Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to Its Own Traditions of Tolerance

 | 
12/17/2020

Tan Seng Kee, a 62-year-old retired doctor and LGBTQ+ activist, recently filed a motion in Singapore’s High Court, asking it to order the city-state’s cabinet to revoke a colonial-era law that could imprison men for up to two years for engaging in consensual sex. Asian critics of homosexuality have long argued that it is a Western behavior, superimposed upon Eastern cultures as a decadent, neo-colonial side effect of globalization. Even those who are not opposed to homosexuality tend to shrug their shoulders at what they believe to be a uniformly conservative continent when it comes to sexual politics. It’s just not Asian, many say. The public will never accept it. Yet reality yields a far more complex picture. According to a 2019 Pew survey, wealthier countries tend to be more accepting of homosexuality regardless of whether they are Asian or Western. For example Japan, which has the world’s third biggest economy, is significantly more accepting of homosexuality than, say, Israel, Poland, Lithuania, or Greece. Affluent South Korea is far more accepting than Bulgaria or Ukraine.

Regions: , , ,

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 12/02/2023
12/1/2023
A tight-knit community in San Francisco has suddenly found itself divided over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, leaving some feeling cut off from the …
Added on: 12/02/2023
12/1/2023
If you’ve followed the debate over treating gender-distressed youth, then you know that evidence-based policy changes, along with general public understanding, often lag the …
Added on: 12/02/2023
12/1/2023
With a painted white face and head, wearing an all-white ensemble save for long black gloves and gigantic black platform stiletto boots, Gena Marvin …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Other News from , , ,

Added on: 12/02/2023
A tight-knit community in San Francisco has suddenly found itself divided over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, leaving some feeling cut off from the …
Added on: 12/01/2023
For the first time ever a municipality in Nepal has followed an interim order by the country’s Supreme Court to register same-sex marriages. On …
Added on: 12/01/2023
Bangkok, Dec 1 (EFE).- Activist groups called for a review of plans for the inauguration of a rehabilitation center for LGBT+ people and individuals …