Beautiful man| Leslie taught me: You are only you, is good enough

April 1 This year, Leslie died 15 years. He left without clear clues as to why he had committed suicide, and some media reports attributed to sexual orientation and analysis as a result of depression. In fact, he had enough self expression, choose to end the life, why to give the world accountable.

The reason for leaving has no recourse, we only need to ask: 15 years later, we really for Leslie Cheung-like beautiful men, open a less social pressure of friendly space?

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This April, Taiwan's Central Election Commission passed three proposals for a referendum, one of which is "do you agree that the Middle Kingdom and the State should not implement gay equality education?" (The full text is: Do you agree that in the national education stage (country and country small), the Ministry of Education and all levels of schools should not be the implementation of the Gender Equality Education Law in the application of the rules set by the comrades? ）

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15 years ago, handsome and beautiful Leslie is tired of the reality, choose to die, 15 years later, we also have to work hard for the children on campus to leave gay affirmative education.

If a school cannot talk about homosexuality, how can it be normal for heterosexual children to know homosexuality? How to let children know, like you are not a monster, is a very complete person, the community should not let you suffer because of sexual orientation.

Please try to imagine, Leslie's growth process

Leslie was born in 1956 in Hong Kong, Kowloon, the father is famous tailor tailor, many big stars often go to his home, Brando is also one of the guests. He was a small shuttle in the cloth between, open round eyes, see do also know people can have bright and elegance.

However, his parents feelings discord, family maid six elder sister care his life, he is more delicate, precocious, intelligent, often participate in the school music festival, recitation and comprehensive arts performances, 13-Year-old was sent to the United Kingdom to read secondary school, entrance to the University of Leeds textile department, after the father of a stroke and dropped

Photo Source | Interesting reading

In 1977, Leslie took part in the amateur singer contest held by the TV station and was officially debut in the Hong Kong district runner-up. 1979, the debut of the first Cantonese album, until 1983 was finally famous.

In Hong Kong in the 1980 's, homosexual sex was still a criminal offence. Especially after the first AIDS case was diagnosed in Hong Kong in 1984, Hong Kong people were even more contemptuous of homosexuality and abused their comrades with "excrement and ghosts".

In such a social atmosphere, 1982, Leslie and Tanghed acquaintance and gradually fell in love. Before fame, life is always hard, filming was beaten bruises, singing and booing constantly, but he said, "unless my own active and glorious exit, otherwise no one would want to use any means to drive me away!" "After the tears wash the face and onstage, the expression warm and happy, as if nothing happened, day after day."

At that time, Tanghed in the banking sector has only started, but the accumulated wages lent to Leslie Cheung lived through life, then know that period of days, Tanghed eat the most simple food and clothing.

Finally AO to 1985, Leslie by virtue of Song 〈monica〉 in the Chinese world fame, 87 by the album "Love" Into the Korean market, 95 album "Pet" in South Korea sold more than 500,000 copies. He entered the East Asian pop music market with Chinese singing and established the status of East Asia superstar.

Photo source |monica MV screenshot

But in those days, if a man liked another man, it was inferior.

Leslie is very hard, but he is also afraid, initially and Tanghed out of gossip, he denied, and even said "someone tried to slander me." That's the time, try again, as long as you like the object of the same sex with you, all the accumulation will disintegrate overnight.

He must constantly push himself harder to prove that he is good, as a heterosexual man like him, from Hong Kong, to charm the conquest of East Asia, now it is difficult to imagine a never Leslie Cheung's Asian popular cultural landscape.

Until 1991, homosexual sex was formally removed in Hong Kong.

It was not until 1991 that homosexual sex was formally removed in Hong Kong, and the gay community in Hong Kong was able to see the light slowly. Also at this time, into the important stage of the development of the gay movement.

In the 90 's, Leslie quit the music scene, focusing on the film performance, in the mainstream of the film, Leslie Cheung occasionally starred in the role of gender blurred image, such as "home Double Happiness" and "belong Palace", is the more feminine male main settings, with a masculine temperament of the heroine to rub sparks.

Photo Source | "Belong Palace" stills

Now looking back, you may mistakenly think that these texts are very avantgarde, but in fact such a role set, often with a gender inversion as a joke, the feminine men as clowns, the outcome is often a return to "normal" heterosexual samples. Leslie is only choosing to perform a few of them, more than a movie that inspires people to go beyond the sex frame.

"The treatment of gay people in Hong Kong is too comic and too ugly, and I don't think it's necessary to be so ⋯⋯" "When Leslie was interviewed, he expressed his dissatisfaction with gay prejudices.

1993, he to the negative temperament interpretation film "Farewell My Concubine" Love mu section of the small building sphenoidal clothes. This time, the protagonists did not have to return to the heterosexual role sample.

Leslie in "Farewell My Concubine" in the performance, but also let people see negative temperament or masculine temperament, how may be a sex show, and men's feminine display, can be elevated to what kind of aesthetic height.

Picture Source | Farewell My Concubine "stills"

In the culture of the general dislike of women, feminine temperament is both desire and derogatory. Men, in particular, show feminine femininity, almost as if they have to endure being ridiculed as "sissy".

"Sissy" is beautiful, should not be a laughingstock, but with masculine men as worthy of being loved and cherished, he in the eyes of the Chinese, opened the previous never seen imagination.

The film won the Golden Palms Award in the city, and Leslie's performance was dead.

Artists to achieve the highest level, can be male and female two sex with one person: Art itself is no gender.

Cross 1997: Hong Kong's first public out of the closet star

Hong Kong returned to China in 1997. Also in the same year, "Spring at the first release", Leslie and Tony Leung played a pair of Hong Kong gay couples in Argentina, the film review said Wong Kar-wai with a pair of gay lovers wandering a love story, metaphor of Hong Kong people in the run-up to the face of identity problems, and confused state.

Photo Source | "The spring is leaking" stills

This piece of setting, seems to be also with Leslie's life state some echoes. He likes and Tanghed two people in Canada indifferent life, also miss the applause, he and Tang two people decided to end the Canadian living life, return to Hong Kong, comeback music. Just this time, be yourself.

In the comeback song "Across the 97" concert, Leslie referred to the British singer Daiweibao Iraq (David Bowie) performance form, foot a pair of beads red heels, enchanting singing. " Then he changed into a suit and sang "The Moon Represents My heart" and showed it to "two people I love"--mother, and "a very important friend in my life ..." Mr. Tang (Tanghed). 」

Picture Source | "Red" concert screenshot

The confession of the concert, was seen as Leslie's "Out of the Closet" manifesto.

This has not only given great encouragement to the gay community in the Chinese-speaking world, but also a great deal of social pressure, public opinion and all kinds of eyes are coming to him. He was under a lot of pressure, so he told himself that he must be good enough to continue to perform perfectly, otherwise the applause of the masses might stop suddenly, and he would no longer be loved by others.

Before Leslie, no other Leslie walked in front of him, opening the thorns.

The courage of a public figure to choose to come out is like this, he must be more careful than anyone else to talk about feelings, accidentally changed the object, I am afraid the media to mention comrade moral integrity, you must be more cautious to say and do, almost carrying the entire generation of gay people, whether he would like to

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However, Leslie is not just gay (he actually said he is bisexual), is also an artist, is a singer and actor, he has his own artistic to go beyond, have their own life problems to dredge. The whole society, however, gave him little room for a fall, and he must be perfect to transcend the existing framework of the defamation of comrades. Must be perfect in order to be safe.

But perfection is suffocating, and he's under a lot of mental stress. No way to social shout stop, he can only end himself.

April 1, 2003, Leslie jumps from the 24 floor of Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hong Kong.

If you can go back 15 years ago ...

"I am me, the color is not the same fireworks." --Leslie Cheung

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Let us imagine a world, a child of same sex tendency, from an early age to live in an environment that does not need to be labeled, know oneself and others stand on the same footing, know oneself not only because likes the same sex person, is inferior, must feel unsafe.

The child grew up, worked hard and succeeded, and he could be like all heterosexual, without having to feel like he was hiding secrets, not to be afraid. Once he falls in love with someone and is seen, he has to risk losing everything.

He can be generous in disclosing his great other half without having to worry about others holding his personal relationship and endorsing other people's heterosexual or homosexual feelings. He does not need to be perfect everywhere, the society can also regard him as a worthy of the ordinary people.

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Can we create such an environment, if the child is still young, let them know that they are safe, normal, must be from China's small gay education began.

If you could go back 15 years, I wish people would tell him, "You don't need to be perfect, you don't have to be exhausted, you're just you, that's good enough." 」

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It's good enough that you are just you. This is gay equality education, trying to tell all the kids.