From: NewNowNext
Meng Fanyu was just crowned the winner of the Mr. Gay China competition, the country’s first franchise from the international pageant Mr. Gay World.
The 27-year-old reportedly won the competition by a landslide after four weeks of performances, including a strip tease to Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.”
“Something like this event is a great platform to raise awareness of the LGBT community,” Fanyu said. “Many people don’t really know what LGBT is, and coming out can still be difficult, so you really have to prove yourself to be an upstanding person.”
Event coordinators first tried to hold the competition in 2010, but it was shut down by authorities.
This time, the event was reportedly met with zero resistance, as the LGBT community is slowly gaining acceptance in China.
Despite progress, however, it is still difficult to be yourself in the country, and even most of the Mr. Gay China competitors are not out of the closet.
“I will never tell my parents that I’m gay,” one candidate said. “I’m their whole life – I don’t want to let them down.”
Luckily for Fanyu, he feels the freedom to wear his new title with pride.
“Next, I want to go to Mr. Gay World,” he said. “I want to stand on the world stage and say to people, ‘I’m gay, and I’m from China,’ and show them that the LGBT movement in China is vibrant and active.”
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