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L 5 MEILLRS FILMS GAYS HONGKONGAIS
Hong Kong’s LGBTQ+ muny has seen some solid social progrs recent years: The ernment regnized same-sex partnerships spoal visa applitns, the hight urt led that same-sex upl n apply for spoal benefs and file jot tax returns, and a study nducted last year showed that the majory of Hongkongers support gay marriage. Of urse there’s still unrcurrents of homophobia, too, as seen the recent furor over a Cathay Pacific ad featurg a gay uple, the whdrawal of 10 LGBT children’s books om the cy’s librari, and the appotment of an anti-gay marriage polician to the cy’s equali watchdog. This was a tricky list to pile, not least bee Hong Kong cema, gay, lbian, and queer characters are often amed stereotypil ways: as the butt of a joke, or as the protagonist’s “gay iend” whose character has a lghable lack of nuance.
For stance, gay men have largely been portrayed as effemate and wimpy, or “mp mp i, ” much of the history of Hong Kong cema.
But while recent films pictg LGBTQ+ characters still are far om perfect, there have been some promisg velopments — we’ve had the first mastream film to tackle the topic of transgenrism, portrayals of gay men that go far eper than the trope of “mp mp i, ” and exploratns of the lbian woman’s experience beyond the stereotype of an aggrsive, leather jacket-wearg butch. Sensg that Sam and Rose are not happy together, Wg cis to make her missn to rencile the two lovers, but the procs fds fds herself fallg love wh Sam, and Sam likewise fallg love wh Wg — which leads him to qutn whether he is actually gay. Sam begs to worry that the whole world will thk he’s gay after Wg lets slip “I love you, Sam” at an awards ceremony, so a bid to ward off spicns about Sam’s sexualy, Wg asks Fan to pretend to be her lover, but Wg soon fds herself fallg for the charismatic star.