A Brighter Summer Day

A Brighter Summer Day

A Brighter Summer Day tells intimate stories from the LGBTQIA+ community in Taiwan in the period leading to the legalization of same sex marriage and its aftermath. In 2017, the Taiwanese government declared it unconstitutional to exclude same sex couples from marriage giving Taiwan two years to vote for the bill and dividing the country. 7 millions people voted against. On the 17th of May 2019, same sex marriage was legalized, Taiwan becoming the first country in Asia to do so. Nevertheless inequality continues regarding adoption or marrying a foreign person, to name a few of the remaining issues. Stigma and stereotypes are still attached to same sex relationships, even more so regarding gender issues. Gender diverse people’s existence is often hidden as gender binaries are strongly enforced and people who exist outside of this binary system are rejected or made invisible. Even within the queer scene, the stereotypical representations of masculinity and femininity are prevalent. Photo by Su Cassiano/Middle E

  • Product Code
  • ILEA002291480
  • Registered date
  • 2019/5/09 00:00:00
  • Credit
  • Abaca Press / Kyodo News Images
  • Media source
  • Middle East Images/ABACA
  • Media size
  • 6016 × 4016 pixel
  • Resolution
  • 300 dpi
  • Deployment size
  • 2.79(MB)*
  • Special instruction

*File size when opened in Photoshop, etc.

Similar Images & Videos
    A Brighter Summer Day

    A Brighter Summer Day

    Shih Han on the roof top of the building where his family lives, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 2019 ‘I feel very proud that Taiwan just became the first Asian country to legalize same sex marriage, and I really believe it’s just the first step. Now we have to let more and more people know that we have the same rights as heterosexual people. Education is the priority.  I get discriminated by gay men because of this expectation that we should be muscular with short hair, as to compensate for something. I’m sick of this. Some patriarcal gay men asked me why I had long hair, thinking I was giving gay men a bad name by looking different. They think it’s adding an extra layer of misunderstanding for the society. They believe I’m not a good gay man. But why should I follow the rules? I just want to be myself.’ Shih Han Shih Han is a performing artist. He lives with his family in New Taipei City. Photo by Su Cassiano/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM
      A Brighter Summer Day

      A Brighter Summer Day

      'Be Brave! Never be scared to love, so that you can be a good person.' Yellow Yellow and Menu Ma (right) have been together for nearly three years. They started to chat on a lesbian app and had a lot in common, especially theatre. It took a while for Menu's mother to accept the fact that her daughter was a lesbian as Menu's brother is also gay. Her first reaction when Menu came out was to ask why her kids were monsters. Since then she has come a long way and she really likes Yellow now. Traditionally, kids in Taiwan will express their feelings with their mothers, not their father who still holds the role of the strict family figure. As a result, a lot of young adults only come out to their mother. A gay friend of Menu comes to the family house often and her dad, thinking he’s straight, hopes that eventually he will marry his daughter. Photo by Su Cassiano/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM
        A Brighter Summer Day

        A Brighter Summer Day

        Wëi Yi and Jay kissing in Jay's apartment, Taipei, Taiwan, 2019 ‘I think gender stereotypes are also very strong in the gay community. Taiwanese gay men don’t have their own culture, so they’re appropriating the western gay culture but without the drag aspect. Drag culture just appeared about five years ago, and before that it was just about masculinity. Men feel like they need to be stocky or have bodies like western men to be acceptable. In Taiwan, we only have the history of fighting and resisting but we don’t have the history of defining ourselves, or defining our own culture. Also the government tends to erase gay culture and art. So we don’t have our own gay history, we don’t have a path to follow our culture and identity, so we copy from the western world. And Taiwan has been colonized by many countries, by Japan, China and Spain. So we tend to change ourselves, to adapt very quickly. There’s been many changes in the past years.’ Jay Photo by Su Cassiano/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM
          A Brighter Summer Day

          A Brighter Summer Day

          Ryan cutting Tang Tang’s hair before going to work, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 2019 'You will meet someone who will change your life when you are 25. Be patient, and take much care of him! Don’t take things the way I did; all the sadness and horrible things you have encountered are to make yourself a better person now. Believe in yourself, be brave, then you will have a fairytale-like happy ending.' Tang Tang Tang Tang (left) and Ryan met at the KTV for a karaoke with their co-workers. That night Ryan had not wanted to go out, he had just lost his mother and was very depressed. Dragged there by his colleagues, he spent the evening crying in a corner, with Tang Tang trying to make him feel better. They have been together for 4 years now and they recently flew to Las Vegas to get married as it remained illegal in Taiwan. They respectively work as actor and hair dresser, and have to hide their relationship in order to keep certain costumers. Photo by Su Cassiano/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM
            Beyond Our Bodies

            Beyond Our Bodies

            Elliot and Lucia in bed, Melbourne, Australia, 2018 Lucia and Elliot started dating in Berlin, where they both live. She is from Argentina, he is from Australia. It was the first time Lucia came to Australia to visit Elliot's family. She said that getting outside of Berlin's alternative bubble would always be a reminder of the rampant intolerance of the greater world, and that being queer was not that well accepted everywhere. Lucia doesn't really like it here and told me that in some places people would really stare at them. This is a crucial period in Elliot's life as he started transitioning gender, and they support each other a lot. Even though Australia recently voted yes for same sex marriage, there is still hostility towards LGBTQIA people, especially in small country towns. Photo by Su Cassiano/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM