Utopia is a website with daily updating of information about LGBT culture in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Utopia, founded by American John C. Goss, was a ground-breaking Internet enterprise when it was formed in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 13, 1995. At the time of its launch, such information was hard to come by, even for LGBT citizens within their own nations. Since then, it has pioneered new businesses, published seminal books and forged relationships to emerge as a potent unifying force for AsianLGBT people.
The Utopia website was preceded by the opening of Southeast Asia's first gay and lesbian center, one year earlier, in December 2004. Goss and partners from Singapore, Thailand and the United States opened the Utopia complex in the Sukhumvit Road area of Bangkok and it included an LGBT bookshop, cafe, pub and guesthouse. The center went on to host author readings, women's workshops, AIDS/HIV education and fundraising, and Bangkok's first International Lesbian and Gay Film/Video Festival: Hearts of Light, programmed by Canadian filmmaker, Paul Lee.
The Utopia website was the first Internet portal providing up-to-date pan-Asian information in a non-pornographic format. An archive of the Utopia website is available from 1996 onwards at The Wayback Machine. The website went on to garner recognition from TIME Magazine, Lonely Planet, Yahoo!, Gay Times, Advocate and BBC World Service.
Utopia was a founding sponsor of the first Bangkok Gay Festival in 1999, the first Pattaya Gay Festival in 2001, and also sponsored the annual Phuket Gay Festival.
The annual Utopia Awards was established in 2000 to give special recognition to gay and lesbian pioneers in Asia and other worthy groups and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Asia's LGBT community.
In 2005–2007, Goss began publication of ten landmark Utopia Guide books to gay and lesbian life in China; Cambodia/Laos/Myanmar/Vietnam; Thailand; Singapore; Malaysia; Indonesia; Japan; South Korea; Taiwan; and Asia (16 countries).
Utopia continues to pursue its original goal to improve the lives of Asian lesbians and gay men, to build community, and to foster a deeper understanding of gay life in the region. The Utopia website remains the Internet's most respected and comprehensive English-language resource for the multi-faceted homosexual subcultures of Asia.
Shinjuku Ni-chōme (新宿二丁目), referred to colloquially as Ni-chōme or simply Nichō, is Area 2 in the Shinjuku District of the Shinjuku Special Ward of Tokyo, Japan. With Tokyo home to 13 million people, and Shinjuku known as the noisiest and most crowded of its 23 special wards, Ni-chōme further distinguishes itself as Tokyo's hub of gay subculture, housing the world's highest concentration of gay bars.
Alex Au Waipang, also known by his Internet pseudonym as Yawning Bread, is an advocate of LGBT rights in Singapore. Au is a blogger and activist who provides analyses of Singaporean politics, culture, gay issues and miscellaneous subjects on his blog. He is also the co-author of two books, People Like Us: Sexual Minorities in Singapore and a French-language treatise on homophobia entitled L'Homophobie.
There are no statistics on how many LGBT people there are in Singapore or what percentage of the population they constitute. While homosexuality is legal in the country, the country is largely conservative.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Belarus face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Although same-sex sexual activity is legal in Belarus, gay and lesbian rights in the country are otherwise severely limited and homosexuality remains highly stigmatized in Belarusian society. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Belarus provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Many Belarusian people believe that homosexuality is a psychiatric illness, and many LGBT persons in Belarus tend to hide their sexual orientation in public. Those who are "out" face harassment, violence and physical abuse.
LGBT History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. LGBT History Month provides role models, builds community, and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. As of 2022, LGBT History Month is a month-long celebration that is specific to Australia, Canada, Cuba, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Singapore's first public LGBT pride festival, IndigNation, took place during the month of August in 2005, with a second annual IndigNation in August 2006. Previous gay celebrations, exemplified by the Nation parties held annually in Singapore since 2001, were private commercial events held for LGBT recreation, but were also socio-political statements of significance in Singapore gay history and milestones in Singapore's human rights record.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Cambodia face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Although same-sex sexual activity is legal in Cambodia, it provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Thailand are regarded as some of the most comprehensive of those in Asia. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal. Same sex marriage was signed into law in 2024, and will come into force in January 2025. Thailand was the first Asian UN member state to pass a comprehensive same-sex marriage law, as well as the first in Southeast Asia and the 37th in the world. About eight percent of the Thai population, five million people, are thought to be in the LGBT demographic.
People Like Us (PLU) (Chinese:我等之辈) is a gay equality lobby group in Singapore. Having been twice rejected by the government board which approves or prohibits organisations, the Registrar of Societies, it is now in its third incarnation as "PLU3". The term "PLU" has also gradually become slang for "homosexual" amongst members of Singapore's and Malaysia's gay subculture.
John C. Goss is an American artist and author and has lived most of his life in the Asia/Pacific region.
New Zealand society is generally accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) peoples. The LGBTQ-friendly environment is epitomised by the fact that there are several members of Parliament who belong to the LGBTQ community, LGBTQ rights are protected by the Human Rights Act, and same-sex couples are able to marry as of 2013. Sex between men was decriminalised in 1986. New Zealand has an active LGBTQ community, with well-attended annual gay pride festivals in most cities.
Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are complex in Asia, and acceptance of LGBTQ persons is generally low. Same-sex sexual activity is outlawed in at least twenty Asian countries. In Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, homosexual activity results in death penalty. In addition, LGBT people also face extrajudicial executions from non-state actors such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. While egalitarian relationships have become more frequent in recent years, they remain rare.
Seattle Pride refers to a series of events which are held annually throughout the month of June to celebrate LGBTQ Pride in Seattle, Washington. Seattle Pride also refers to the nonprofit organization Seattle Out and Proud which coordinates and promotes LGBTQIA+ events and programs in Seattle year-round including the Seattle Pride Parade.
The modern South Korean LGBT rights movement arose in the 1990s, with several small organizations seeking to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of South Asian ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally-specific identities such as Hijra, Aravani, Thirunangaigal, Khwajasara, Kothi, Thirunambigal, Jogappa, Jogatha, or Shiva Shakti. The recorded history traces back at least two millennia.
Anjaree was an LGBT rights organization in Thailand. It formed as a lesbian organization in 1986 and has focused on issues such as reforming the words used to refer to same sex desire and campaigning for same sex marriage to be legally recognised. It became dormant around 2015.
The LGBT community in Metro Detroit is centered in Ferndale, Michigan, as of 2007. As of 1997, many LGBT people live in Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak. Model D stated in 2007 that there are populations of gays and lesbians in some Detroit neighborhoods such as East English Village, Indian Village, Lafayette Park, and Woodbridge and that the concentration of gay bars in Detroit is "decentralized".
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally-specific identities. This timeline includes events both in Asia and the Pacific Islands and in the global Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora, as the histories are very deeply linked. Please note: this is a very incomplete timeline, notably lacking LGBTQ-specific items from the 1800s to 1970s, and should not be used as a research resource until additional material is added.
Bangkok Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (BGLFF) is an annual LGBT film festival held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Bangkok Pride Festival is an annual series of events which celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) life in Bangkok, Thailand. The festival culminates in a pride parade held on Silom Road in June. The event is hosted by Naruemit Pride, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
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