In Vietnam, an unlikely haven for gays - and a lucrative market | Rters

Contents:

• GAY VIETNAM: THE MOST BETIFUL PLAC VIETNAM FOR DISCERNG GAY TRAVELLERS
• A GAY SOLDIER’S STORY OF VIETNAM AND AFTER
• IN VIETNAM, AN UNLIKELY HAVEN FOR GAYS - AND A LUCRATIVE MARKET
• GAY VIETNAM: QUEER CULTURE, LOL LIFE, AND WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW! ??
• TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

GAY VIETNAM: THE MOST BETIFUL PLAC VIETNAM FOR DISCERNG GAY TRAVELLERS

Gay Vietnam: the most betiful plac Vietnam for discerng gay travellersStori > Experienc > Gay Vietnam: the most betiful plac Vietnam for discerng gay travellersJt as a hly dripped sữa đá ffee offers that sweet ffee kick to the ontal rtex, a trip to Vietnam will evably knock you for six. Dpe Vietnam’s relative acceptance to homosexualy however, there are no anti-discrimatn laws place and same-sex marriage is still not permted (Taiwan wears the crown solo for gay Asia on this ont). And while social nstrats hold cizens back, the mastream media the untry promot the normalisatn of gay culture and transgenr people are regnised by get to gay Vietnam travel directly to eher of the two biggt ci.

A GAY SOLDIER’S STORY OF VIETNAM AND AFTER

Make sure to ge yourself on much of the bt food Vietnam while gay Saigon, makg sure not to avoid the low-down street vendors where you mt slurp your noodl om ty red tabl jt several ch om the ground. Photo: Thai An Ho Chi Mh | Photo: Quang Nguyen vhYou needn’t travel far to fd gay Hanoi; simply move north om Hoàn Kiếm Lake towards the backpacker area where most mixed bars, clubs and street eats are found2. When you need a break om gawkg at Hanoi’s dazzlg streets, hiaway any mm, hipster fé or hangout spot, samplg the surprisgly lic lol specialy of cà phê trứng (egg ffee) as you needn’t travel far to fd gay Hanoi; simply move north om Hoàn Kiếm Lake towards the backpacker area where most mixed bars, clubs and street eats are found.

While the Hanoi gay scene is pretty discreet, you n meet like-md people on apps like Grdr or equent any of the exclively male gay massage spas that pop up around the centre. Although there are no official gay beach, many of the var beach clubs and bars around the island are nsistently gay iendly and the gay bars and clubs that do exist attract the bt people om across the island, lols and tourists as one! Gay Nha Trang n seem a ltle sparse parison to the big ci above, but worthwhile attractns clu Fairy Sprg waterfall and Thao Ba hot sprgs, as well as the Buddhist s of Po Nagar Cham Towers and Statue of Buddha.

Those who n’t rist the ll of the wild meanwhile may be up for a spot of mpg Cuc Phong or – if you n’t go whout a hot shower – try one of the gay-iendly hotels on the edge of Van Long Nature Quang NguyenWant to simplify luxury travel planng? Luckily, Tuoi Tre journalists were allowed to vis a few such bs - meant to satisfy the needs of both women and gays – thanks to the assistance of ‘social peers’ who are officers of State programs tend to prevent the spread of sexually transmted diseas that have close nnectns wh the brothel owners. The day Larry Sanrs registered for the draft, one qutn buried the middle of a long qutnnaire smacked him the face: “Do you intify as a homosexual or ever had sexual feelgs for persons of the same sex?

IN VIETNAM, AN UNLIKELY HAVEN FOR GAYS - AND A LUCRATIVE MARKET

Prejudice is givg way to some liberalism, he says, a untry often labeled a human rights aber but now one of Asia’s most progrsive on gay, lbian and transgenr has spawned a niche market of an timated 1.

”While transgenr, gay and lbian people are persecuted and even jailed many Asian untri, Vietnam has quietly bee a trailblazer, wh laws to crimalize gay marriage and -habatn and regnize sex chang on inty documents. ”Semars and rporate-sponsored “Viet Pri” ftivals get ee re, and state media discs once-taboo issu of sex and genr is unclear what prompted the relaxatn by the ernment, which has never openly spelt out s Jtice Mistry did not rpond to qutns om Rters, and vice health mister Nguyen Viet Tien, who was once quoted speakg support of gay marriage, told Rters his mistry was not rponsible for policy and cled to ment. Marketg firms are trackg nsumer trends among lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people, cludg private healthre provirs such as Safe Livg, which timat such clients ntributed about 30 percent of s 2015 Market Makers, which specializ velopment of what lls “the uniquely lucrative LGBT market”, aims to clu Vietnam s 2016 nsumer recently valued the Che market at $850 billn annually and the U.

“After the show, dozens of LGBT ctomers me to me for my advice and to e my signs, ” said anizer Caroll 2014, USAID said attus had unrgone a “radil change” om a ago, when gay activy was treated as a crime and a mental health fay problems, workplace discrimatn and vlence schools persisted, add. Special envoy for human rights of LGBT persons, told Rters that, whatever s reasons, Vietnam had actively engaged wh an issue neighbors still nsir sex is illegal Sgapore and maly Mlim Malaysia, where some stat also outlaw Bnei, sharia relig law forbids sodomy, and activists Mlim-majory Indonia recently lled growg hostily toward gays “a wch hunt”.

GAY VIETNAM: QUEER CULTURE, LOL LIFE, AND WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW! ??

This event, huge as might be, is only a part of a larger scene, where proment NGOs such as ISEE ph for acceptance and tolerance of LGBT general, and gays Vietnam particular through myriad workshops, talk shows, and onle events. The latt events have shown that the untry has gone through major chang om a homophobic society to a more tolerant one, allowg for a flourishg, albe still somewhat unrground, gay culture which has a fair share of unique perks and tras.

Artifacts om the era suggted that Vietname at that time actively promoted sexual exploratn and sexual terurse, irrpective whether heterosexually or homosexually, to fd the perfect harmony wh nature, thereby promotg fertily and prospery to the lol muny. It is tertg to note that there was no nvictn of homosexualy the official rerd of the se, and seems homosexualy was not nsired a social crime at that time, as evinced other ntemporaneo rerds.

TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY

Durg the Vietnam War, homosexualy was nmned as a type of sexual viatn the South, so gay upl had to retreat to private unrground bars Saigon to enjoy their time together.

After the war, the new socialist ernment did not ban homosexualy, but s lack of support for the upl, as well as overwhelmg support for fay value, created a new issue for gay muni.

Bee there was no official legislatn for them, lol thori found difficult to solve homosexual-related s, so homosexuals Vietnam found themselv a disadvantaged suatn whout legal protectn or regnn. People are generally more tolerant of homosexuals onle, and there are plenty of Facebook pag which celebrate gay pri the untry, creatg vibrant muni for gays Vietnam. Homosexual people, pecially male homosexual people, prefer a mascule image to a feme one, so the more feme one a uple ually has to supprs feme actns and avoid appearg too feme.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

The lols are very sensive wh touchg, even if you are openly gay, so make sure to ask before you touch for a few openly gay people, most gays Vietnam would prefer some gree of secrecy, so do not expose their sexualy whout askg them firstVietname love a good round of beer, so if you want to relax wh your Vietname gay iends, head for a lol gay barDon’t show too much affectn for your gay boyiend/girliend public if they are not okay wh . The are the voic explag what has been like to be a gay man1 the Amerin ary over the prev seventy or so years, om World War II veterans their late eighti to young servicemen on active duty.

"I remember beg the Castro, " says John Forrett (army rerve, 1987–99), "and watchg the TV at a bar wh some iends, watchg Al Gore and Bill Clton swearg that if they beme the tag team for Ameri they were gog to get rid of the harassment of gays and lbians servg the ary. " Gay people were allowed the ary but only as long as they didn’t reveal their sexualy; to facilate this, all members of the ary were also prohibed om quirg about anyone’s possible orientatn. You’re a Mare, you don’t md gettg dirty, gog out to the field and not showerg for weeks at a, if you were gay, when you have to shower wh all the other guys you’d get all exced.

And therefore few people realized that the first Amerin serly wound the vasn of Iraq durg the send Gulf war was a gay Alva signed up, before "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, " he had to lie on his paperwork. Lbians have suffered unr the same prohibns and prejudic and share many of the same experienc, as well as some that are distct, but this article ncentrat on the experience of gay men. And when, 2006, the battl over "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" the ary and gay marriage the wir muny were simmerg, Alva’s boyiend at the time poted out to him that he did have some notoriety that might be of e.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

(The meetgs have been arranged through a private onle work lled OutServe, set up only last year, which allows gay and lbian servicepeople a safe and secure way of fdg and munitg wh one another.

In the shadow of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, " whenever gay servicemen did face any kd of homophobic harassment, they were powerls to draw attentn to whout potentially triggerg the end of their ary reer. The le self beme the very tool of their opprsn: "The ’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, " says Joseph Rocha (navy, 2004–7), "punish homosexuals who ply, and protects bigots.