Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Gender Studies and Sexuality
Year: 2022
DOI:
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LGBTQ Culture in Vietnam in the 21th Century
TIEN LY
ABSTRACT:
Since the 2010s, we have witnessed a flourishing of a queer culture in Vietnam. Diverse in its styles, forms, colors, and contents, this culture encompasses the world of art, of the entertainment and media industries, and features different aspects of same-sex sexuality and relationships in Vietnam.
After long decades of non-recognition, Vietnamese LGBTQ population has entered society with pride and dignity, leaving behind them all the abuse and discrimination of the past. The flying of the rainbow flag in the first gay parade in Ha Noi in 2012 has paved the way for local LGBTQ products to prosper, breaking social taboos, and decreasing social prejudice against the queer population. LGBTQ life has become a topic of artistic creativity that interests social media and Vietnam’s cultural community. This acts as a motor which stimulates other cultural LGBTQ activities in strictly conventional and authoritarian Southeast Asia, exerting a great influence on the Vietnamese LGBTQ cultural movement and driven important changes in Vietnamese society regarding the role and the LGBTQ status in the country.
The paper examines the background in which the Vietnamese LGBTQ culture was born and develops; its evolution from almost nothing to its integration in the regional and international LGBTQ movement; its challenges and difficulties as well as its commonalities with features of its neighbors as well as its own particularity. The paper also studies its identity, positive role and contribution to the progress of the human rights movement for equality and happiness of LGBTQ people in Southeast Asia.
keywords: Vietnam, LGBTQ, culture, art, activity.