TUESDAY, APRIL 02, 2002
Gays stage riotous parade in Vietnam
AFP
HANOI: Hundreds of homosexuals flocked to a hotel in southern Vietnam's Ba Ria-Vung Tau to stage a gay fashion parade that an official youth daily dubbed a "monstrosity".
Gays from several neighbouring regions turned out for the special fashion show and dance last week in Long Hai city, Thanh Nien daily said Monday.
The evening was "highly frenzied" and the dances progressively degenerated with the gays sporting "very revealing" outfits, provoking wild cheers and cries among the audience, it said.
The "amateur models" -- most of whom had been "partially turned into women" thanks to clinics in Thailand which charge up to $10,000 for such operations -- took several hours to end their show, it said.
"It was an abnormal phenomenon in the activities of the youth and this is foreign to our country's cultural tradition," Thanh Nien said, adding, "this monstrosity poses a headache for officials in charge of culture and education."
Although homosexuality is not listed as a crime in Vietnam where gays have grown in strength in recent years in major cities, they are viewed as "sick" people ruining local morals.
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