Da jeg sagde til mine forældre, at jeg var homoseksuel, den første ting, som de sagde mig var: "Vi tager dig tilbage til Taiwan."
Jenni Chang: When I told my parents I was gay, the first thing they said to me was, "We're bringing you back to Taiwan."
(Latter)
(Laughter)
I deres tanker var min seksuelle orientering Amerikas skyld. Vesten korrumperede mig med anderledes idéer og hvis bare mine forældre ikke havde forladt Taiwan, var dette ikke sket for deres eneste datter. Ærlig talt, jeg spørger mig selv, om de havde ret.
In their minds, my sexual orientation was America's fault. The West had corrupted me with divergent ideas, and if only my parents had never left Taiwan, this would not have happened to their only daughter. In truth, I wondered if they were right.
Selvfølgeligt er der homoseksuelle folk i Asien, ligesom der er homoseksuelle mennesker i alle dele af verden. Men er idéen om at bo i et "ude" liv, hvor "jeg er homoseksuel, her er min ægtefælle og vi er stolt af vores liv sammen" slags en vestlig idé?
Of course, there are gay people in Asia, just as there are gay people in every part of the world. But is the idea of living an "out" life, in the "I'm gay, this is my spouse, and we're proud of our lives together" kind of way just a Western idea?
Hvis jeg havde vokset op i Taiwan, eller enhvert sted uden for Vesten, havde jeg fundet rollemodeller af glade, blomstrende LGBT mennesker?
If I had grown up in Taiwan, or any place outside of the West, would I have found models of happy, thriving LGBT people?
Jeg havde lignende forestillinger. Som HIV socialarbejder i San Francisco, mødte jeg mange homoseksuelle indvandrere. De fortalte mig deres historier om forfølgelse i deres hjemlande, bare for at være homoseksuel, og grundene de flygtede til USA. Jeg så, hvordan det slog dem ud. Efter 10 år i dette job, behøvede jeg bedre historier for mig selv. Jeg vidste, at verden var langt fra perfekt, men sikkert var hver homoseksuel historie ikke tragisk.
Lisa Dazols: I had similar notions. As an HIV social worker in San Francisco, I had met many gay immigrants. They told me their stories of persecution in their home countries, just for being gay, and the reasons why they escaped to the US. I saw how this had beaten them down. After 10 years of doing this kind of work, I needed better stories for myself. I knew the world was far from perfect, but surely not every gay story was tragic.
Derfor, som et par, havde vi begge to et behov for at finde historier af håb. Derfor begyndte vi en mission, rejste rundt i hele verden og ledte efter menneskerne vi til sidst navngav "Supergays"
JC: So as a couple, we both had a need to find stories of hope. So we set off on a mission to travel the world and look for the people we finally termed as the "Supergays."
(Latter)
(Laughter)
Disse var de LGBT individer der var i færd med at gøre noget ektraordinær i verden. De var modige, stærke, og, mere end alt, stolte af hvem de var. De var den slags mennesker, som jeg ville være. Vores plan var at dele deres historier med verden gennem film.
These would be the LGBT individuals who were doing something extraordinary in the world. They would be courageous, resilient, and most of all, proud of who they were. They would be the kind of person that I aspire to be. Our plan was to share their stories to the world through film.
Det var bare et problem. Vi havde hverken erfaring i reportage eller at lave film.
LD: There was just one problem. We had zero reporting and zero filmmaking experience.
(Latter)
(Laughter)
Vi vidste kke hvor vi kunne finde disse "Supergays", Så vi måtte bare tro på at vi fandt ud af det undervejs. Vi udvalgte 15 lande i Asien, Afrika og Sydamerika, lande udenfor Vesten, der havde anderledes LGBT rettigheder. Vi købte en videokamera, købte en bog om hvordan man laver en dokumentar --
We didn't even know where to find the Supergays, so we just had to trust that we'd figure it all out along the way. So we picked 15 countries in Asia, Africa and South America, countries outside the West that varied in terms of LGBT rights. We bought a camcorder, ordered a book on how to make a documentary --
(Latter)
(Laughter)
du kan lære meget idag -- og begyndte at rejse verden rundt.
you can learn a lot these days -- and set off on an around-the-world trip.
Et af de første lande vi rejste til var Nepal. Selvom udbredt fattigdom, en årti-lang borgerkrig, og for nylig, et ødelæggende jordskælv, har Nepal taget betydelige skridt i kampen for lighed. En af hovedfigurerne i bevægelsen er Bhumika Shrestha. En smuk, vital transkønnede kvinde. Bhumika måtte gennemleve at blive bortvist fra skolen og at blive sat i fængsel pga sin kønsfremtoning. Men i 2007, rejste Bhumika og Nepals organisation for LGBT-rettigheder begærede, succesfuldt, Nepals Højesteret for beskyttelse mod LGBT-diskrimination.
JC: One of the first countries that we traveled to was Nepal. Despite widespread poverty, a decade-long civil war, and now recently, a devastating earthquake, Nepal has made significant strides in the fight for equality. One of the key figures in the movement is Bhumika Shrestha. A beautiful, vibrant transgendered woman, Bhumika has had to overcome being expelled from school and getting incarcerated because of her gender presentation. But, in 2007, Bhumika and Nepal's LGBT rights organization successfully petitioned the Nepali Supreme Court to protect against LGBT discrimination.
Her er Bhumika
Here's Bhumika:
(Video) Hvad er jeg stoltest over? Jeg er en transkvinde. Jeg er meget stolt over mit liv. Den 21 December 2007 pålagde Højesterettens afgørelse Nepals Parlament at transkønnede kan få kønsskift i identifikationspapirer og ret til homovielser.
(Video) BS: What I'm most proud of? I'm a transgendered person. I'm so proud of my life. On December 21, 2007, the supreme court gave the decision for the Nepal government to give transgender identity cards and same-sex marriage.
Jeg kan værdsætte Bhumnikas sikkerhed dagligt. Noget lige så let som bruge et offentligt toilet kan være en stor udfordring, når du ikke passe til menneskers strenge køns forventninger. Når vi rejste gennem Asien, skræmte jeg kvinder på offentlige toiletter. Det var ikke normalt for dem at se nogen som mig. Jeg skulle opfinde en strategi, så kunne jeg tisse i fred.
LD: I can appreciate Bhumika's confidence on a daily basis. Something as simple as using a public restroom can be a huge challenge when you don't fit in to people's strict gender expectations. Traveling throughout Asia, I tended to freak out women in public restrooms. They weren't used to seeing someone like me. I had to come up with a strategy, so that I could just pee in peace.
(Latter)
(Laughter)
Altså, da jeg gik ind i et toilet, drev jeg ud mit bryst for at vise mine kvindelige dele og prøve at være lige så uskadelig som mulig. Jeg lagte min hånd ud og sagde "hej", bare for at lade mennesker høre min kvindelige stemme. Dette blive meget trættende, men det er bare hvem jeg er. Jeg kan ikke være noget andet.
So anytime I would enter a restroom, I would thrust out my chest to show my womanly parts, and try to be as non-threatening as possible. Putting out my hands and saying, "Hello", just so that people could hear my feminine voice. This all gets pretty exhausting, but it's just who I am. I can't be anything else.
Efter Nepal rejste vi til Indien. På en side er Indien et hindu samfund, uden tradition for homofobi. På den anden side, det er også et samfund med en stærk patriarkalsk system, der afviser hvilken som helst ting, som truer den mandlig-kvindelig orden. Da vi talte med aktivister, fortalte de os, at selvtillid begynder ved at sikre en ordentlig kønslighed, hvor kvinders status er etableret i samfund. Og på denne måde, LGBT menneskers status kan blive bekræftet ligeså.
JC: After Nepal, we traveled to India. On one hand, India is a Hindu society, without a tradition of homophobia. On the other hand, it is also a society with a deeply patriarchal system, which rejects anything that threatens the male-female order. When we spoke to activists, they told us that empowerment begins with ensuring proper gender equality, where the women's status is established in society. And in that way, the status of LGBT people can be affirmed as well.
Der mødte vi Prins Manvendra. Han er verdens første offentlig homoseksuelle prins. Prins Manvendra kom ud på "Oprah Winfrey Show", meget internationalt. Forældrene fornægtede ham og beskyldte ham af bringe stor skam til kongehuset. Vi sad ned med Prins Manvendra og talte med ham om hvorfor han valgte at komme ud så virkeligt offentligt.
LD: There we met Prince Manvendra. He's the world's first openly gay prince. Prince Manvendra came out on the "Oprah Winfrey Show," very internationally. His parents disowned him and accused him of bringing great shame to the royal family. We sat down with Prince Manvendra and talked to him about why he decided to come out so very publicly.
Her er han:
Here he is:
(Video) Jeg følte, at det var et stort behov for at bryde stigma og diskrimination, der findes i vores samfund. Og det tilskyndede mig til at komme ud offenltigt og tale om mig selv. Uanset om vi er bøsse, vi er lesbisk, vi er transkønnede, biseksuelle eller hvilken seksuel mindretal vi kommer, vi bør alle forene og kæmpe for vores retter. Homoseksuellerettigheder kan ikke blive vundet i retssal, men i menneskers hjerter og forstand.
(Video) Prince Manvendra: I felt there was a lot of need to break this stigma and discrimination which is existing in our society. And that instigated me to come out openly and talk about myself. Whether we are gay, we are lesbian, we are transgender, bisexual or whatever sexual minority we come from, we have to all unite and fight for our rights. Gay rights cannot be won in the court rooms, but in the hearts and the minds of the people.
Mens jeg fik mit hår klippet, spurgte kvinden, der kilppede mit hår, mig "Har du en ægtemand?" Nu, det var et frygteligt spørgsmål, som jeg blev spurgt meget af indbyggere mens vi rejste. Da jeg forklarede hende, at jeg var sammen med en kvinde i stedet af en mand, blev hun skeptisk, og spurgte mig mange spørgsmåle om mine forældres reaktion og om jeg var trist, at jeg aldrig ville få børn. Jeg sagte til hende, at det ikke er begrænsing i mit liv og at Lisa og jeg planlægger at have en familie en dag. Nu, denne kvinde var klar til at kalde mig endnu en andre tosse fra Vesten. Hun kunne ikke tro, at sådan et fænomen kunne ske i hendes land. Det var til vi viste hende billederne af de Supergays, som vi interviewede i Indien. Hun genkendte Prins Manvendra fra fjernsyn og snart havde jeg et publikum af andre frisører interesseret i møde mig.
JC: While getting my hair cut, the woman cutting my hair asked me, "Do you have a husband?" Now, this was a dreaded question that I got asked a lot by locals while traveling. When I explained to her that I was with a woman instead of a man, she was incredulous, and she asked me a lot of questions about my parents' reactions and whether I was sad that I'd never be able to have children. I told her that there are no limitations to my life and that Lisa and I do plan to have a family some day. Now, this woman was ready to write me off as yet another crazy Westerner. She couldn't imagine that such a phenomenon could happen in her own country. That is, until I showed her the photos of the Supergays that we interviewed in India. She recognized Prince Manvendra from television and soon I had an audience of other hairdressers interested in meeting me.
(Latter)
(Laughter)
Og i den normale eftermiddag havde jeg chancen for at præsentere en hel skønsalon til de samfundsforandringer, der skete i deres land.
And in that ordinary afternoon, I had the chance to introduce an entire beauty salon to the social changes that were happening in their own country.
Fra Indien rejste vi til Øst Afrika, en region kendt for intolerance mod LGBT mennesker. 89% af mennesker, der komme ud til deres familier i Kenya, bliver fornægtet. Homoseksuelle handlinger er forbrydelser og kunne lede til fængsling. I Kenya mødte vi blide David Kuria. David havde en stor opgave af at ville arbejde for de fattige og forbedre hans regering. Derfor valgte ham at stille op til senatet. Han blev Kenyas første offentligt homoseksuelle politisk kandidat. David ville føre hans kampagne uden at benægte virkeligheden af hvem han var. Men vi var bange for hans tryghed fordi han begyndte at få dødstrusler.
LD: From India, we traveled to East Africa, a region known for intolerance towards LGBT people. In Kenya, 89 percent of people who come out to their families are disowned. Homosexual acts are a crime and can lead to incarceration. In Kenya, we met the soft-spoken David Kuria. David had a huge mission of wanting to work for the poor and improve his own government. So he decided to run for senate. He became Kenya's first openly gay political candidate. David wanted to run his campaign without denying the reality of who he was. But we were worried for his safety because he started to receive death threats.
Jeg var virkeligt bange fordi man virkeligt bad om at jeg blev slået ihjel. Og ja, det er mennesker derude som gør det, og de føler, at de udfører en religiøs forpligtelse.
(Video) David Kuria: At that point, I was really scared because they were actually asking for me to be killed. And, yeah, there are some people out there who do it and they feel that they are doing a religious obligation.
David var ikke flov over hvem han var. Selv med truslerne, forblev han autentisk.
JC: David wasn't ashamed of who he was. Even in the face of threats, he stayed authentic.
I den modsatte side af spektret ligger Argentina. Det er et land, hvor 92% af befolkning identificere sig selv som romersk-katolsk. Alligevel har Argentina LGBT retter, som er endnu mere fremadskridende end her i USA. I 2010 blev Argentine det første land i Latinamerika og den tiende i verden, som vedkendte bryllupslighed.
LD: At the opposite end of the spectrum is Argentina. Argentina's a country where 92 percent of the population identifies as Catholic. Yet, Argentina has LGBT laws that are even more progressive than here in the US. In 2010, Argentina became the first country in Latin America and the 10th in the world to adopt marriage equality.
Her mødte vi Maria Richid. Maria var en hovedstyrke i denne bevægelse.
There, we met María Rachid. María was a driving force behind that movement.
I virkeligheden siger jeg altid, at effekterne af bryllupslighed er ikke bare for de par, som gifter sig. De er for mange mennesker, der uden at blive gift bliver kigget på anderledes af deres kolleger, familier og naboer, fra landets nationale besked af lighed. Jeg føle meget stolt af Argentina fordi i dag er Argentina et eksempel af lighed. Og forhåbentligt snart vil hele verden have de samme rettigheder.
María Rachid (Spanish): I always say that, in reality, the effects of marriage equality are not only for those couples that get married. They are for a lot of people that, even though they may never get married, will be perceived differently by their coworkers, their families and neighbors, from the national state's message of equality. I feel very proud of Argentina because Argentina today is a model of equality. And hopefully soon, the whole world will have the same rights.
Da vi besøgte min slægtsland, håbede jeg at vi kunne vise mine forældre, hvad vi fandt der. Fordi her er hvem vi mødte:
JC: When we made the visit to my ancestral lands, I wish I could have shown my parents what we found there. Because here is who we met:
En, to, tre. Velkomme homoseksuelle til Shanghai!
(Video) One, two, three. Welcome gays to Shanghai!
(Latter)
(Laughter)
Et helt samfund af unge, smukke kinesiske LGBT mennesker. Sikkert havde de deres kampe. Men de kæmpede imod det. I Shanghai fik jeg muligheden for at tale med en lokal gruppe af lesbiske kvinder og fortælle dem vores historie på mit rustne mandarin. I Taipei, hver gang vi tog metroen så vi et andet lesbisk par holde i hånd. Og vi lærte, at Asiens største LGBT Pride begivenhed sker nogle blokke væk fra hvor mine bedsteforældre boede. Hvis bare mine forældre vidste det.
A whole community of young, beautiful Chinese LGBT people. Sure, they had their struggles. But they were fighting it out. In Shanghai, I had the chance to speak to a local lesbian group and tell them our story in my broken Mandarin Chinese. In Taipei, each time we got onto the metro, we saw yet another lesbian couple holding hands. And we learned that Asia's largest LGBT pride event happens just blocks away from where my grandparents live. If only my parents knew.
Da vi endte vores ikke-så-straight rejse rundt om verden,
LD: By the time we finished our not-so-straight journey around the world,
(Latter)
(Laughter)
havde vi rejst 50,000 mil og filmet 120 timer af videoer. Vi rejste til 15 land og interviewede 50 Supergays. Vi lærte at det ikke var svært at finde dem.
we had traveled 50,000 miles and logged 120 hours of video footage. We traveled to 15 countries and interviewed 50 Supergays. Turns out, it wasn't hard to find them at all.
JC: Ja, der er stadig tragedier, som sker på den ujævne vej til lighed. Og vi bør ikke glemme, at 75 lande straffer stadig homoseksualitet idag. Men der er også historier om håb og mod i hvert hjørne af verden. Hvad vi, i sidste ende, lærte fra vores rejse er, at lighed er ikke en vestlig opfindelse.
JC: Yes, there are still tragedies that happen on the bumpy road to equality. And let's not forget that 75 countries still criminalize homosexuality today. But there are also stories of hope and courage in every corner of the world. What we ultimately took away from our journey is, equality is not a Western invention.
Én af de hovedfaktor i denne lighedsbevægelse er fremdrift, fremdrift når flere og flere mennesker omfavner sit fulde selv og bruge hvilken som helst muligheder, de har for at ændre deres del af verden, og fremdrift når flere og flere lande finder modeller af lighed i hinanden. Da Nepal beskyttede mod LGBT diskrimination, pressede Indien hårdere på. Da Argentina omfavnede bryllupslighed, fulgte Uruguay og Brasilien. Da Irland sagte ja til lighed,
LD: One of the key factors in this equality movement is momentum, momentum as more and more people embrace their full selves and use whatever opportunities they have to change their part of the world, and momentum as more and more countries find models of equality in one another. When Nepal protected against LGBT discrimination, India pushed harder. When Argentina embraced marriage equality, Uruguay and Brazil followed. When Ireland said yes to equality,
(Bifald)
(Applause)
bemærkede verden det. Når USAs Højesteret laver en erklæring til verden, som vi kan være stolte af.
the world stopped to notice. When the US Supreme Court makes a statement to the world that we can all be proud of.
(Bifald)
(Applause)
Når vi genså vores videoer, hvad vi forstod var, at vi var i færd med at se en kærlighedshistorie. Jeg forventede ikke en kærlighedshistorie, men det er én fyldt med mere frihed, eventyr og kærlighed end jeg nogensinde kunne have forestillet mig. Et år efter at vi kom hjem fra vores rejse, kom bryllupslighed til California. Og til sidst tror vi kærlighed vil vinde.
JC: As we reviewed our footage, what we realized is that we were watching a love story. It wasn't a love story that was expected of me, but it is one filled with more freedom, adventure and love than I could have ever possibly imagined. One year after returning home from our trip, marriage equality came to California. And in the end, we believe, love will win out.
(Video) Med den kraft som er tildelt mig, af staten Californien, og af Gud den Almægtige, forkynder jeg jer at være ægtefæller. I må kysse.
(Video) By the power vested in me, by the state of California and by God Almighty, I now pronounce you spouses for life. You may kiss.
(Bifald)
(Applause)