Overview.

Ever since the Stonewall Riot, the global LGBT equality movement has largely been shaped by Western culture and experience. From the bar scene to pride parades, and perhaps the most visible of all – the Rainbow Flag. LGBT equality being a "western concept" instead of universal human rights is regularly used by conservative voices within Asian communities in Asia and beyond as a reason for countering the equal rights movement on the ground of "not traditional Asian values".

Whilst the generalised notion of "Asian values" - on a vast continent covering a rich variety of cultures and heritages - is a debatable claim, the intersection of being queer and being an Asian creates a very different context that shapes lived experiences and the paths to equality and inclusion. However, there is also the interplay of internalised western/Christian influences through migration, missionary work, and colonialism, which are then interpreted as "traditional Asian values".

As we cannot simply directly replicate from the western experience, even to Asian communities in the West, so the question becomes how do queer Asians champion LGBT equality in light of the development in the West and the recent progress in the East.

Organised by the University of Birmingham and supported by various LGBT community groups, Being Queer Asian* will be joined by several queer Asian activists for an insightful discussion on the dynamics between Western experience and local values in their pursuit of advancing LGBT equality in their countries and areas.

Chair.

This event will be chaired by Professor Robin Mason, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International), Executive Lead for LGBT+ Equality, University of Birmingham.

Speakers.

Jerome Yau.

Pink Alliance, Hong Kong.

A communicator by profession, Jerome is also a strategist and equality champion. He has broad experience in the NGO sector and has been involved in LGBT+ rights advocacy for nearly a decade. He was the brainchild behind policy formation at Pink Alliance, and in 2019 he co-founded Hong Kong Marriage Equality. In addition, he has served on the board of AIDS Concern since 2014.

Jerome graduated from the University of British Columbia, where he majored in history and political science. He began his career as a journalist in Canada and then moved on to become a communications professional with experience in corporate communications, content management, media relations, public affairs and external relations.

Glenn D. Magpantay, Esquire.

USA.

Glenn D. Magpantay, Esq. is seasoned nonprofit executive, long-time civil rights attorney, professor, and LGBTQ rights activist.

Glenn has been organizing in the LGBT community for over 30 years. He is co-founder and served as the Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), a national federation of Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organizations, where he oversaw the organization’s trainings, advocacy on immigrants’ rights, and visibility and family acceptance campaign.

His efforts were recognized by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) with the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020; Walter & Evelyn Haas, Jr. Fund award for Outstanding LGBTQ Leadership for Immigrants’ Rights in 2017; and INSTINCT MAGAZINE’S “25 Leading Men of 2004". He organized the first ever testimony before The White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islander in 2000. In 1994, he spoke at the National March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation.

Before taking the helm of NQAPIA, Glenn was a nationally recognized civil rights attorney at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). He is an authority on the federal Voting Rights Act and expert on Asian American political participation, including bilingual ballots, election reform, multilingual exit polling, and census. AALDEF has filed numerous briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court and several appellate and trial courts. He has litigated cases on minority voter discrimination against several states. His efforts were recognized by the NYS Bar Association Committee on Civil Rights with the prestigious Haywood Burns Memorial Award in 2015.

Yang Yi.

LGBT Rights Advocacy, China.

Midnight Poonkasetwattana.

APCOM Foundation, Asia and Pacific.

Khakan Qureshi .

Finding a Voice, UK.

Minhee Ryu.

hopeandlaw.org, Korea.

*Message from the panel:

We adopt the term “queer” because the various conventional acronyms for sexual minorities proved challenging in the Asian context. While we recognise the pejorative origin of the term, today we reclaim and repurpose it as an act of empowerment as an umbrella term that encompasses various sexual orientations and gender identities.

Throughout the discussion, we might use certain terms in an interchangeable fashion, for example “gay” doesn’t necessarily mean only gay males. Likewise, for ease of discussion, LGBT includes other variations, such as LGBT+, LGBTQ+ and LGBTI. There is zero intention of any disrespect to anyone.

Additional Information.

Accessibility.

This event will taking place via Zoom, and a live transcript will be available. If you have any additional accessibility requirements, please feel free to contact us at studentequality@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

Anonymity and Questions.

You can submit any questions to panellists anonymously via the Question and Answer function. Instructions on how to do this will be explained at the start of the event.

If you would like to submit questions to our panel in advance of the event, please feel free to email them to studentequality@contacts.bham.ac.uk with the Subject Title 'Being Queer Asian.'

This event will be recorded, however only panel members will be visible in the recording.