Fridae

Looking back at 2006, it is necessarily subjective picking out the top five events in terms of significance to the lesbian and gay Asian. This is compounded by the question of whether the significance must be immediate, or whether it can be one of potentiality for the future.

Then there are trends, such as the steady march of HIV and AIDS, which we know will be significant, but which are not marked by any particularly noteworthy event during the year and thus may be deceptively omitted from a list such as this.

Likewise, a steady growth in gay consciousness across many countries, with millions of personal coming-out events. Together they change the tenor of our societies, and set the stage for bigger paradigm shifts, but in themselves, they do not make the headlines.

With these caveats and with the humble recognition that everything in this world is connected with everything else, let me list my personal top five. Each of these events is merely a peak of a mountain. Countless personal actions and group encouragement built them up, and listing them here is as much a nod to the impact the headliners made, as testimony to the prior contributions made by numerous unnamed others, sometimes in ways they themselves are not aware of.

The year began with much buzz about the film Brokeback Mountain. With accolades and awards in hand, this film about two gay men from a deeply homophobic time and part of America, not only broke new narrative ground, but was directed by a Taiwanese, Ang Lee, to boot.

Its much-awaited arrival in cinemas in this part of the world provided the mainstream media with an opportunity to write about homosexual love, bringing the subject out of the shadows.

Ang Lee himself made a promotional tour of Taipei and Hong Kong, in the process providing Chinese Asians with a sense of ownership of the film. This psychological shift is more important than it may first appear. It adds to a long-term shift in how Asians see homosexuality - the indigenisation of something first dismissed as an alien import. That Ang Lee was the director who so sensitively portrayed the lives of two poorly-educated Wyoming shepherds, grappling with their unarticulated feelings, subliminally suggested to many that Asians are capable of a sympathetic understanding of what it means to be gay. By his example, he opened the way for many more opinion leaders in Asia to take a more nuanced and thoughtful position, rather than feel obliged to adopt rigidly moralistic positions in the name of Asian heritage.

Two court challenges in the United States may not appear to have any immediate impact, particularly as they related to same-sex marriage, an issue that has yet to make inroads in any Asian country. However, the judgements that came out of these cases will no doubt prove useful reference points for years to come, not just on the question of same-sex unions, but more generally, on what equality means.

The New York Court of Appeal in July 2006 ruled 4-2 against same-sex marriage. While this was a defeat for gay activism, it may prove a pyrrhic victory for the other side, for the arguments advanced by the majority on the bench were widely considered of poor quality by legal scholars and commentators. The New York Times opined in an editorial that the judgement involved "twisted legal reasoning."

On the other hand, the dissent from the minority was much praised for its legal and logical rigour. Some foresaw that future cases would rely more on the arguments from the dissent than from the majority.

A few months later, the Supreme Court of New Jersey voted 4-3 to require the State of New Jersey to enact legislation providing either for same-sex marriage or civil unions. It should be noted that the minority did not dissent because they disapproved of same-sex unions, but because they felt the majority didn't go far enough; they were of the opinion that New Jersey should be ordered to offer marriage to same-sex couples without pussy-footing over civil unions, in the interest of equality.

Pursuant to the order from the court, in December 2006, the state passed legislation providing for gay civil unions.

Like the case in New York, the impact of this event may at first be limited to the United States, but both the legal reasoning set out by the bench, and the example of one more state permitting gay unions can be expected to reverberate far and wide, in time.

Canada was the first country in the Americas to find itself faced with a Supreme Court decision ordering the government to enact same-sex marriage legislation to fulfill a constitutional duty of equality under the law. In 2005, Ottawa did so in response, with lawmakers approving the measure by a 158-133 vote.

However, the same year also saw a general election that was won by the Conservative Party. New Prime Minister Steven Harper had promised during the campaign a review of the gay marriage law and so in December 2006, he put a motion to a free vote of parliamentarians again. They voted 175-123 against reopening the issue.

At the same time, opinion polls found that a majority of Canadians supported the law providing for same-sex marriage, despite opposition led primarily by religious groups.

Canada provides a clear example of how what was unimaginable barely 10 years ago, can become reality today - full equality for gays and lesbians endorsed by the courts, by parliament and by public opinion. Canada may be distant from Asia, but in an increasingly interconnected world, we shouldn't underestimate the significance of such an example to our region.

The next two events were created by Asians for their own countries.

In Hong Kong, the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that had been issued in a lower court last year, equalising the age of consent. The unanimous decision by the 3-judge court said that both heterosexual and homosexual sex were expressions of love and intimacy, and thus it would be discriminatory for the law to treat them differently.

In the originating case, a young gay man, William Leung, took the government to court over the law which made it an offence, punishable by up to life imprisonment, for two men to have sex unless both were at least 21 years old. For other kinds of sex, the age of consent was 16. In August 2005, Justice Michael Hartman decided in favour of Leung.

The Hong Kong government then appealed the case. Dismissing it, Chief Judge Geoffrey Ma Tao-li said, "I cannot see any justification for either the age limit of 21, or, in particular, for the different treatment of male homosexuals compared with heterosexuals."

Opponents had tried to argue along the lines of morality and disease, but the appeals court rejected those arguments.

In India too, a challenge to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is before the courts. Section 377 criminalises "carnal intercourse against the order of nature," language taken to mean anything other than vaginal penetration by a male.

But what was most noteworthy this year was the campaign led by a number of well-known personalities to get the court and the legislature to repeal or strike down this law.

The open letter was published in the national daily, the Hindustan Times, with signatures by well-known novelist Vikram Seth and many others including a former Attorney-General. The letter said, "To build a truly democratic and plural India, we must collectively fight against laws and policies that abuse human rights and limit fundamental freedoms."

There was an accompanying statement by Nobel prizewinning economist Amartya Sen in which he pointed out, anticipating the excuse that the law isn't much used anyway, "What has to be borne in mind is that whenever any behaviour is identified as a penalisable crime, it gives the police and other law enforcement officers huge power to harass and victimise some people. The harm done by an unjust law like this can, therefore, be far larger than would be indicated by cases of actual prosecution."

The above is my, no doubt subjective, list of top five events in 2006. Each of these is a culmination of much else that had gone on before, but each in turn provides another rock to stand on in taking the step forward. Let's hope there are many more such events in the years ahead.

Related articles:

Brokeback Mountain
LGBT-themed films dominate golden globe awards (Jan 18, 2006)
brokeback mountain AfA charity premiere, feb 8 (Jan 18, 2006)
how to brokeback (Jan 27, 2006)

Same-sex marriage
canada becomes 4th country to recognise gay marriage (Jul 21, 2005)
N.J. Gov. signs law creating civil unions for gay couples (Dec 28, 2006)

Age of consent ruling in Hong Kong
solicitor michael vidler on billy leung and hong kong's age of consent ruling (Sep 20, 2006)
hong kong government loses appeal in gay age of consent case (Sep 20, 2006)
petition launched to call for equal rights for gays in hong kong (Sep 19, 2006)
HK high court throws out unequal age of consent laws (Aug 25, 2005)

India's public battle against Section 377
prominent indians urge end to archaic anti-gay law (Sep 19, 2006)