Test 2

Please select your preferred language.

請選擇你慣用的語言。

请选择你惯用的语言。

English
中文简体
台灣繁體
香港繁體

Login

Remember Me

New to Fridae?

Fridae Mobile

Advertisement
Highlights

More About Us

24 Mar 2014

High ratings and no complaints for Taiwan's first gay comedy

Last Sunday, PTS, Taiwan's public televisions station, aired what is being hailed as the first gay comedy on public television in Taiwan. The broadcast came amidst rival same-sex marriage demonstrations in Taipei.

Last week PTS broadcasted Penguins at North Pole, a lighthearted look at homosexual issues within families in the country. PTS has aired gay programs in the past including Crystal Boys (2003) and Eternal Summer (2006). These were both hard-hitting dramas, making North Pole the first comedy.

 

The comedy features actress Tan Aizhen who plays a Taiwanese mother who discovers her daughter is in a relationship with a woman. Keen to see her daughter settle down with a husband and a family, the mother pretends to be accepting at first hoping to eventually convince her daughter to change her mind.

 

Director, Kassey Huang, has said she was attracted to the project by the humor and sensitivity towards the conflicting views on homosexuality in Taiwanese families. 

 

Huang explained, “parents experience a lot of pressure, from cultural values or from newspapers and magazines full of discrimination and stigma. As children and young people, we often wonder why they can't just understand our generation, but we forget that they are ordinary people who are struggling to get by in this society too."

 

Despite a late time slot, the comedy garnered higher than expected ratings and PTS has received no complaints so far.

 

The new comedy was aired on the same day that parallel rallies over same-sex marriage were held in Taipei’s freedom square.  Taiwan’s legislative Yuan is contemplating a bill that would make all legal references to marriage in Taiwan gender-neutral, effectively legalizing gay marriage. 

Reader's Comments

1. 2014-03-24 14:51  
Very encouraging read. There is enough drama in our lives - comedy and normality and acceptance is what's needed.

Please log in to use this feature.

Select News Edition

Featured Profiles

Now ALL members can view unlimited profiles!

Languages

View this page in a different language:

Like Us on Facebook

Partners

 ILGA Asia - Fridae partner for LGBT rights in Asia IGLHRC - Fridae Partner for LGBT rights in Asia

Advertisement