[LINK] "Gay sitcom proves hit in Vietnam"

[rfmcdonald]

Last July I noted a report that Vietnam was considering legalizing same-sex marriage. I've heard nothing of that since, but recently popping up in my RSS reader was a news report--one version hosted at the Bangkok Post--talking about a YouTube-hosted gay-themed Vietnamese show, My Best Gay Friends, that has gotten a million views so far.

My Best Gay Friends, written by 21-year-old student Dang Khoa, features homosexual Vietnamese actors, who volunteered to take part in the project.

“I’ve seen many movies and comedies about the homosexual community,” Mr Khoa told Tuoi Tre News. “The images of homosexuals are very negative and audiences then have an ugly idea of the community.

“It’s not right. I’m gay and I see my life as very normal. That’s why I want to bring true images of homosexuals to everyone, to change their perspective on us.”

The latest episode sees an appearance from makeup artist Cindy Thai Tai, the first person in Vietnam to publicly come out as a transgender, 10 years ago.

But not all of the cast members on My Best Gay Friends are part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) community.

Minh Thanh, 19, one of the heterosexual actors on My Best Gay Friends, said: “Joining this show, I think I’ve contributed to changing people’s perspective on homosexuals. People were born this way; we should know how to respect each other for who we really are.”

The success of the sitcom comes as Swedish international human rights organisation Civil Rights Defenders approved a US$6,000 dollar (176,460 baht) grant for a Pride celebration in Vietnam this year.

Thanh Nien News' article "Just gay enough" goes into more detail, talking about the lives of the actors and their family members, and the struggle against homophobia in Vietnamese society more generally.