'Comrade' is dropped from China dictionary, gays upset

[pmaitra]

'Comrade' is dropped from China dictionary, gays upset

Saibal Dasgupta, TNN | Jul 26, 2012, 06.00AM IST

BEIJING: A widely-respected Chinese dictionary has announced that it is dropping the word 'comrade,' a commonly-used term in the Chinese language for gays.

The decision to drop the word 'tongzhi', or 'comrade', from the dictionary surprised gay rights activists and linguistic experts because it has come at a time when gay rights are being widely-accepted .

Tongzhi also serves as a substitute for 'tongxinglian', which is the formal Chinese term for homosexuality. Dictionaries, including the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (CCD), have defined 'tongxinglian' as same-sex love. With CCD now dropping the word 'tongzhi', there are clear signs that the Communist Party played a role in persuading publishers to do so.

"There have always been good words and bad ones," Cui Yan, a planning editor for Science and Technology Document Press, told Beijing Business Daily. "But they are all linguistic phenomena. Just because the dictionary doesn't include them doesn't mean they don't exist." But observers of Chinese social life believe it will take a long time to end its usage in common speech.

"It's unacceptable that the 'gay' meaning of 'tongzhi' was excluded from the dictionary, because of the compilers' own preferences and values," Nan Feng, a gay rights activist said.

Source: ‘Comrade’ is dropped from China dictionary, gays upset - The Times of India

 

[Ray]

Ah, the famous word 'Tongzhi'!

To me, it will always be 'Comrade'!

Leading leaders of CCP and China have always been addressed as 'Tongzhi'.

Was it that they were Homosexuals?

China cannot keep changing its words by diktats of the CCP!

''tongxinglian'' is the word for Homosexual/ Homosexuality.

 

[AprilLyrics]

so....this time a "gay" topic....in a defence forum....

 

[Predator]

henceforth no comrade mao

 

[Ray]

so....this time a "gay" topic....in a defence forum....

That is right.

In China no one can now be called 'gay'.

The word has been banished by order!

No more gay, only happy and happier!

他说:「很高兴,也更快乐

 

[AprilLyrics]

That is right.

In China no one can now be called 'gay'.

The word has been banished by order!

No more gay, only happy and happier!

他说:「很高兴,也更快乐

as you said,in china no one can be called gay.and in India everyone can be called gay?
er..i just learned the traditional meaning of gay.can i speak it like:i wish you have a gay life.?

 

[Ray]

as you said,in china no one can be called gay.and in India everyone can be called gay?
er..i just learned the traditional meaning of gay.can i speak it like:i wish you have a gay life.?

In India, you can say what you like.

Govt does not decide how we are to lead our lives.

Great fun, actually.

One could be straight, one could be happy and one could even be gay.

It is not for the Govt or the dictionary to decide and impose by force.

Great!

You feel that people being allowed to decide for themselves is wrong?

i just learned the traditional meaning of gay

I am not surprised.

Know the reason why? Well, here it is:

Gay husbands and their wives suffer in silence

Getting married is supposed to be the happiest day for any couple as they start life together as man and wife, but for many it is the beginning of a secret hell as they slowly discover their partner's true feelings.

"The best time of life has been ruined," a woman who was married to a gay man said in a show focusing on homosexuality produced by China Central Television.

She is just one of the millions of women leading a fake heterosexual lifestyle and living with mental anguish in China.
An estimated 16 million wives in China are married to gay men, the Guangzhou Daily reported Thursday, citing Zhang Beichuan, an expert in homosexuality and a councilor at the China Sexology Association.

The majority of male homosexuals are believed to enter into heterosexual marriages due to Chinese traditions and carrying on the family bloodline, the paper said.

"Most wives did not know their husbands were gay when they got married," said Li Bai, a divorced wife of a gay man.
According to the 2005 show "In the name of life", about 90 percent of gays in China get married without revealing their true sexuality to their wives due to the pressure of traditional social concepts, which leads to many unhappy marriages.
"I loved him and did not know he was a gay when I married him," a woman said in the show.

To protect their privacy, many women choose to endure their faux marriages and pour out their woes on the Internet.
"What Can I do? It was 20 years into our marriage that I found he was gay," a blogger in Chongqing named "Bingyusuoxin" said on her micro blog. "I know I should get divorced, but what about our kids?" The woman said she had to keep the truth from her family.

Many women still hide in dark corners and stay helpless, said an online organization for women who are married to gay men. Some are still suffering pain and shame.

According to tongqijiayuan.com, a non-profit website offering psychological consulting and legal assistance to wives of gay men, more than a thousand women have become registered members to complain about their marriages and seek for help.

"We hope more parents will know about the stories of women who marry gay men and do not push their children to marry someone they don't love," said Wu Youjian, president of a Guangzhou-based grassroots organization for parents and friends of homosexuals.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-02/02/content_14528118.htm

 

[AprilLyrics]

well,India have no limitation on gay.India just have limitations on low Castes

 

[Predator]

well,India have no limitation on gay.India just have limitations on low Castes

India doesn't even have 'limitations on low Castes', on the contrary it provides them reservations in all sectors.

Waiting for your next stereotype

It seems you cant accept gay comrade.

 

[AprilLyrics]

India doesn't even have 'limitations on low Castes', on the contrary it provides them reservations in all sectors.

Waiting for your next stereotype

It seems you cant accept gay comrade.

though i have different opinion,i have my basic respect for homosexuals.they r equal to us on human rights.

 

[pmaitra]

though i have different opinion,i have my basic respect for homosexuals.they r equal to us on human rights.

They are not equal when it comes to having babies.