issue later this year.
Now comes word by way of a press release sponsored by the Swedish embassy in Hanoi, that multiple events will be held in a dozen cities across Vietnam to, in their words, “encourage pride in people being themselves.”
In part the press release reads: “”The organisers of VietPride 2013 hope that through this event, the LGBT community will be more self-confident and feel free to express their pride. Though there is still stigma and societal misunderstanding, LGBT people will be less afraid to live positively, and to integrate with and contribute to society. This is also a chance for the Vietnamese LGBT community to make their presence felt, and for Vietnamese society to know that there are LGBT people everywhere, not just in large cities, dispelling misconceptions about LGBT people. “
VietPride 2013 consists of a series of events in August in many cities and localities throughout Vietnam, specifically: Hanoi (2-4th), My Tho (3 & 17th), Can Tho (18th), Quy Nhon (20th), Ben Tre Province (24th), Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City (24-25th), and Nha Trang (25th).
Depending on the city, participants can expect to find workshops, photo exhibits, music shows, film screenings and parades. For more information, please visit VietPride.vn
Excellent! change is imminent and it’s happening all over the world including Asia. Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam all fighting for LGBT rights at the same time. This is none other than revolutionary.