"Gay, lesbian and transgendered Asia has arrived. It is here and it is real,"
Peter A. Jackson, an Asian history fellow at the Australian National University
and a co-organizer of the event, declared Wednesday.
"This is a phenomenal and historical gathering," said Josephine Cheun-Juei Ho,
a feminist scholar and head of the Center for the Study of Sexualities at
Taiwan's National Central University.
Jackson said more gay, lesbian and transgender Asians have been coming forward
in recent years, with an increasing number of local non-governmental
organizations, films and businesses focusing on them.
"However, absolutely everywhere across Asia, they're still seen as second-class
citizens," he added.
Experts at the conference plan to discuss the social stigma attached to the
communities, as well as legal discrimination and the way gays and transexuals
are portrayed in Asian cinema and literature. They also expect to discuss
promoting legal recognition for sex-changes.
The meeting was jointly organized by the Australia-based non-governmental
organization AsiaPacifiQueer Network and the Office of Human Rights Studies and
Social Development at Thailand's Mahidol University.
Although Thailand is a conservative Buddhist society, homosexuality and
cross-dressing are widely tolerated.
