An unexpectedly huge hit, Coming Home, the story of a young man who comes out to his parents during the Chinese New Year holiday, has also had the unintended consequence of prompting many Chinese parents to ask if their child is, in fact, gay. BBC Trending first reported this unusual story after word leaked that the Chinese community was moved to ask that question after the film became a huge viral hit on QQ, one of China’s largest social platforms.
In the film Fang’s parents disown him for two years after he tells them he wants to be with a man. At the end there are real clips from the mothers of gay men offering their advice, and leaving messages like: “Share the story of your life with your parents – they’re willing to hear you out,” and “Don’t allow social convention and traditional views on marriage get in the way of your kid coming home.”
Attitudes toward homosexuality in China are mixed and the comments reacting to the video reflect this. Some have been overwhelmingly supportive, others less so. “Some say gays and lesbians are OK and normal. What will you think if YOUR sons and daughters are?” one comment read. “Are they afraid to socialize with women? Can they differentiate fraternal relations from love?” another said.
China has been working on the beginnings of a national conversation on homosexuality and, in many ways, appears to be at a tipping point much like the United States was in the mid-to-late ’90s. More and more Chinese men and women are coming out and demanding their equal rights. Social media, television and film are starting to depict the LGBT community in a more normalized light and China has taken a surprisingly pragmatic view on HIV/AIDS to help curb the spread of the virus.
But in a culture that values conformity, the LGBT community is not expected to rise up from their outlier status anytime soon.
Yet, despite China’s policy of Internet censorship, Ah Qiang, who runs the Guangzhou branch of the not-for-profit organization PFLAG and a driving force behind Coming Home, says social media has given people in China an outlet to discuss issues around homosexuality. He told BBC Trending that QQ, the Chinese social media site that hosted the Coming Home video, initially said they couldn’t put it on the front page because of its pro-gay message.
After a few days however, it had proved so popular it was moved to the site’s front page.
