Gay fiction banned in China

[Chris James]

When you run a dictatorship, no matter what you call it, you get to make the rules. Here we have another blow to personal freedom in China (as if there ever was such a thing in the first place).

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/04/19/china-censors-clamp-down-on-gay-sherlock-fan-fiction/

I have never been a fan of fan fiction because I don't think its very creative. The characters are bound by the guidelines of the original plot and that doesn't allow an author much leeway to expand on a theme. Of course in this Chinese situation the only expansion would seem to be in the field of sex.

The old Batman and Superman in bed together...ho hum...they had a super time. Distorting the character values in a piece of straight fiction just to turn it gay seems absurd to the extreme. I don't think original gay characters are boring and the authors here on awesomedude have developed some wonderful fictitious personalities.

The statistics on China reveal several interesting points. Most closeted gay men are married to appear straight to friends, family and in the workplace. The internet in China is heavily monitored, especially when foreign sites are being observed and so the loss of any gay fiction sites is a major setback.

China does have gay bars which must pay a hefty fee to the local police to stay open and many of them are raided on a regular basis. I have been told that gay men often meet in public parks and then make arrangements to meet in private. One of the most creative means of sexual contact is when two men board a train after one of them books a private cabin and this allows them several hours of time together before they arrive at their destination. But travel isn't cheap so I hope their time together is productive.

China is basically anti-gay, and yet many of the laws are loosely enforced. In a population of millions and millions I would imagine that some of the people in charge are themselves gay and not likely to prosecute someone today who they might end up sleeping with tomorrow. I see this internet attack as a passing phase, something to make officials seem alert and on the job.

Somehow I doubt if AD is very popular over there, what a shame. Mike and his alien sidekick seem flexible...so when are we going to see a story posted in Mandarin?

[Addym Kehris]

Hmm, a story in Mardarin. I'll break out my copy of 'Mandarin for Dummies' and get started right away.

[Cole Parker]

More likely we'll see one posted in Korean first.

C

[Bruin Fisher]

This is a little ironic for me. Years ago, when I'd only posted a couple of stories on the web, someone e-mailed me to alert me to the fact that one of my stories had been stolen and posted on a Chinese website without my name attached. I checked and sure enough there it was, word for word. At the time I had to think through who to feel about it and decided that there was little I could do about it, and it was a sort of back-handed compliment that someone thought it worth stealing.

I no longer have a record of the address at which this story was found, I wonder if it's still there or if this law will accomplish what I decided not to try - take down my stolen story?!