目前，上海有超过10家男同性恋酒吧，这还不包括那些兼顾普通顾客和同性恋顾客，或者举办“男同性恋者之夜”或“女同性恋者之夜”的酒吧。Home & Bar并不是第一个这样的酒吧。上海的第一个男同性恋酒吧是1995年开业的Eddy’s Bar。虽然竞争在升级，但酒吧的经营者说生意依然不错，部分原因是由于“Eddy’s为顾客提供了一个友好、舒适的环境，在这里没有人会根据你和谁睡觉来评判你。”

这种不依照对生活方式的选择来对他人做评判的态度，在当今中国正变得日益流行。上个月的世界艾滋病日，中国卫生部发布的一份报告中称，据估算，中国有500至1000万男同性恋者。随着中国同性恋群体的成长，主流社会对同性恋的态度也在改变。事实上，卫生部的这份报告是第一次承认中国同性恋者的存在，这可能也是文化态度在转变的信号。

多年以来，中国的男女同性恋者迫于社会压力一直隐藏着自己的身份，他们和异性结婚，以此来掩盖自己的性取向。然而随着“因特网一代”长大成人，附着于另类生活方式的污名也显示出消退的迹象。

为了增进对同性恋的认识，中国最进步的学府之一－复旦大学又站到了前沿。从去年开始，复旦大学为研究生开设了一门名为“同性恋健康社会科学”的课程，讲授这门课程的是一位40多岁的异性恋者，温文尔雅的高燕宁副教授。

“如果在大学里可以用不带歧视的态度公开探讨这个话题，”高教授说，“社会不可能不受到影响。”

虽如此说，去年正式注册该课程的学生仅有一名，今年增加到了5名。不过，旁听者非常多。大多数时候，教室里的78个座位都是满座，后面还挤满了好奇的人。

旁听者中有一位姓Wen（他请我们不要提他的全名）的45岁的警察，几乎每周都坐四个小时的长途汽车赶来听课。由于担心受到羞辱和丢掉工作，他一直隐藏着自己的性取向。他说讲座给他提供了一个难得的机会，可以公开谈论自己的性取向。“在我居住的城市，同性恋者不象在上海这样为人们所接纳，”他说，“因为那里相对来说还比较封闭。”

复旦大学的同性恋讲座并不是一个孤立的现象。事实上，全国各地的学生都显示出对同性恋者更多的理解。最近在福建省四所大学进行的一项调查发现，60％的受访者都说他们会接受同性恋。上海师范大学的学生Liu Jia Jun说：“去年我看到两个男人在街上接吻，刚开始我感到很震惊，但随后一想也没什么大不了的。”Liu补充说这样的宽容不能指望从包括他的父母在内的上一代人那里得到。“我想他们觉得这些人有精神问题。如果我是同性恋，我的父母会杀了我。”

由于两代人认识上的差异，许多年轻同性恋者发现和他们的同龄人，而不是父母公开谈论这个问题要容易得多。复旦大学的大四学生Zhang Xiao Wei还没准备好和他的父母谈论他的性取向问题，他不确定他的父母会怎样想。但是，当他在网上遇到和他一样的同学之后，Zhang发现在校园里公开谈论这个问题更容易。他说，现在“我的同学和室友经常在宿舍里谈论这个话题。”

“因特网对于解放中国的同性恋者起到了革命性的作用，”周丹说。这位年轻的上海律师对此当然很清楚。1998年，周在网上聊天室遇到了他的伴侣Jimmy，当天他们就第一次约会。“我们动作很快，”周笑着说。Jimmy补充道：“有的年轻人不能在现实生活中‘出柜’（公开性取向），但却可以在虚拟社区中‘出柜’”。

象周、Jimmy和Zhang一样，Echo Chen，一位30岁的女同性恋者，也是在因特网上找到了和自己一样的人。四年前，她在网上“冲浪”时发现了一个同性恋网站，才意识到自己并不孤独。“如果没有因特网，我不会有机会可以认识我自己。如果没有意识到自己是同性恋，我会遵循传统的中国文化，找个丈夫结婚。认清了自己究竟是谁以后，我找到了真爱。”受改变了她生活的那个网站启发，她也建立了一个自己的网站，还开办了中国第一个面向女同性恋者的网络广播节目。她的网站很受欢迎，每天有30－40名新用户注册，以至于她不得不找了一个更大的服务器。

的确，近年来中国的同性恋网站呈现爆炸性的发展，有专家估计目前有约300个。曝光度的增加使寻找伴侣变得更为容易，但也带来了一些风险。“有的男性害怕和艾滋病患者接触，但他们却会和别的男人睡觉，而不用安全套，” 智行基金会的Steven Gu说。

智行基金会是一个总部设于香港的致力于艾滋病防治与关怀的慈善机构。该机构得到联合国的资助，任务之一是建立外展和教育的计划，以抗击艾滋病在大陆地区的流行。在上海，针对同性恋者的艾滋病预防，主要都是象智行基金会这样的民间组织在做工作。不过，该市的疾控中心也已行动起来。疾控中心目前正在收集HIV在同性恋者中的感染率数据，以评估这一人群是否面临风险。根据调查的结果，下一步可能就将开展预防工作。

“中国目前的状况和70年代的美国非常相似，”智行基金会的创办者杜聪说，“有很多相似的因素，例如社会的开放度。我的许多朋友都死于艾滋病。我认为，如果我们现在不采取措施，同样的灾难就有可能在中国重演。”

通过杜聪和他的同道们的努力，社会态度的转变，以及疾控中心等相关政府部门的协助，这场灾难是可以避免的。

原文：

Understanding Others

It’s midnight in one of Shanghai’s hottest clubs, where a young, trendy crowd is fired up for a long night of partying with Hong Kong’s DJ Spark. Nearly two years after opening its doors, this cramped bar near Fuxing park is the place to see and be seen. This is Home and Bar, one of the city’s busiest clubs and the clientele is all male.

Currently, Shanghai hosts more than ten gay bars, not counting the venues that attract a mixed crowd or run gay or lesbian nights. Home and Bar isn’t the first such club. That claim goes to Eddy’s bar, which opened in 1995. But regardless of the rising competition, its owners say business is good, in part because, “Eddy’s provides a friendly, comfortable place where no one will judge you based on who you sleep with.”

That attitude, of not judging others based on their choice of lifestyle, is becoming increasingly prevalent in modern China. Last month on World Aids day, the country’s Ministry of Health issued a report estimating that there are between five and 10 million male homosexuals in China. As the country’s gay community grows, so too have the mainstream attitudes towards it. Indeed, the Ministry’s report is the first to acknowledge that homosexuals exist in China, and may be a sign that cultural attitudes are changing.

For many years social pressure has kept homosexuals and lesbians in hiding, often marrying people of the opposite sex to disguise their preferences. But as the Internet generation comes of age, the stigma attached to leading an alternative lifestyle shows signs of fading.

The need to understand homosexuality is being spearheaded by Fudan University, one of China’s most progressive institutions. Beginning last year, the university has offered a graduate course, entitled Homosexual Health Social Science, the first of its kind in China. The course is taught by Associate Professor Gao Yanning, a mild-mannered heterosexual man in his 40’s.

“If universities can discuss this topic in public and in a non-discriminatory manner,” says Professor Gao, “it is impossible not to impact society.”

That said, last year only one student was officially enrolled in the course, while this year the number has increased to five. However, unofficial attendance is high; most days all 78 seats are filled and the back of the classroom is packed with the curious.

One such visitor is Wen, a 45-year-old police officer, who asked that we not use his full name. He attends the lectures nearly every week, commuting four hours by long distance bus. Wen, who has hidden his sexuality his entire life for fear of humiliation and possibly losing his job, says the lectures offer a rare opportunity for him to openly discuss his preferences. “In my town, gays are not as accepted as they are in Shanghai,” he says, “because it is a relatively isolated place.”

The lectures at Fudan University, however, are not an isolated phenomenon. Indeed, students all over China are showing more understanding toward homosexuals. In a recent study of four universities in Fujian Province, 60 percent of the respondents said they are accepting of homosexuality.Says Shanghai Normal University student Liu Jia Jun: “Last year I saw two men kissing on the street. I just felt shocked at first but then I thought it’s no big deal.” Liu adds that such tolerance is not shared by the previous generation, including his parents. “I think they feel that these people are mentally ill. If I was gay my parents would kill me.”

Because of this generational divide many young homosexuals find it easier to speak openly to their peers, rather than their parents. Zhang Xiao Wei, a senior at Fudan University isn’t ready to tell his parents about his sexual preferences, unsure of how they will react. But after meeting other students like himself online, Zhang has found it easier to speak freely on campus. Now, he says, “My classmates and my roommates often talk about this (homosexuality) in my dormitory.”

“The Internet is playing a revolutionary role in liberating homosexuals in China,” says Zhou Dan, a young Shanghai-based lawyer. He should know. In 1998, Zhou met his partner Jimmy in an online chat room, and later the same day they had their first date. “We were fast paced,” says Zhou with a laugh. Adds Jimmy: “Some young people can not come out in reality but can come out in virtual communities.”

Like Zhou, Jimmy and Zhang, Echo Chen, a 30-year-old lesbian, found others like herself on the Internet. Surfing the web four years ago, she found a homosexual website and realized she wasn’t alone. “Without the Internet I wouldn’t have had a chance to understand myself. If I didn’t realize I was a lesbian I would have just followed the traditional Chinese culture and found a husband. By understanding who I really am, I have discovered true love.” Inspired by the website that changed her life, Chen constructed one of her own which “webcasts” China’s first lesbian-oriented radio program. Her site, which registers between 30 and 40 new users daily, has become so popular that she has had to find a larger server.

Indeed, China has seen an explosion of gay and lesbian websites in recent years, with some experts estimating the current number at around 300. But increasing exposure carries increases in certain risks too, as it becomes ever easier to find partners. “Some men are afraid to touch someone with AIDS but they will sleep with another man without using a condom,” says Steven Gu, of the Hong Kong-based non-profit AIDS organization, Chi Heng Foundation, which receives funding from the United Nations.

Part of the foundation’s mandate is to establish outreach and education programs to fight the spread of AIDS on the mainland. In Shanghai AIDS prevention targeting homosexuals is largely the work of non-governmental organizations like the Chi Heng Foundation. However the city’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) is stepping up its efforts. The CDC is currently collecting data on HIV/AIDS infection rates among homosexuals to assess whether this population is at risk. Depending on the results, the next step could be prevention.

“If you look at the situation in China now it is very similar to that in the United States in the 70’s,” says Chi Heng Foundation’s founder Chung To, “you have a lot of similar factors such as the social openness. A lot of my friends died (of AIDS) and I think China has the risk of repeating the same disaster if we don’t do something about it now.”

That disaster may well be averted with the efforts of people like Chung, changing attitudes in society and the help of government institutions such as the CDC. All of us would do well to remember the Chinese proverb: Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”