Army life: more gay-friendly in China than United States or Britain?
Despite decision not to censor gay scene in Beauty and the Beast, Beijing is not noted for its tolerance of the LGBT community. Even so, its military may be less biased against gay servicemen than its Western counterparts
With its uncompromising image, the People’s Liberation Army of China may seem an unlikely employer of choice for the country’s gay community.
But it could be argued that the Chinese army is a less uncomfortable environment for gay people than Chinese society at large. That might sound surprising, since the country as a whole is not noted for its tolerance towards the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community.
Chinese police detain gay people who gather in public places and the government shuts down unsanctioned gay-focused publications or television shows. In the past, Chinese society has found homosexuality generally incompatible with the values of mainstream culture and in the 20th and 21st centuries the country lagged the West in moving towards equal legal status for its homosexual citizens.
But there are some reasons to believe attitudes are changing, albeit slowly, not least among them China’s decision in March to release an uncensored version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, when in much of the rest of Asia conservative groups were fretting about a gay scene in the film.
It’s also worth noting that China’s treatment of homosexuality differs from the West in that it is a passive intolerance, rather than an active one.
