Gay leap forward: An international love

World
Europe

By Cao Xi

A growing number of young people in China are talking about their homosexual experiences, and Molly is one of them.

At 27, with a good salary and an English name, she says she “feels comfortable being gay. Nobody cares. Even if you do, I don’t know you. So I don’t care.”

Molly is proud to have a gay friend from the US – 30-year-old Sky from North Carolina.

What Sky has to say about her gay life in China may convince others of how attitudes towards alternative sexualities are changing.

“Since coming here, I’ve been more free to be myself, ” she says.

However, some Chinese parents still find it very hard to acknowledge that their child is gay and Molly’s father is one of them. He tried everything possible to convince his daughter to live a heterosexual life.

But Molly was determined. Because she is financially independent, she is free to love whoever she chooses. And Molly’s friends don’t have to look too hard to see that she and Sky are clearly on very intimate terms.

Sky talks to CGTN’s Rediscovering China about her international gay love. /CGTN Photo

Australian reporter for CGTN Joey Catanzaro says that gay life in China “was only decriminalized 20 years ago. And while the past couple of decades have brought change and progress for LGBT couples, China’s Gay Leap Forward is still very much ongoing.”

Rediscovering China is a 30-minute feature program offering in-depth reports on major issues facing China today. It airs on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. BJT (02.30 GMT), with a rebroadcast at 11:30 p.m. (15.30 GMT), as well as on Monday at 8:30 a.m. (00.30 GMT) and Friday at 1:30 p.m. (05.30 GMT).