How a rabb god beme an in for Taiwan’s gay muny | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• TAIWAN'S GAYS PRAY FOR SOUL MAT AT 'RABB' TEMPLE
• HOW A RABB GOD BEME AN IN FOR TAIWAN’S GAY MUNY
• TAIWAN'S WEI-MG 'RABB' TEMPLE DRAWS GAY COMMUNY
• GAY TAIPEI GUI

TAIWAN'S GAYS PRAY FOR SOUL MAT AT 'RABB' TEMPLE

Flam leap up quick bursts, an apparent sign that the Rabb God has received his adherent’s temple is a hoe of Taoist worship wh a twist - almost all of s ngregants are gay. The shre, down a narrow alleyway a btlg district of New Taipei Cy, is dited to a y who has watched over homosexuals for four centuri.

“In Che history, ‘rabb’ was a rogatory term for homosexuals, ” said Lu Wei-mg, who found the temple 2006, at a time gays were exclud om most relig, who has taken a vow of celibacy and cled to answer qutns about his sexualy, said he wanted to create a welg environment for a flock that had long been ostracized. “This was a group wh no one to look after them, and I wanted to fill that void, ” said the 28-year-old prit, addg that Wei-mg is the world’s only shre for homosexuals.

HOW A RABB GOD BEME AN IN FOR TAIWAN’S GAY MUNY

”Liberal attus have led to the flourishg of gay culture on the island natn, wh Taiwan’s parliament batg a bill that would make Asia’s first to legalize same-sex said mastream Taoist society remas stuck a nservative mdset, although the most vol opposn to Wei-mg temple has e om members of Taiwan’s small yet active Christian scribed stanc of Christian activists prottg ont of the temple, cludg one pastor who attempted to perform an exorcism before the altar of the Rabb God.

TAIWAN'S WEI-MG 'RABB' TEMPLE DRAWS GAY COMMUNY

As well as beg one of the 12 animals of the lunar lendar, “rabb” has often been a rogatory or slang term for homosexual people throughout Che history, but through cultural storytellg and efforts like those of Lu to elevate Tu’er Shen, has bee a signifint symbol for the queer muny Taiwan and Cha. Other explanatns clu the shared ialisms of the py tu zi (rabb) and tong zhi (lerally “like-md people” but a mon name for the gay muny). Now s 16th year, Weimg Temple New Taipei Cy ntu to provi good luck love and marriage to Taiwan’s gay muny.

The Rabb God, whom worshippers ll Ta Yeh (大爺), is the gay unterpart to Yueh Lao (月老, Old Man Unr the Moon), a popular y rponsible for love and marriage. “The signatn om ‘rabb’ as a historic slur for homosexuals. Lu’s story and the legend of the Rabb God is vered tail the Taipei Tim article “Taoist homosexuals turn to the Rabb God” (Oct.

GAY TAIPEI GUI

Soon after his ath, Hu appeared the dream of a lol man, tellg him that the lord of the unrworld had appoted him the Rabb God to ern the affairs of the gay muny. When Lu started the Weimg Temple after noticg the lack of templ that serviced the gay muny, Chang, who is gay, cid to help him and beme one of his earlit discipl. In 2015, for example, Taipei’s Xia Hai Cy God Temple (霞海城隍廟) clarified that homosexuals n also fd luck romance through s popular Yueh Lao.