"One day, one of our layout editors was riding her motorcycle when she was stopped on the road by another motorcyclist asking for directions. She saw that the other girl was 'butch' from head to toe. Without hiding her thoughts, she opened her motorcycle saddle, and from the storage space produced a copy of Girlfriend and gave it to the other girl. At the time, neither said what they were feeling, but afterwards they became friends. This way of making friends is very creative."
-From the eighth issue of Girlfriend bimonthly
In contrast to Europe and America, where gay rights movements are generally led by men, in Taiwan, one of the foremost homosexual groups has been founded by women. The first lesbian organization in the country, Between Us (also known by a transliteration of its Chinese name, "Women zhi Jian," in which the word "women" is the transliteration of the Chinese word for "us"), was established in February of 1990, and is now in its eighth year. Early on it faced many hardships. Today, it has become an embryonic public forum for gay women. This growth is due entirely to the amity and dedication among lesbians themselves.
Doubly disadvantaged
Cheng Mei-li has done considerable research on the history of homosexuality in Taiwan. In her book Daughters' Circle, she says that lesbians are doubly disadvantaged in society, being women and homosexual. It is not easy to see them nor to hear their voice.
However, Between Us has completely broken through these difficulties and continually grown, becoming a bastion of homosexual discourse and activism in Taiwan. For example, in 1992, before gay activism in Taiwan had really taken off, the group's publication Girlfriend led the way in protesting the incident in which a Taiwan Television (TTV) news program surreptitiously filmed inside a lesbian bar, and another incident in which TTV interviewed the androgynous singer Pan Mei-cheng under false premises. The public came out solidly behind Girlfriend. Ultimately, the National Press Council of the ROC judged that TTV had handled the story improperly.
Because homosexuals find "coming out" stressful, they mainly appear and speak through groups. This correspondingly gives them a veneer of mystery. However, in the course of coming into contact with Between Us for this story, I received a deeply sincere and enthusiastic response.
"We look forward to equal respect and treatment, so we are also very happy to extend a hand of friendship," said the volunteer who answered my phone call.
International outlook
Between Us volunteer spokesperson Yuhsuan A-chi just returned from participating in the "Asia and Pacific Island Lesbian and Bisexual Network" meeting and the "Chinese Tongzhi Conference" meetings held in the US. She delivered speeches at the conferences, introducing the gay rights movement in Taiwan and the development of Between Us.
"When they heard that Taiwan already has several homosexual organizations, and that gay space has been greatly expanded, they were very surprised and excited. There were even some overseas Chinese gay people who happily started looking forward to a day in the not-too-distant future when they could return to a tolerant Taiwan to live," says Yuhsuan A-chi. "I had to bring them back down to earth. Although Taiwan already has organizations and social life for homosexuals, it is still necessary to consider one's work and career plan!" Saying this, A-chi and another volunteer worker laugh, amused by the story.
In fact, this is not the first time that Between Us has engaged in exchanges with international gay organizations. As early as 1990, the year the group was founded, they participated in the first Asian Lesbian Network meeting in Bangkok. In 1995 they were even the hosts of the third session, which was held in Taipei.
"We have acquired a great deal of precious experience from interaction with other countries, and can see even more clearly that there is still a lot of room for development of gay life in Taiwan," says A-chi.
Girlfriend
They have brought several copies of Girlfriend with them. The magazine, already on its 23rd issue, is an extremely important publication for homosexual discourse in Taiwan and for lesbian social criticism. The magazine has sponsored numerous seminars, undertaken field research on lesbian history in Taiwan, and released many social critiques on society and gay issues. Among the more interesting topics have been interacting with heterosexuals, falling out of love, lesbians talking about orgasm, the dilemma of bisexuality, false marriages (the advantages and disadvantages of superficial marriages with a gay male), "The Sorrows of Young Girl Werte" (a word play on a book by Goethe). . . . These and other articles have excited enthusiastic discussion.
"We hope that Between Us can function both as an activist organization for gay rights and as a social group. This is because we believe that a movement requires mass support, and a mass requires links of friendship. We thought that a magazine was the best means to achieve these goals," says A-chi.
She points out that Girlfriend hopes to build a group consciousness through dissemination of the written word, so that the magazine serves as a public forum for lesbians. For example, one of the problems that gay discourse in Taiwan has continually focused on has been "the right to choose names," because in the past gays were tarred with derogatory names. Gay women prefer more positive names: Besides the term tongzhi ("comrade"), other terms currently in favor among lesbians in Taiwan include ku'er ("queer"), tongnu (female tongzhi), and lazi ("lesbian"), and other terms matched to different gender roles, such as "T" ("butch"), po ("femme"), and bufen (androgynous). Girlfriend also frequently uses these terms, emphasizing ever greater equality and tolerance to create a richer and more pluralistic homosexual culture.
The funding for Between Us comes from annual membership dues. Girlfriend breaks even, so is not an economic burden for Between Us. "The operation of Between Us relies entirely on volunteer support, so we have eliminated personnel costs," says A-chi.
Currently, Girlfriend has a circulation of 2000. It is the main channel of public expression for Between Us. In addition, the editors of Girlfriend have a column in the Independence Morning Post entitled "Weekly Notes Between Us" to communicate with society at large.
Intelligent, courageous Taiwan women
Compared with those of other gay organizations, the ideas of Between Us are more lively and intellectual, and have a broader appeal.
As A-chi explains, "We have provided some interesting ideas for the gay rights movement. For example, during 'Gay Rainbow Lovers Week' in 1996, when we sponsored the gay information center exhibit activity, we also proposed the idea of voting for 'gay dream lovers.' We even proposed that during that week, gays and supporters of gay rights in Taiwan wear a different color each day-red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple-over six days, to express the expectations represented in the gay rainbow banner for peaceful dignity and equal respect."
What is the lesbian population of Taiwan? It's impossible to make an accurate estimate, but since its founding, Between Us has come in contact with approximately 10,000 lesbians from every corner of the island.
A-chi says, "The existence of Between Us means that gay women anywhere in Taiwan need no longer feel alone. Between Us is a lesbian support group, and is completely open to gay women. They only have to contact us, and our volunteer organization will definitely help those gay women who need us."
Responding to Cheng Mei-li's ideas, A-chi says with confidence: "In society lesbians are doubly oppressed-as women and as homosexuals. But this dual weakness also makes us more activist and more determined."
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The gay women of Between Us speak through their group, so that their personal identities are not revealed. (photo by Diago Chiu)
