Shenzhen’s first ever LGBT pride-themed event took place on Saturday, September 10, in the form of a pool party. After buying tickets, attendees were treated to colorful unicorn floaties, an appearance by a drag queen, a dance contest, free coupon giveaways and an afterparty at Coco Park.
Despite the drizzly weather and a last-minute change in location, people showed up from all corners of Shenzhen, as well as Guangzhou and Hong Kong, to show solidarity. At 2pm, the official start of the party, both pool and poolside were fairly deserted.
Things warmed up by early evening, however, as a small crowd gathered to watch go go boys perform, or participate in a short twerking contest. By 8pm, as happy partygoers dispersed to eat dinner and freshen up before clubbing, it seemed safe to say the party was a success.
DJ Lovetron laying down the beat during the pool party
For organizers Alex, Alessandro, Michael, and Peter, it was also a huge relief. The four come from Australia, Brazil, the US and Hong Kong, respectively, and first started planning for the party two months ago. They were inspired by previous events thrown by the organization GZ Pride and hoped to replicate them for the LGBT community in Shenzhen.
But it turned out that the road to planning a fairly large-scale event, and a pro-LGBT one no less, was a bumpy one. The four organizers, who call themselves SZ PRIDE, were kicked out of their first choice of venue because the building management thought the party was too big. Luckily the pool manager there introduced SZ PRIDE to another place, but then a second issue arose.
As organizer Alex McCutcheon told us, when you’re planning a pride event, “you don’t tell people it’s a gay party.” Property owners or managers may worry that hosting a LGBT event is illegal (it’s not), or become overly wary of backlash. On Saturday, when members of the organization Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) China showed up wearing pink shirts that read “PFLAG,” the pool manager balked.
Members of PFLAG China at the party
He worried that the residents of the apartment complex where the pool is located would be scandalized by a “gay party.” To soothe him, organizers blocked out any mention of the word “gay” on the banner they’d prepared for the event, then eventually took it down. Still, the local pool manager and a couple other guys lingered by the poolside the whole day.
The party went on to be fairly normal, though, and by the end of it the three men “seemed okay,” says Alex. He thinks that observing the pool party may have even done them some good; at least it gave them a more positive impression of LGBT folks.
Buoyed by their recent success, the SZ PRIDE group is starting to plan a future lineup of events. Proceeds of the pool party this time went to PFLAG China, to help spread more awareness and acceptance for LGBT people in the mainland. The four organizers hope to hold similar not-for-profit pride events here every year, just like in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and countless other cities abroad. In the meantime they’d also like to throw parties that are mainly for fun—the next one, organizers say, will be at a club in early December.
Though they’re just starting out, we’re excited to see where SZ PRIDE will go from here, and looking forward to a little more diversity in the local party scene.
[Images via SZ PRIDE]
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