In the Spring of 2000, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) discussed the need for creating gay student support groups in public high schools. These groups would be run by students, for students, and also open to straight students who wanted to show support. The proposal drew the wrath of some parents who felt such support groups would unduly influence their children and lead them to become homosexuals. The thought of a school-sanctioned homosexual organization on school grounds made them extremely uncomfortable. I woke up one day to find a picture of these bigots in a protest splashed across the front page news. I was shocked that most of the protesters in the picture were Asians. Asians are generally not inclined toward conspicuous civil disobedience. The fact that the protest was about a social issue and taking place outside Asia was even more surprising for me. Where did all these protesters come from? Why is it predominantly Asian? How did they mobilize in herds?
Following the report of this protest, the issue of gay student support groups became a hot topic in the news media. The Asian community in Vancouver was stereotyped as being homophobic and narrow-minded. A sizable number of Caucasian parents from Surrey pitched in and denounced the proposal for gay student groups. Surrey is a conservative, suburban neighborhood outside Vancouver that is known for its provincial right-wing views. It is also the neighborhood that launched a lengthy legal case to ban books showing same-sexed parents from its school libraries.
I had never felt inspired enough for any kind of social activism until this gay student support group fiasco broke loose. The Asian protesters pissed me off because they reminded me of my own father who would probably agree with their views. The more information I discovered about these protesters, the more furious I got. They were apparently conservative Christians mobilized by their churches. These idiots probably didn't know much about the gay student group proposal beyond what their ministers and friends told them. Soon after the protest, several news media contacted ASIA (the organization I volunteer for as a Board Member) to see if we can provide some queer Asians for interviews or just general commentary on the story. Where are some open-minded Asians? Can we talk to some queer Asians to see how they feel?
Two of ASIA's Board Members sat in on a Chinese radio talk show to field questions. Callers were generally ignorant about homosexuality, AIDS, sexuality issues, and against the BCTF proposal. My friend Alan suggested that his queer Asian youth group make language-specific signs in SUPPORT of the proposal. BCTF's annual general meeting was coming up soon and another protest was anticipated. We wanted to write signs that the protesters could read and show that there are Asians who are not homophobic. We bought a bunch of cardboard paper, invited various people who can write, and spent an evening drawing and drawing. I wrote a letter on behalf of ASIA and faxed it to all the major news media. An issue like this was exactly what our organization was formed to dispel -- homophobia in the Asian community. Unfortunately none of the major newspapers printed my letter. Vancouver's gay newspaper Xtra West was the only one that printed my letter. Although I was disappointed that it was not published in the major newspapers to create the maximum exposure and impact that I wanted, it was exciting to be in the whole process of fighting against these bigots. Never before had I felt so strongly about queer Asian visibility and staking our presence. Alan and some friends showed up at the BCTF annual general meeting for a showdown that involved a lot of shouting between the opposing crowds. His face made it into the front page news the next morning!
Members of the BCTF voted to pass the proposal that day!!
Update Fall 2000: Although the proposal was passed by official vote at the BCTF AGM, some school districts have shamefully changed their policies on ALL student clubs so that gay student support groups will be difficult to establish due to bureaucracy.
