Gay Shanghai

[TotallyOz]

Gay Shanghai

Sometimes, as a traveling fag you want to hit cities where the gay scene is big, out and proud. You want to know that you can find established scenes where you can just lay back and soak in the gay. That's fine and dandy – and who can complain about that?

But many of us are also explorers who like to discover a gay scene in its infancy. That way, you can see how the trends are evolving and help the scene grow into a healthy and horny homo heaven.

If that's the kind of gay you are, then you might want to check out Shanghai, the gay capital of China. To say the scene is new is putting it mildly: Homosexuality was only made legal in 1997, and there have been a lot of fits and starts since then. Several gay pride parades have been organized; a couple have actually happened, while others have been shut down by the police. The website for this year's gay pride celebration was shut down by the government last month, so it's unclear if there will be on this year.

That said, the government does turn a blind eye to gay bars, clubs, discos, and saunas. Their main deal seems to be to find ways to keep the gay behind closed doors and put out a utopian, traditional sexuality front in public.

Yet they have relaxed the reigns in Shanghai, which is why this is the city where most of China's gay men live and party. And they are building up a very hot and sexy scene that tourists are more than welcome to be a part of.

The Gay Vibe In Shanghai

China is still an authoritarian country with traditional values on the outside. This means that under pressure from both the government and family members, nearly all gays are in heterosexual marriages.

On the other hand, the gay population has found a way to work around this – in general, gay men marry lesbians, and vice versa. They spend the workweek together, and go out on their own on the weekend.

What this means is that during the week the gay bars and clubs are nearly empty, while on the weekends they become packed to the brim with trim boy toys and big muscle studs.

In fact, the lines to get in the best bars and clubs stretch out into the street on the weekends. During the week, however, it's easy to get into the gay watering holes – but most of the guys you see there will be what the Chinese call “money boys,” and what we call rent boys.

They are very prevalent, but also very discreet because prostitution remains technically illegal in China, though in Shanghai it is only enforced if people make it obvious in public. So, just discreetly take your money boy off to a dark corner or back to your hotel room.

The same can be said of the gay saunas, which are packed with married gays during the weekend and money boys during the week.

The good news is that unlike Japan, the Shanghai saunas and clubs love Westerners and do not discriminate at all. In fact, the money boys would rather guys like us than their local talent. So, you should find it very easy to score here.

You'll also find that the gay scene is mostly composed of younger gays who have grown up with more freedom than previous generations. That said, there are still some older gays who refer to themselves as “Panda Bears.”

The Shanghai Gayborhood

In order to find the heart of the gay scene, head over to the French Concession neighborhood. This is where you'll find all the gay bars, saunas, clubs and rent boys hanging out. It has become famous for being fagtabulous, and the police will leave you alone if you get your gay on here.

When you are here, you'll notice signs in English describing it as the Gay Triangle. This should give you some sense of the fact that the authorities have accepted the gay lifestyle in this neighborhood.

The Internet And Rent Boys

It should be noted that the Internet is highly regulated and monitored by the government in China. This means that many sites you are used to using will be blocked. It also means that it is a very bad idea to try to set up a date with a male escort online. There is a strong chance that you and the money boy might get arrested. In fact, you should probably avoid discussing anything related to gay hook-ups at all while you are in China. This is the place to only visit websites your mother would approve of.

General Shanghai Tourism

Shanghai was built as a financial center and not a tourist attraction, so you won't find much in the way of traditional tourism. That said, observing the Chinese way of life is fascinating, so it's unlikely that you will ever be bored. Take the time to soak in how the Chinese live, sample their excellent cuisine, and just have a gay old time.

If you need something you can write home about, check out the Shanghai Museum, which has a plethora of historical artifacts. You'll also want to head over to The Bund, where you will see one of the most spectacular skylines in the world.

cc boytoy.com 2013

[flipao]

I found two videos dedicated to Gay Shanghai:

[BiBottomBoy]

Cool!

[wayout]

Very interesting. I lived in Shanghai in the mid 1990s for a number of years and it was a much different place from described above regarding the gay scene and life. I did, however, manage to find an amazing guy to hire but in Beijing. Haven't been back in many years but the above has stirred an interest in a return visit.

[Lucky]

I really wish you wouldn't use phrases like "traveling fag." What is the point? I don't use language like that. It's a slur in my book.

[BiBottomBoy]

These guides use lots of stuff like "turgid twinks" and "cockaholics."

I think it's just having fun with language.

[Guest hitoallusa]

Practice safe sex in Shanghai to stop spreading HIV and other STDs. In China homosexuality is not well received and people with HIV are stigmatized. It's unfortunate and sad.

https://dazzlepod.com/cable/07SHANGHAI324/

[AdamSmith]

Practice safe sex in Shanghai

As opposed to where?

[TotallyOz]

I really wish you wouldn't use phrases like "traveling fag." What is the point? I don't use language like that. It's a slur in my book.

I don't consider it anymore a slug than fag hag, queen, bitch, etc. It was meant in humor and to entertain. My apologies if it was not taken that way.

[Lucky]

Oh, come on, Oz. "Fag" has long been an anti-gay slur. I appreciate the effort to be bouncy and upbeat in these travel guides, but let's leave the slurs to the bigots.

[AdamSmith]

Reappropriation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reappropriation is the cultural process by which a group reclaims—re-appropriates—terms or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group.^[1] For example, since the early 1970s, much terminology referring to homosexuality—such as gay and (to a lesser extent) queer and poof—has been reappropriated. Another example of reappropriation would be an African American collecting lawn jockeys or other artifacts of darky iconography. The term reappropriation can also extend to counter-hegemonic re-purposing, such as citizens with no formal authority seizing unused public or private land for community use.

The term reappropriation is an extension of the term appropriation or cultural appropriation used in anthropology, sociology and cultural studies to describe the hegemonic action of reabsorbing subcultural
styles and forms, or those from other cultures, into mass culture
through a process of commodification: the mass-marketing of alternate
lifestyles, practices, and artifacts.

Contents

• 1 Linguistic reappropriation or reclaiming
  • 1.1 Words that could be considered reclaimed
    • 1.1.1 Sex and sexuality
    • 1.1.2 Politics
    • 1.1.3 Religion
    • 1.1.4 Race and ethnicity
    • 1.1.5 Other
• 2 Recontextualization of material objects
• 3 Reappropriation of land, etc.
• 4 See also
• 5 Notes and references

Linguistic reappropriation or reclaiming

A reclaimed or reappropriated word, is a word that was at one time a pejorative but has been brought back into acceptable usage—usually starting within the communities that experienced oppression under that word, but sometimes also among the general populace as well.^[1](The term 'reclaimed word' more often implies usage by a member of the group referred to.)

This can have wider implications in the fields of discourse, and has been described in terms of personal or sociopolitical empowerment.^[2]

Reclaiming or reappropriating a word involves re-evaluating a term
that in the dominant culture is, or at one time was, used by a majority
to oppress various minorities of that same culture.

In some cases, this reappropriation is so successful as to turn a
previously disparaging word into the preferred term: for example, gay, previously an insult, is now strongly preferred to 'homosexual', both as an adjective and a noun.

One of the older examples of successful reclaiming is the term 'Jesuit' to refer to members of the Society of Jesus. This was originally a derogatory term referring to people who too readily invoked the name of Jesus
in their politics, but which members of the Society adopted over time
for themselves, so that the word came to refer exclusively to them, and
only in a positive or neutral sense.

Reclaimed words differ from general reclamation outside of language
because of their deliberately provocative nature. In addition to neutral
or acceptable connotations, reclaimed words often acquire positive
meaning within the circles of the informed.^[1]
Outside the community, such transitions are rare. As such, the use of
these terms by outside parties is usually viewed as strongly derogatory.
For some terms, even "reclaimed" usage by members of the community
concerned is a subject of controversy—for example, there is considerable
debate within the transgender community over attempts to reclaim the
term 'tranny', usually applied offensively to trans women.^[3][4][5]

Michel Foucault discusses the idea of reclaimed words as a 'reverse discourse' in his History of Sexuality: Volume I. The New York performance artist Penny Arcade sold what turned out to be her most popular show on the basis of the title, Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore!, words she was reclaiming.

Words that could be considered reclaimed

There are many recent English-language examples of some linguistic reappropriation in the areas of human sexuality, gender roles, sexual orientation, etc. Among these are:

Sex and sexuality

• 'Dyke' ^[6] (and variants such as 'bulldyke', 'diesel dyke', 'baby dyke', 'femme dyke', etc.), 'butch',
• 'poof', 'queer', 'homo',

Politics

However, the phenomenon is much older, especially in politics and religion. Cavalier is example of a derogatory nickname reappropriated as self-identification,^[7] while Roundhead, a Royalists derisory term for the supporters of the Parliamentary cause, is not (it was a punishable offence in the New Model Army to call a fellow soldier a roundhead).^[8]Tory (orig. from Middle Irish word for 'pursued man' Tóraidhe ), Whig (from 'whiggamore' (See the Whiggamore Raid)) and 'Suffragette' are other British examples. Yankee was originally used as an insult to America, but was reclaimed in the song "Yankee Doodle".^{[citation needed]}

The Dutch and German languages actually have a separate word for such a term, "geuzennaam" (Dutch, commonly used) and "Geusenwort" (German, used among linguists). These words derive from the geuzen, i.e., Dutch opponents to Spanish rule in the 16th century, who eventually created the Netherlands under William of Orange.
Being derisively called 'beggars' ('gueux' in French of the era) by
their opponents, they appropriated a Dutchified form of the word as
their own "battle name". In French during the French Revolution the word "Sans-culottes" (literally "without knee-breeches") gained a similar meaning.

More recent political examples include:

• 'Tree hugger' by environmentalists
• Liberal Conspiracy, a term sometimes used by right-wingers to describe purported liberal domination of modern life, adopted as the moniker of Sunny Hundal's political blog.
• 'Vast Right Wing Conspiracy' originally used as a pejorative term by Hillary Clinton, but now routinely used as a positive self-identity by Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives
• 'Redneck' by political movements from the American South, especially conservative movements.

Religion

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

'Jesuit' as a term for members of the Society of Jesus was mentioned above; other examples among religious (or non-religious) groups include:

• 'Christian' by Early Christianity, Acts 11:26 implies that the word 'Christian' was first used in Antioch, possibly by its opponents.
• 'Jesus freak' by Christians, and especially Christian teens
• 'Methodist, originally a slur directed at John Wesley, who founded that denomination
• 'Moonie' by members of the Unification Church, especially the Unification Church second generation
• 'Mormon', by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
• 'Mormon fundamentalist', by those who broke away from the LDS Church to continue practicing polygamy
• 'Papist' by Roman Catholics
• 'Quaker' by the Religious Society of Friends
• 'Kike' or 'Yid,' by people of Jewish descent and/or faith
• 'Witch,' 'pagan,' and 'heathen,' by the wiccan and neopagan communities
• 'Godless,' and 'heathen' (with a different meaning than in the neopagan sense), by irreligious people. See also the etymology of the word 'atheist'.

Race and ethnicity

To a lesser extent, and more controversially among the groups
referred to, many racial, ethnic, and class terms have been
reappropriated:

• 'Flip' by Filipino American youth
• 'Nigga' by the Black movement^[1][9]
• 'Mutt' by people of mixed race
• 'Guido' by Italian Americans,Also: "guidette" for women.
• 'Wog' by Australians of Southern European descent
• 'Gaijin' by westerners living in Japan
• 'Farang' by westerners living in Thailand
• 'Bule' by westerners living in Indonesia
• 'Mic' by Irish Americans
• 'Paddy' by Irish Americans
• 'Tim' by Glaswegians of Irish Descent
• 'Paki' by Pakistani-American youth
• 'Heeb' by Jews (in a cultural rather than primarily religious sense)
• 'Chink' as a term used by Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans
• 'Fenian,' used in Scotland and Northern Ireland for a Catholic or an Irish republican; or, especially in Scotland, someone of Irish descent
• artist Kara Walker has attempted to reappropriate the word 'negress'
• 'Redneck'
  -- besides its usage for political conservatives, this term is
  alternately embraced and shunned by Southerners with rural backgrounds
  stereotypically considered to be unsophisticated. Example: the country
  music song "Redneck Woman".
• 'White Trash' by lower-class caucasians; traits of this group often overlap with 'Redneck'.
• 'Tar Heel' by natives of the state of North Carolina, USA.^[10]
• 'Yid' by supporters of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club after being called this by racists, in an attempt to dilute the effect.
• 'Porch monkey' ^[11]

Other

More generally, any kind of community can reappropriate words referring to them:

• 'Nerd' and geek
  by intellectuals, hobbyists, and people with a deep interest in science
  fiction, video games, and other obscure hobbies and interests
  • Otaku has a similar meaning, but often suggest that the person is a Japanophile (e.g. anime).
• 'Pirate' by the peer-to-peer filesharing community and warez scene
• 'Bastard', by adopted people^[12]
• 'Brat' (as in 'military brat') by children of U.S. military personnel
• 'Crip', 'cripple' or 'gimp' by people with disabilities, particularly in the inclusion movement
• 'Fat' by the size-acceptance movement
• Noob by people who are new to a subject
• Dork by quirky people
• 'Pimp', used as an adjective or verb to describe something that is decorated or gussied up, or in a similar context as badass (e.g. a pimped-out car)
• Springboks by non-white South African rugby players and fans.
• Decadent by a late generation of Romantics, such as Théophile Gautier and Charles Baudelaire, who used the word proudly, to represent their rejection of what they considered banal "progress"

Recontextualization of material objects

A closely related phenomenon is the recontextualization of material objects, as for example when the Jim Crow Museum ^[13] at Ferris State University displays such Jim Crow Era artifacts as golliwog marbles or Sambo masks.

Other such examples are the display of an anti-Semitic poster in a Holocaust museum, or the removal of the Coat Of Arms, featuring animals sacred to Australian Aborigines, from the Australian Federal Parliament building by Aboriginal elder Kevin Buzzacott.

Reappropriation of land, etc.

While the previous examples are largely symbolic, another type of
reappropriation is far more material, while still also involving an
important symbolic dimension. The many battles over People's Park in Berkeley, California have centered on community activists' intent to reappropriate as public space a piece of land that the University of California, Berkeley originally wanted to turn into a parking lot. The space has been a site of contention since 1969.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reappropriation

[Lucky]

I am not a reappropriator. Some words deserve to live in shame.

[Guest hitoallusa]

Lol..

As opposed to where?

[RA1]

I don't consider it anymore a slug than fag hag, queen, bitch, etc. It was meant in humor and to entertain. My apologies if it was not taken that way.

No need to apologize. Most folks I think take what you say as being in context. This is a private venue in a very large sense and various comments should be taken as they are offered. Most of us can recognize a slur when we read one.

That does not mean we are incapable of being puzzled at what some write and that no doubt includes you and me.

Best regards,

RA1

[firecat691614502759]

I find no difference between that and how blacks us the N word constantly among themselves. It is as much who is using the word and how it is used ,as it is the word itself!!

[12is12]

Thanks TO for sharing.

I assume that what you write about 'dangers' in Shanghai, applies all the more so in other cities throughout China. What's to be done then? If using the web for hook-ups is dangerous, do I use the phone? How do all the web-agencies work?