"I used to teach gender study for undergraduates and found they were very
interested in the topic of homosexuality," Sun said.
The class is full, but "more students are still applying," Sun said.
The course aims to break down widespread ignorance and prejudice against gays
in China, another instructor, Gao Yanning, was quoted as saying by the Shanghai
Daily newspaper.
"We will pay more attention on how to have a proper view about homosexuals,"
Gao said, according to the paper. "We will give students an equitable judgment
on homosexuals and help eliminate students' discrimination."
Gao could not be reached for further comment.
Gays were strongly persecuted after China's 1949 communist revolution,
condemned as products of decadent Western and feudal societies. Official
attitudes gradually have changed since the late 1980s, and in 2001, the China
Psychiatric Association ceased listing homosexuality as a mental illness.
Looser enforcement of laws on homosexual behavior has allowed small but
thriving gay scenes to emerge in Shanghai, Beijing and other cities in the
developed east.
Yet, given the disdain shown to homosexuality by traditional Confucian culture,
gay men and lesbians in China still tend to hide their sexual orientation.
While reports of violence against homosexuals are rare, discrimination by
family members and co-workers remains strong and Communist Party officials have
ruled out legislation outlawing such unfair treatment.
The Fudan course follows an earlier an earlier graduate course gay health
issues that focussed mainly on AIDS prevention. About 2,000 students have taken
the earlier course since it was launched in 2003, Professor Sun said.
The Associated Press
