Beijing IDAHO Event Increases Transgender Visibility in China with the Premiere of the Documentary “Brothers”
On 17 May 2013, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), several Beijing LGBT organizations including Queer Comrades, the Aibai Culture & Education Center, the Beijing Gender Health Education Institute and Common Language worked together with the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing to hold the event “lgbT – Increasing Transgender Visbility in China”. More than 80 people, including media representatives, educational professionals, mental health workers and civil society volunteers, got together to watch the premiere of the transgender documentary “Brothers” and talked about the most pressing transgender issues in China.
Full text of the English and Chinese press release for “Brothers” is below. Focus on Transgender
On 17 May 1990, the World Health Organization decided to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. Since then, 17 May has become the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), a worldwide day of action against homophobia and transphobia in all its different forms.
Beijing organizers decided to highlight the plight of China’s transgender community in their 2013 IDAHO event, as Chinese society is currently still largely unaware of the plight of transgendered people in China, who face stigma and discrimination on a daily basis. They specifically reached out to representatives of the media, educational professionals and psychological counselors, as they fulfill important first-line roles in the spreading of information and the providing of help regarding transgender issues.
At the event, Deputy Head of Mission of the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing, Mr. André Driessen, praised the positive development of the Chinese LGBT movement, and pointed out the current obstacles. He said: “We need to cross the river while feeling the stones, and move steadily towards a better future.”
Documentary “Brothers”
The documentary “Brothers” follows Tony, a Female-to-Male Transgendered person, in his daily life. The film shows Tony’s road to self-acknowledgement, his troubles at work, his decision to undergo sex reassignment surgery and all the difficulties he encounters on his path.
Many spectators were thoroughly moved by the documentary, and Tony was greeted by a thunderous applause from the audience when he got on stage after the documentary screening.
Together with Yaoyao (director of the documentary), Joanne Leung (founder Transgender Resource Center Hong Kong), Zhen Hongli (psychologist Global Care Women & Children’s Hospital Beijing) and Guo Yanan (Aibai Transgender Program Assistant), he took part in a panel discussion about transgender issues in China. They answered many questions from the audience, and talked about a wide array of topics including sex reassignment surgery in China, the recognition of transgender identity, and the diversity of transgender communities in China.
The event ended with an informal networking event, where several Beijing LGBT Organizations presented their work on transgender issues to all the different event participants.
Contact Details
The documentary “Brothers” is produced by Queer Comrades. On the website www.queercomrades.com you can watch the trailer and read more about the public availability of the film.
For more information, please contact us at info@queercomrades.com
国际不再恐同日，跨性别纪录片《兄弟》首映
517国际不再恐同日当天，荷兰驻华大使馆联合同志亦凡人、北京纪安德、同语和爱白文华教育中心举办”lgbT – 增强中国跨性别群体能见度”活动，现场来自各大媒体、大专院校、心理咨询机构以及其他驻华使馆等单位近80余位朋友一同齐聚荷兰大使馆，观看跨性别纪录片《兄弟》首映，并从社会不同层面探讨交流跨性别的话题。
IDAHO聚焦跨性别议题
国际不再恐同日源于1990年5月17日世界卫生组织 (WHO) 将 「同性恋」从精神病名册中删除。IDAHO亦关注对于跨性别、双性恋及不同性小众人士受到的不公平对待。
与往年的国际不再恐同日的活动不同的是，主办方今年将活动聚焦于LGBT中极少受到关注的T（跨性别）的议题，中国社会目前还未能意识到对跨性别群体所存在的歧视与偏见，该活动希望将焦点更多得关注在中国跨性别人群上，也希望能让大众更好地了解跨性别议题。
大使馆公使及多位嘉宾分享经历 荷兰驻华使馆公使杜安德先生(Mr. Andre Driessen)为活动致辞，指出中国同志运动的积极进展和面临的挑战，并表示”
只要我们坚持摸每一个石头，我们肯定能走过这条河。” 主办方还邀请到妖妖（纪录片导演）, Tony（纪录片主角）, 梁詠恩（香港跨性别资源中心创建人）, 甄宏丽（心理询师，北京五洲女子医院的心理专家）, 以及郭亚楠（爱白跨性别项目助理）就跨性别不同层面的议题进行深度交流。
跨性别群体面临不同层面困境 纪录片《兄弟》记录了主角Tony作为跨性别gay的经历，影片涉及他所面对的包括手术、激素、就业、社会压力、人际关系等不同的挑战，在影片最后，主人公哽咽道：”就算是死，也希望能够掌握自己的性别身份，这条路很难，但我要坚持走下去。”多数观众表示看过影片后非常感动，不少观众在影片过程中几度落泪。
影片之后五位嘉宾就大陆、香港的跨性别群体情况进行了分享交流，在观众提问环节中，现场观众就不同的问题与嘉宾进行讨论，讨论涉及到跨性别手术、跨性别身份认证、跨性别群体内部多元差异性等等。
最后的交流酒会中，各位来宾还就LGBT领域的其他话题进行了自由交流，活动在愉快的气氛中结束。
联系方式
《兄弟》是一片同志亦凡人制作的纪录片。在同志亦凡人的网站（www.queercomrades.com/）可以查看电影的预告片和其他信息。 如需要更多信息，请发邮件到info@queercomrades.com
