Asia
Transgender influencers use platforms to promote acceptance in Asia
Indian model Sushant Divgikar has 1.8 million Instagram followers
In the time of the internet, new influencers are becoming famous every day. Some dance to someone’s else songs for viewership. Some talk about different gadgets, while others use the platform to create a powerful impact on society.
The transgender community in Asia continues to become more visible, but it still has a long way to go. Trans icons in the region who have become famous online are using their influence to spread awareness of the trans community among their fans and across their respective countries alike.
Kaede Sari, a Japanese architect, is fighting to spread awareness about trans people in her country and change society’s perspective of trans people as mere entertainment.
She released a documentary, “You Decide,” in July 2020 that is based on her life. The idea was to spread awareness about trans people in Japan and inspire other trans people in the country. The documentary was available in select theaters and on Netflix Japan.
“I have continued to disseminate information, especially to students and families, as well as corporate employers and personnel,” said Sari in a statement to the Washington Blade. “However, society is still in the process of change. Some transgender people may not be able to come out depending on their position. I want to tell them, ‘You don’t have to come out until the environment is ready. Until we change the whole society, please find a reliable person (to whom you) can come out. And please be a person that is trusted to receive the coming out of many people.'”
The trans community has been an integral and mostly accepted part of Japanese culture since the Edo period from 1603-1868.
Japan in the late 1800s moved from a country that accepted gender fluidity to one that adopted Western gender binary norms. The trans community in Japan now faces regular humiliation, misunderstanding and discrimination.
Japanese law stipulates a person has to show their ID — which often has a gender identity marker — when accessing education, health, transportation and other services. Authorities often ask invasive questions if a trans person’s picture doesn’t match their gender marker on the ID card.
Sari told the Blade she wanted to come out after finishing school, getting a job or moving into a new home.
She came out just before she began to look for employment. Sari said her trans friends either dropped out of school or decided not to come out.
“In Asia, many countries, including Japan, are conservative in change, and policies for LGBT (people) are spreading only in limited areas,” said Sari. “There are two steps to changing those who disagree with LGBT. ‘The stage of understanding LGBT’ and ‘the stage of accepting LGBT.’ I think we are in the stage of understanding now, so please get the correct knowledge.”
China, like Japan, has a long relationship with the trans community, but repression against it is a reality. Trans cultural icons in China are fighting hard to change the narrative and situation inside the country and abroad.
Fan Popo, a Chinese filmmaker and LGBTQ and intersex activist, is working to change attitudes about the country’s trans community through films and documentaries.
Popo is known for his iconic documentary “Mama Rainbow,” which has inspired many LGBTQ and intersex people in China. The film attracted significant viewers on the internet in China and started a public discussion about the queer community. It has since disappeared from Youku, Tudou, 56.com and other popular Chinese streaming services.
Popo launched a ferocious legal battle with China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the fight resulted in a partial victory in 2015.
He continues to make LGBTQ-focused films to spread awareness in China and among Chinese people who are living abroad.
Popo moved to Germany in 2017 and is now working on a fictional film debut. While talking with the Blade, he said the film is important for him as he feels he didn’t do enough for the queer community, and he wants to contribute more to the community in the coming years.
“Ever since I moved to Germany, I have been facing systematic racism. There are little resources are available for people of color,” said Popo. “What my colleagues in China have to face is also impacting me, so this makes me feel frustrated and unsafe. Another difficulty that I am facing right now is traveling back to China because of restrictions.”
Despite all the struggles, Popo has had a huge impact with his fans inside China and around the world.
His creativity and films historically have inspired the trans community. He has made six films, and his last film was “Beer! Beer!” in 2020.
In India, the trans community has historical ties to traditional Indian culture.
According to scholars and ancient Indian texts, the trans community garnered respect, but things changed once the British colonized the country.
Section 377 of India’s colonial-era penal code that came into force in 1861 criminalized homosexuality. The Indian Supreme Court in 2018 struck down the discriminatory law, but more than 200 years of British colonial rule pushed Indian society to become discriminatory against trans people.
To create awareness about trans Indians, trans icons are using their social media platforms and creating a positive impact on society.
Sushant Divgikar is an Indian model, actor, singer, drag queen and motivational speaker who won Mr. Gay India in 2014. With 1.8 million Instagram followers, Divgikar has been spreading awareness about the country’s trans community.
“The transgender community has shared a very beautiful status in the context of Indian cultural history in the pre-colonial area. After things changed because the British had very narrow-minded thoughts on the queer community. They talk about how the British divided and ruled the country based on caste, but they do not talk about how British rule divided the country based on gender diversity,” Divgikar told the Blade. “Over the past 16 and half years, I have been performing as a drag queen, actor, model, and motivational speaker, so of course, it has been a roller coaster ride, but I have never imagined this anything else. If I had not struggled this much, I would not have known what I have today and what I did not have.”
Divgikar since 2012 has appeared on many TV shows and participated in numerous competitions. They have also been using Instagram to talk about the queer community and start a public discussion. Divgikar has inspired many fans with their inspirational posts and stories.
Divgikar in 2020 appeared on Forbes 30 under 30 list.
“At the time when people were not ready to talk about their orientation, I was on TV, risking my life because I used to get death threats, I used to get rape threats. When I was younger, I used to get frustrated because of threats, but now I feel bad for them,” they said. “They are the ones who really need a big hug and some therapy. I don’t mind paying for their therapy.”
Divgikar also talked about their appearance on the third largest billboard in New York’s Times Square for an entire month.
While talking with the Blade, Divgikar said trans Indians feel represented when they see them on big stages. Divgikar feels pride in representing every Asian, and especially trans Indians, on the world stage.
“When you harm another person, you are not just harming that person,” said Divgikar while talking about hate crimes against the trans community in Asia. “You are killing the whole humanity.”
Ankush Kumar (Mohit) is a freelance reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion.
Philippines
Philippines Supreme Court rules same-sex couples can co-own property
Advocacy group celebrated landmark decision
The Philippines Supreme Court in a landmark ruling said same-sex couples can co-own property under the country’s Family Code.
The Philippine News Agency on Tuesday notes the court issued its ruling in the case of two women who bought a house in Quezon City, a suburb of Manila, the Filipino capital, before they broke up.
The two women, according to the Philippine News Agency, “agreed to sell the property” after they ended their relationship, “and the registered owner — the respondent — signed a document acknowledging that the other partner paid for half of the purchase and renovations.” The Philippine News Agency notes “the registered owner” later “refused to sell the property and withdrew her earlier acknowledgment of co-ownership, prompting the other partner to file a complaint.”
A Regional Trial Court and the Philippines Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff.
The Supreme Court in a 14-page ruling it issued on Feb. 5 overturned the decisions. The Supreme Court published its decision on Tuesday.
“Considering that there is co-ownership between petitioner and respondent, then each co-owner may demand at any time the partition of the thing owned in common, insofar as her share is concerned,” said the Supreme Court in its ruling, according to the Philippine News Agency. “Having rightful interest over the subject property, petitioner has the right to demand the division of the subject property.”
The predominantly Catholic country’s Family Code defines marriage as “a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.” It also states in Article 148 that “in cases of cohabitation” outside of marriage, “only the properties acquired by both of the parties through their actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry shall be owned by them in common in proportion to their respective contributions.”
“In the absence of proof to the contrary, their contributions and corresponding shares are presumed to be equal,” it reads.
The BBC reported the Supreme Court ruling states this provision “applies to all forms of co-habitation,” regardless of the couple’s gender. A Supreme Court press release indicates the decision notes lawmakers and the Filipino government “must address same-sex couples’ rights, as courts alone cannot resolve all related policy concerns.”
“This court does not have the monopoly to assure the freedom and rights of homosexual couples,” it reads. “With the political, moral, and cultural questions that surround the issue concerning the rights of same-sex couples, political departments, especially the Congress must be involved to quest for solutions, which balance interests while maintaining fealty to fundamental freedoms.”
LGBT Pilipinas, a Filipino advocacy group, welcomed the ruling.
“This ruling marks a monumental step forward in the legal recognition of LGBTQ+ families and relationships in the country,” it said in a statement.
LGBT Pilipinas added the ruling “lays a crucial legal foundation for broader recognition of same-sex relationships and strengthens the push for comprehensive anti-discrimination protections.”
“This is a win not only for the LGBTQ+ community, but for fairness and justice in Philippine society as a whole,” said the group.
China
Two Chinese men detained over AI-generated picture of pandas engaging in same-sex behavior
Arrests part of increased online surveillance, LGBTQ rights crackdown
Chinese authorities have detained two men after they shared an artificially altered image that linked queer identity with a specific city.
The Washington Post on Jan. 21 reported the men — who are 29 and 33 — circulated an AI-generated picture depicting pandas engaging in same-sex behavior in Chengdu, a major city in southwestern China often referred to as the “panda capital” due to its association with giant panda conservation. Local officials described the sharing of the image as “malicious,” and police in Chengdu took the men into custody.
Authorities also suspended the two men’s social media accounts, accusing them of spreading misinformation presented as legitimate news. According to the Post, the artificially generated image was posted alongside a fabricated headline, giving the appearance of an authentic news report. The image depicted two male pandas mating.
According to an official police report, police said the fabricated image was presented in the format of a legitimate news article and accompanied by a false headline. The caption read, “Chengdu: Two male Sichuan giant pandas successfully mate for the first time without human intervention,” authorities said.
Chinese regulators have in recent years tightened oversight of AI and online content.
Under the Interim Measures for the Administration of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services, issued in 2023, providers and users of generative AI systems are required to comply with existing laws, adhere to social and ethical standards, and refrain from producing or disseminating false or misleading information. Additional rules that took effect on Sept. 1, 2025, require online platforms to clearly label AI-generated content, a measure authorities have said is intended to curb misinformation and maintain order in digital spaces.
Police under Chinese law are permitted to impose administrative detention of up to 15 days for offenses deemed to disrupt public order, a category that includes the fabrication or dissemination of false information online. Such cases are handled outside the criminal court system and do not require formal prosecution.
According to a statement the Chengdu Public Security Bureau’s Chenghua branch released, police opened an investigation after receiving public reports that online accounts were spreading false information about the city. Authorities said officers collected evidence shortly afterward and placed the two individuals under administrative detention.
The detentions are not an isolated case.
The Washington Blade in July 2025 reported a Chinese female writer was arrested and subjected to a strip search after publishing gay erotic fiction online. At least 30 other writers — most of them women in their 20s — in the months that followed publicly described similar encounters with law enforcement, including home raids and questioning related to their online writing.
ShanghaiPRIDE, a Chinese LGBTQ advocacy group that organized annual Pride events in the city, has remained indefinitely suspended since 2021. In the same period, dozens of LGBTQ-focused accounts have been removed from WeChat, China’s largest social media platform, as authorities intensified oversight of online content related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Authorities in 2021 detained the founder of LGBT Rights Advocacy China. They later released them on the condition that he shut down the organization, which ceased operations shortly afterward.
China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 when it removed consensual same-sex sexual relations from the country’s criminal code. The Chinese Society of Psychiatry in 2001 formally removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. Despite those changes, same-sex relationships remain unrecognized under Chinese law, and there are no legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Public advocacy for LGBTQ rights remains tightly restricted, with authorities continuing to limit community organizing, public events and online expression related to sexual minority issues.
Within China’s LGBTQ community, transgender and gender non-conforming people remain among the most vulnerable. Under current regulations, access to gender-affirming surgery is subject to strict requirements, including being at least 18 years old, unmarried, obtaining parental consent and having no criminal record — procedures that are required in order to legally change one’s gender on official documents.
China’s system of online governance places responsibility on both users and platforms to prevent the spread of prohibited content. Social media companies are required to conduct real-name verification, monitor user activity and remove posts that violate regulations, while individuals can be punished for content authorities determine to have caused public misunderstanding or social disruption.
“Actually, at least three similar incidents have occurred in Chengdu recently, all involving netizens posting on social media linking Chengdu with homosexuality, resulting in legal repercussions. This isn’t just about giant pandas. I think the local police’s reaction was somewhat excessive,” said Renn Hao, a Chinese queer activist. “The content was actually praising Chengdu’s inclusivity, and there was no need to punish them with regulations like ‘maliciously spreading false information.’”
“This situation reflects the strict censorship of LGBT related content in the area,” they added. “This censorship makes LGBT-related content increasingly invisible, and people are even more afraid to post or mention it. This not only impacts the LGBTQ+ community in China but also hinders public understanding and awareness of this group.”
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday signed a bill that will ban so-called LGBTQ propaganda in the country.
Members of Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament last month unanimously approved the measure that would ban “‘LGBT propaganda’ online or in the media” with “fines for violators and up to 10 days in jail for repeat offenders.” The Kazakh Senate on Dec. 18 approved the bill.
Kazakhstan is a predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic in Central Asia that borders Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China. Russia, Georgia, and Hungary are among the other countries with anti-LGBTQ propaganda laws.
Top Democrats re-introduce trans bill of rights
A dozen Senegalese men arrested for ‘unnatural acts’
Meet D.C.’s Most Eligible Queer Singles
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
